←Recommendations of Orange Slices

Kay's description of the orange and her immense craving for a slice are written so evocatively. Emily McClain paints such a wonderful picture with language alone, that the actors onstage performing would be like icing on a cake. Kay is almost paralyzed with self doubt, fear, and embarrassment over such a small thing as an orange slice. But we all sometimes blow things way out of proportion, don't we? As audience members we can look at Kay and say "Just ask for it, already!" But there's a possibility that if WE were Kay, we might be paralyzed too.

A perfect short play. It plumbs the depths of our self conscious obsessions. Poignant while remaining casual. Wise in its simplicity. A lesson gently taught, deeply felt, and wholly rewarding.

This is a brilliant character study on the simple tasks of communicating with strangers and asking for what you want. Kay's characterization is executed perfectly and Rosa's job of being the obstacle to the desperate need for an orange is a great addition to this play. Emily McClain is a master of drawing in audiences and demonstrates that here with this piece. And now I want an orange.

We've all been a position of overthinking even the most mundane of tasks. McClain's play expertly puts us right back in that headspace while also giving us the freedom to understand that it is just an orange, after all.

Excellent piece and one worth producing!

I *hate* asking for things. Even “could you pass the salt” feels like an imposition. Networking feels opportunistic and disingenuous.

Emily McClain has created a beautiful parable for people like me: the inhibited self-deniers mortified by anything that could potentially be construed as an imposition.

Like its titular oranges, the play is bright and delicious, even though it’s good for you! The characters are perfect foils for this lesson in which désire and negotiation escalate quickly with humor and honesty. Hopefully, you’ll end up a little braver after experiencing this play than you were before it started.

This play manages to be masterful in just five pages. In that time, the author manages to provide one completely unforeseen twist, and then follows it, moments later, with another one, equally surprising. All that, and a play about an orange, that is about so much more than an orange. Read, enjoy, produce!

I am delighted to discover this sweet short play by Emily McClain and thrilled that one of my prompts inspired it, but McClain is a writer who brings so much truth and relatability to her work, I could probably prompt her with an empty paper bag! Orange Slices is delicious in its examination of how hard it is to actually ask for what we want. McClain teases us with twists and turns that make me ache for my own poetic slice!

EMILY MCCLAIN’s short piece is marvelous. I could relate to the longing of Kay, as she wrestled with her desire for something and her reluctance to ask for it. “Orange Slices” reminded me of the times I was reluctant to speak up when I could and should have. Self-doubt, especially as we grow up, can hold us back. Let’s all ask for an Orange slice, when we have the chance and want it. Let’s all look forward to watching this wonderful piece on stage. Bravo!k

A play that shows a character going through a crisis. Though possibly minor to everyone else, this play shows that it is anything but. A great insight found by playwright McClain that touches on things many people gloss over.

There are so many things to love in this short play: The empowerment a young woman feels in asking for what she wants for the first time, the sensory descriptions that will make anyone want one of Rosa's orange slices, and the kindness and generosity one person can have for another person in need - to name a few.

Emily McClain balances nicely the comedy and pathos of Kay's overwhelming need for an orange slice. She also knows that emotions become that much richer when a character is stonewalled and has written a true gasp-worthy moment in this play.