←Recommendations of BIRTHRIGHTS...and WRONGS (a 10 minute play)

Heard this delightful play read on Theatrical Shenanigans. Friendships are the balm of the soul or can be and for those who believe in reincarnation and that souls can go on and on forever or more than one life, the beginning would be just as important as the end.

I had the pleasure of hearing this lovely piece read on Theatrical Shenanigans. It features two engaging characters who are as interesting for their flaws as for their strengths. The birth of a child is always fraught with heightened emotions and it is heartening to see these two strangers bond and work their way to an uplifting resolution.

I recently had the great fun of producing this play has an audio piece for my podcast. As I worked my way through it I had the joy of discovering the layers of subtext that exist surrounding the meeting of these two characters, each weighed down by guilt that they may not witness the birth of someone important to them. Its a brilliantly crafted conversation that will inspire conversations. I know this because it certainly did for me. The play's possibilities doesn't stop at audio, it would make a brilliantly powerful performance piece too!

I'm sure conversations much like this one are happening in delivery waiting rooms all over right now - but I bet few of them have a resolution as sweet as this one!

This is such a sweet character driven piece in such a high stakes and stressful moment. The perfect recipe to break down walls and develop new friendships. It is beautiful to watch these two strangers help one another make realizations about themselves and the futures they are about to have through different babies and mothers in their lives. A terrific Mother's Day salute!

All those disparate thoughts from two characters both undergoing the miracle of childbirth in different ways somehow find connections as they listen and sympathize. Marj O'Neill-Butler has such a deft hand at the dialogue that their interaction never feels forced. We, as the audience, are witnessing the birth of a friendship, and Marj has delivered a good one. I really enjoyed this piece.

Marj O'Neill Butler has found a situation fraught with conflict. Right when your partner needs you the most, what happens? You can't. It's too much. It's too hard. Then a stranger, who is dealing with her own situation, helps him. And that turns out to be a two-way street. It's about birth--the drama of wanting to create new life.

A gem of a short play, an entire universe of emotion, regret, hope and love encapsulated in a few minutes of dialogue between two strangers awaiting the births of family members. A maternity ward is a fraught place by definition, and Marj O’Neill-Butler successfully steers her characters' encounter to a warm and satisfying conclusion.

Other than my own birth, my experience in the realm of childbirth is severely limited. And yet Marj O’Neill-Butler managed to completely captivate me with this lovely story of two strangers waiting for two different births. In a mere 10 minutes, the two share confidences, fears, and hopes and develop a friendship that should last a lifetime. The dialogue is completely natural and clever, and as the story unfolds we care deeply about these two characters and even the unseen mothers and newborns. A story with universal appeal that deserves a wide audience.

The act of giving birth has often been considered from the side of the mother and the child but in this unique piece, the perspective has been twisted to that of the people outside the room. This is a lovely play with moments of heartache and humour in equal measure. You feel for both characters as they wait for their lives to change with the expectant arrivals and you as an audience member are privileged to witness how they, in turn change each others lives. Its wonderfully written play that is sure to be wonderful when performed.