←Recommendations of A First-Draft Second-Rate Love Story

Yes!!!! A thousand times YES!!! This play demands an audience, demands to be staged, and demands laughter. It's brilliant.

It takes a minute to get into it and that's the subtle nature of the art as you try to understand the story. John Busser then lands punchline after punchline in this increasingly unpredictable tour-de-force comedy that will have you laughing uncontrollably throughout the final 4 or 5 drafts.

SO. MUCH. FUN.

The nightmare of older fragments of script invading later drafts is on full display here. Characters are haphazardly motivated, and even mutilated, to high comic effect. Busser gives us a wink and nod as he tortures actors with mismatched drafts of a work in progress. Well played John, well played.

A very funny play about playwriting and the challenge of maintaining version control. Character names and physical attributes change from one draft to the next, and the poor actors try to make the best of working from different versions. I especially loved the Mother whose character was killed off in an early draft! You’ll be able to laugh along live when this play is presented by PlayZoomers on June 17 and 18. https://www.playzoomers.org/

If you've encountered draft confusion at a play reading, raise your hand - either hand. You'll be hard pressed to find a more "disarming" sense of humor than John Busser's in A FIRST-DRAFT SECOND-RATE LOVE STORY. I love Stuart's explanations to the actors and his insistence on forging ahead with the multiple drafts. As funny as this comes off on the page, I would think it's even funnier on stage - with the attitudes of the performers on full display. I'm still trying to decide which draft works best - maybe the third? What a blast this play is!

Busser breaks the fourth wall with Kool-Aid Man flair in this wacky short. This would be such fun to see as an audience member, trying to figure out who is who and in what draft. Lots of fun for big, over the top acting moments! I totally relate to Actor 4!

Like "Noises Off" but without the slamming doors, Mr. Busser has created a wacky and very entertaining story of a play-gone-wrong (or going wrong), and he has plotted out the confusion in a spectacular way, so that it is funny rather than confusing, as well it should be. This should be great fun for actors to perform and for audiences to see. I also see the play as a tribute to writers, who may dislike rewrites, but know we have to do them. We have to keep better track of the drafts than does Stuart, the playwright in the play.

A fun and funny love story where the actors are playing off different drafts of the script. Kudos to John Busser who must have had excellent notes to make this all work. In other hands this could have been just a confusing mess, but Busser brings it all togther to work like a charm.

Funny! The draft confusion works oh so well. Exiting before the end of the page is a sweet, perfect ending.

JOHN BUSSER has a sense of humor that I truly love. “A First-Draft Second-Rate Love Story” had me laughing out loud throughout the play. As an actor, I could feel the frustration of ever changing dialogue, different scripts being used by the actors in a rehearsal, and a playwright who is constantly changing his mind. Audiences will love this play. I definitely loved it!

Gleefully tossing lethally hilarious bombs at the convoluted pretensions of a playwright (perhaps ALL playwrights?), Busser's spoof causes one to explode with laughter on nearly every line and/or situation. With typical Busserian zaniness, this first-draft, second rate love story scores on all points. What a joy it would be to see staged.