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Mike Solomonson

Recommended by Mike Solomonson

  • Descent from the Andes by Rich Rubin
    4 Feb. 2024
    “ What I greatly appreciated about Rubin's dark comedy is that I never could completely trust any of his characters' motivations. There was always an underlying tension that at any moment one of his characters might do something that would permanently implode a relationship as sexual desire, jealousy, class status prejudices, and intellectual insecurities competed with each other to become the emotional trip wire that a character might deliberately or accidentally step on to trigger an irrevocable change in everyone's lives. Add to this, Rubin's easy-flowing dialogue and you have an engaging play to explore. ”
  • The Impressionists by Victor Wishna
    15 Jan. 2024
    “ The metaphorical use of impressionism as an artistic style is nicely extended into the personal realm as we are nudged to consider how we can so easily rely on snap impressions to define our personal choices. Wishna's assured use of dialogue also makes this play an enjoyable experience as we watch Adam and Laura spar with the other during a seemingly chance meeting at a swanky art gallery. ”
  • The Gymnast by Annalise Settefrati
    8 Jan. 2024
    “ Settefrati's monologue is ultimately an unsettling experience as Ashleigh, a former gymnast, makes a number of confessions that take unexpected turns, as audience members are forced to consider how body type assumptions lead to objectification and the resulting dark consequences that influence Ashleigh's post-gymnastic life. ”
  • Guardian by John Busser
    14 Aug. 2023
    “ I love plays that have an unexpected twist and this script has that in spades. It immediately grips you with a confrontation that feels like it's not going to go well. After all, agitated dog, man with shotgun, desperate stranger. It's all set up for increasing tension as the two people and the dog interact with the other. Even when it seems the conflict has been resolved, the tension remains . . . sort of like a horror plot where someone thinks it's over, but it's not. Boy, is it not! Busser has done excellent work in creating this world. ”
  • Man's Next Friend by John Busser
    13 Aug. 2023
    “ A comic gem as Busser contemplates a shift in human allegiance between Daisy, an artificially intelligent robot, and Champ, the disinterested dog. Daisy's attempt at making sense of the human world and the "people" she encounters and her interactions between herself and the largely inattentive Champ lends itself to a physical style of performance that I imagine would be great fun for an audience. ”
  • Your Kiss Is on My List by Christopher Lockheardt
    16 Apr. 2023
    “ Lockheardt's play would be full of comic fun on stage with an opportunity for performers to explore subtextual moments that veer between awkward self-protectiveness, burgeoning curiosity and ultimately a yearning for true intimacy. ”
  • Aimee & Charlie by Judith Robinson
    7 Mar. 2023
    “ Based on an encounter between two historical figures, Robinson's short play is an intriguing encounter that plays out between two individuals who meet each other while having their own crisis of faith moment. I was drawn to the characters immediately and wondered if this brief encounter had the potential to be explored more fully in a full-length script, which the playwright actually did with the play "A Touch of Heaven." ”
  • The Price of Freedom (from the THE WRINKLE RANCH AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT GROWING OLD collection) by Debra A. Cole
    1 Oct. 2022
    “ Life transitions can be difficult and Cole has created an engaging tension between the characters in her play as she explores the nature of beginnings and endings. Ultimately, her characters must consider the best way to navigate their own transitions as they come to terms with the nature of their autonomy and how they must shape their 'freedoms' to suit the new realities in their lives. ”
  • I Want to be a Gerber Baby (A Monologue) by Lee R. Lawing
    21 Jun. 2022
    “ This emotionally topsy-turvy monologue first leaps out at us in the vein of an outlandish comedy as we meet Riley as they prepare to model for a photo shoot. However, Lawing deftly shifts emotional gears on us and we come to learn about Riley's frightening past and the means they have chosen to deal with their inner pain. ”
  • "Rights and Realities" by Mona Washington
    7 May. 2022
    “ In Mona Washington's 10-minute play an audience must consider their own social and racial positioning and evaluate what "pro-life" means and doesn't mean, when they experience an encounter between an African-American woman and a pair of White, "Right-To-Life" protestors. It's a play that can spark conversations and provoke a righteous level of unease as readers/viewers are pushed to consider their own social and moral culpability. ”

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