←Recommendations of Cassie Strickland Is Not Under the Bed

Vince Gatton is the rightful heir of the suspense drama embraced by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Hitchcock, and Rod Serling, doing it as well as they do, leaving so much to the imagination. The biggest monsters are not the real ones but those created by our fevered imagination, memories, and fears. In this short, sharp, taut piece he makes the most of it.

Vince Gatton creates such a thrilling and psychological hit with, 'Cassie Strickland Is Not Under the Bed.' Combining paranoia, fear, and regret with the process of overcoming trauma, Gatton reveals enough of the backstory in pieces so you know the right amount to perfect effect. This would be a gripping production to watch on stage and exciting for performers to tackle.

Dread and fear fill Clay's bedroom like a chilly fog, and Vince Gatton skillfully increases them throughout this scary, thrilling short drama.

I feel Clay's desperation throughout, his need to be heard and understood, his anger at being mollified. Such pain, fear, a sense of being alone -- it was almost too much to bear. And then Gatton took this short play in unexpected directions to great conclusion.

"Cassie Strickland is Not Under the Bed" is one of Gatton's anthology plays with ties to a tragic central event, whose effects ripple for years. Wonderful breadth of writing.

Gatton riffs expertly on survivor paranoia in this intense short play; the denouement is gasp-inducing, but the far-reaching consequences of what seems to have been an inconsequential action glossed over in a single line of dialogue is even more devastating if you've read all of the plays in Gatton's ...BONUS STARS universe. Riveting on its own, CASSIE STRICKLAND... is shattering as one part of an epic whole.

Is Clay losing it or is there really a dangerous woman under his bed? A thrilling and entertaining horror that keeps us engaged till the end, well done!