←Recommendations of Erstwhile (a Bascom and Isaac monologue)

Ah, yes. The classic Scott Sickles gut punch to the feels. This is a beautifully rendered declaration of true love. We all know burning passion. But burning is consuming and oftentimes leaves only smoke. What Isaac describes here is nourishing warmth. The light of the sun that keeps you and everything around you alive. I love the Bascom and Isaac saga.

Ooof. Who HASN'T experienced this sort of heart-stopping experience, when someone you once cared for deeply has no idea who you are? But fortunately, Isaac has found his safe place to share the experience, and his thoughts/revelations about it, in delightful, heartwarming, rapid-fire delivery.
Sickles commands any room, any stage with his firm hold on words and their nuances, and his ERSTWHILE proves the rule once again.

I love Isaac's monologue about his love of the past as described to his love of the present. This is the only piece I know from the series but I'm certainly looking for me. Isaac's truth about himself and his feelings that fill the universe are as magnetic as can be. And it's not like he's perfect because he's not. It's like listening to your best friend. Another win for Scott Sickles!

This is my first foray into the world of Bascom and Isaac, and it's like the time I heard my first Tom Waits song, said "Wait, what is this dark magic?," and then had to go back, start at the beginning, and listen to everything in order so that I could fully appreciate the journey. Having read this beautiful monologue, I've got some homework to do.

It's beautiful when parts coalesce into a whole. Sickles' open-hearted hero Isaac references time (yesterdays and todays and tomorrows) and space (supernovas, binary stars) throughout this monologue and it all comes together in a breathtaking line that ratchets up all of the emotions and sends an audience into a new direction. A gorgeous monologue and a superlative entry into Sickles' "Bascom and Isaac" series.

03.15.26 - There's nothing like the gigantic tsunami of feelings that sweep you up like the ones brought on by your first crush. ANYONE who has ever felt an almost painful longing for another person who may or may not even know you exist should immediately connect with this monologue from Scott Sickles. He makes you want to simultaneously go "God, that's me alright" and "Oh God, was that really me?" His ability to make you smile and cringe at the same time is phenomenal.

This work is a revelation! Scott Sickles illuminates thoughts many people haven't even confessed to themselves or have pushed out of their minds, putting them into words and presenting them through this wonderfully structured monologue, where everyday moments intertwine with the character's inner world. Raw-mantique, sharp and true to its core.

As specific as this monologue is, I'm sure there isn't a soul alive who can't to relate to some aspect of it, whether it's the supernova moment or the ruminations on past shame (or the relief of having meant nothing to a person who changed the trajectory of your life... ouch - that one felt targeted!). This is a natural monologue that was begging to be read aloud, and I loved having these words on my lips - though the character has ADHD, the logic of the storytelling is clear and compelling!

Ah, just fantastic! The fully legible, intelligible experience of being the person working toward Getting their Thoughts Out is potent and eternally relatable. And, as it happens, filled with beauty. Wonderful.

Sickles has written a gem of a monologue, filled with half-spoken thoughts and verbal cul de sacs that sound wonderfully organic and truthful. In the end, this is a beautifully realized love letter that is both very specific in its details and broadly human in its emotion.