←Recommendations of An Awkward Conversation on the Way to the Ice Dispenser (short)

This short play is genuinely haunting. With minimal dialogue and maximum spookiness, a seemingly mundane moment quickly escalates into a nightmare scenario. This will leave you shaken.

I forget where on the internet I first saw the phrase, “bold of us to assume a character knows what genre they’re in.” Heather’s first instinct to be a helper when faced with the unexpected encounter tells us everything about her as a person. Unfortunately for her, it uh…well, the title is pretty on point. Deliciously atmospheric on the page alone, designers, particularly, will have a field day creating this chilling scene.

Well, that was certainly awkward! Not to mention absolutely chilling... literally and figuratively! Poor Heather is trying to do so hard to do the right thing (so much more than most people would do), and she pays the ultimate price in a visceral, unsettling, highly theatrical manner! I love the way the setting itself felt like a character, as haunted (or perhaps just haunting) places are wont to do. This play is a sensory treat that you can see, hear, and feel, and the twist is BEYOND CREEPY!

Is there any place more desolate than a motel balcony in the dead of winter? Hilder has built a darkly elegant world, as if Hopper painted a Clive Barker hardback cover. What the right director or festival design team could to with lights, set pieces, costumes, sound – theatergasm!

But the heart is what's at stake here, and compassion has its price. In a crisis, red flags blend with their surroundings, and we would all take the same risks Heather does. Oh well!

Chilling in every sense. Bravo!

Hilder boldly dares to write a horror play. No, a terror play is more like it. He makes quick work of giving us a heroine we can relate to and admire, a kind person, a helper, and then puts her in one of the more unsettling nightmare scenarios one will no doubt remember on our own 2 a.m. walks to the ice dispenser while staying at a motel ... trying to ignore the raised hairs on the backs of our necks. Thanks a lot, David (sarcastic)! Thank you very much, David (sincere).

Most of the time, when reading a play, it's easiest to focus on the dialogue and relationshps. But with "An Awkward Conversation...", Hilder creates a dramatic visual where our imagination is taken to a terrifying place, including the horror of what possibly comes next.

Hoo boy, does Hilder set the mood early on and drive it home with the finish. Terrifically frightening and full of atmosphere. What a great short piece of horror theater goodness!

Heather's decency is her downfall in this riveting and deeply disturbing horror story. A chill wind blows through the world of the play, both literally and metaphorically. This is a creepily effective story rendered in such a short time.

Clever, creepy fun in this short by David Hilder! Great set-up. A short walk in the cold and a demonstration of empathy turns into a horror classic. There is so much to dig into - where did the old lady come from? How does she obtain sustenance (how/why does it work)? I want more! Funny and terrifying.

This whimsical, almost Vaudeville-esque title gives way to deeply cinematic winter-themed horror short. I appreciate the vivid picture Hilder paints with the stage directions and sound effects--it's a deeply atmospheric, very character-centered, trippy short play. Would fit in great with a holiday horror festival lineup.