With crystal clarity, Svich renders a world torn by violence and doubt with a delicate poetic hand. The search for meaning, for faith, is a visceral one, and while there are no easy answers posited in the play, the resolution offered of being at peace with an answerless existence and just being is well-earned. A beautiful haunting piece which would be amazing to see staged and brought to life.

There's an amazing moment in this play that made me gasp and close my eyes to imagine the ways in which it could be staged, and there were many ways. In ARBOR FALLS, I connected so deeply with the shape of spirituality in the lives of these characters. Caridad Svich presents the dialogue in such poetic and creative ways throughout, giving those reading the text an extra layer of meaning to incorporate into their performance and our imaginations. This is a play that will stay with me and continue to reveal even deeper meanings the more I reflect.

Lyrical, lush poetry meets spare conversational dialogue. Both of these modes serve to characterize the Preacher and the intriguing landscape of the remainder of the town quite well. I always love creative visual clues in texts to help unpack a text, and the way lines in the two-character exchanges are grouped together quickly and effectively guided my reading of the scenes. I loved how fleshed out the world and town were by just these simple duologues and monologues. Well-drawn themes of compassion and community made this feel like an important and, as others have stated, timeless parable.