←Recommendations of Don't Touch The Carrot Cake

A fun concept, mixed with great characters and witty dialogue makes for a charming ten minute comedy. Emily McClain delivers laugh after laugh in this short piece that any audience is sure to eat up. I would love to see this staged or read by actors. Well done!

As fans of "The Great British Baking Show" well understand, the technical challenge is the nightmare of every amateur baker. "Don't Touch the Carrot Cake" turns that anxiety up to 11 in this brilliant satirical take on competitions, cooking and expectations of women. Emily McClain's brilliant comic timing is on point here, and this short play would be a wild ride for actors and audiences.

A comedy worthy of the "Hollywood handshake" for sure.

As funny as some of its moments are, and the pantomime is quite funny, "Don't Touch the Carrot Cake" is pretty dark. Cruelty and humiliation are both free flowing in Emily McClain's short, satirical play. But there also is a fitting, sweet comeuppance that audiences will love.

What a delight! The dialogue is really snappy which just adds to the intensity of the competition. The characters are well drawn and the structure to play the story out is fun and a wild ride for these contestants. A truly fun and engaging play!

This will be so much fun for everyone: the actors, the audience, and even the props person, and when they pull it off, it will be magic. The stakes in the Mount Pleasant Baking Competition are higher than ever, and when the head judge rules, all bets are off.

As an audience member, you try to find the characters you connect with and root for. Do we feel sorry for the harried mother just trying to do something for herself? Do we hate the ambitious baker who has won multiple bake offs? Or is the real villain the competition itself? The whimsy of this play has nefarious undertones as the competitors try to please Druisilla. The tension and the banter between these characters is delicious! Also, the best carrot cake is an invisible carrot cake!

This short is so much fun, and it keeps you constantly on your toes. First you think Hazel is the villain, but she quickly becomes the only one who makes sense. You think you understand what this baking competition is going to be, but you quickly realize you were very wrong. You wonder how this play can possibly end, and then it ends perfectly. What a ride. I would love to see this staged for that final moment of theater magic, and so I can laugh with others at all the descriptions of Betty’s family. A great piece!

Darkly funny and subversive, Emily McClain has cooked up a devilishly delicious play that skewers baking contests, conformity and the consequences of both following the norm and also for bucking it. I'm personally not a fan of Carrot cake myself, but I ate this up and asked for seconds. It's smart, funny, has great potential for 4 actresses to chew everything including the invisible scenery. And it has a wonderful button to it that I'd love to see a theater attempt to pull off.

In the words of Hazel, “This is some Emperor’s New Clothes bullshit!” Emperor’s New Clothes, yes, but this play must be seen. Hilarious premise, terrific characters, great physical comedy, and a truly surprising ending. Outstanding.