←Recommendations of It's Special

The horrific moment that is now sending your child to school. Well done.

What a powerful play. I saw the performance on youtube which also packs a punch. So relevant and chilling. Everyone needs to see this.

A shocking play, however brief, about gun violence in schools. Clara clearly loves and appreciates her mother - as her mother does, her - but it is the end of this very, very short play that strikes such a chord with those who worry about their kids' safety.

In these few words, poetry, really, Haas creates a moment of such clarity and pain, one chillingly echoed in homes across the country, as parents meekly attempt to explain away the fears in our pervading gun culture. This play centers on a believable dynamic, a family that is totally accessible, with warm, inviting characters. Haas has such a strong ear for language, and this short play will be a memorable anchor in any short play festival, especially one in response to gun violence.

"Change is hard."

In one minute, Claudia Haas shows the audience just how much school life in the United States has changed these past few years. "It's Special" is a clear, concise and entertaining script that will shake an audience.

If you're doing a reading or a short play festival on gun control on high school or college campus or elsewhere, consider Haas' IT'S SPECIAL. Makes you fear for the future, but it might also force you act, to encourage school administrators and politicians to do something - or at least have a conversation - about protecting school kids from gun violence. This morning before school conversation between parent and child may be reality soon, a few months from now, next year, if there's no serious gun reform.

A very short play very worth-reading. What begins as a light moment of peace between a mother and daughter takes a sharp turn that left me with chills and tears in my eyes. If you're planning a production of plays about gun reform, give this short play a look.