←Recommendations of But Soft

A profoundly potent short piece. Gatton is an exceptional dialogist/storyteller, never failing to pack a wallop in ways that are eternally surprising. A beautifully layered and tender exchange between two young men preparing to audition for a Shakespearean play.

There is something deliciously intimate about this story of two high school theatre kids (who SOUND authentically like high school theatre kids) selecting Shakespearean audition material that connects. It's a phenomenal vehicle for two young, in sync actors, allowing them to show off their contemporary dramatic chops AND their skill with the classics! There are definitely some young performers who will see themselves in these characters, so I am glad this material exists. Although I don't know what will happen to these two beyond this moment, the play left me with questions... and the warmest, fuzziest feeling of hope!

There's a fine sense of unspoken feeling underlying the actual words here. Vince Gatton has a sharp ear for the type of dialogue that speaks two different tones. That which is meant on the surface, and that which is implied. It's wonderfully done here and the audience should be left feeling that the play they WANT to see involves these 2 young men and where THEIR story takes them. Terrific stuff.

Gatton’s But Soft really tugged at my heartstrings and took me back. I love the dialogue and way he captures the subtle and tender feeling of youngsters preparing for their school audition with a hint of romantic undertones permeating throughout. This isn’t a play within a play, it’s a play before a play. Wonderful work.

A writer's skills must be finely tuned to dramatize a moment as delicate as the first flutter of romantic recognition. And then to juxtapose that flutter against quiet, yet persistent, longing is beautiful irony for an audience to enjoy. Vince Gatton puts his finely tuned skills to terrific use in this short romantic play.

I really enjoyed this play's sweet and smart use of Shakespeare to explore the feelings between two teenaged boys. Evan and Jesse are truly lovable characters grappling with language, sexuality and their very human emotions. Lovely play.

Okay. Confession time. My worst audition ever was for JMU's musical theatre program. I chose material that I didn't really connect with on a deeper level. I sang "Send in the Clowns" and did a monologue from Albee's "The Sandbox." While I do not regret that decision (or get in), I do regret not running those choices by a friend who would have encouraged me to push myself.

Thank god for Evan, whose support for Jesse's choice just gives me all the feels. Such a beautiful short piece. Or to quote Evan, "really good."

Scott Sickles wrote: “This is the best Scott Sickles play Scott Sickles didn't write.”

He’s right.

I love the subtle, tender, somewhat naive eroticism simmering under the surface of this piece; this gives the play those ineffable Gattonesque qualities that allow it to stand out from more Sicklesian fare. Highly recommended.

The undertones of this short piece are those of the unspoken but ironclad rules of teens and boarding school life, but are universal in all ages and situations: do not speak the truth out loud but let other ways or words make it clear. We all know this, and Vince Gatton uses the moment to show the shields and the armor-chinks in a way that rings so true for these two boys who are learning how to confront their own feelings for themselves and each other through the immortal words of Shakespeare's meter and joy.

These boys warmed my heart in a way I honestly should have expected, given the pedigree of the playwright. Vince Gatton captures the pre-audition jitters and heart-fluttering excitement of youth with remarkable expertise. "But Soft" is a well-measured delight.