Begging the Question by
17 Feb. 2022
“
Clear and clever and full of love - though not the kind you might expect. This manages, in just a minute, to really tug at the heartstrings! Amazing, effective, and affecting. ”
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John Minigan
Recommended by John Minigan
- Nothing Ever Happens by17 Feb. 2022“ So much in one minute—hard truth, and real talk about dogs. And the speaker is right—as the past few years have told us, there are some places people probably don’t belong. Clear and compelling! ”
- Offboarding by17 Feb. 2022“ Ever tried to leave the job from hell? This hilarious short captures the experience in five minutes, but leaves you laughing for longer. Great specificity in the characters, comic timing that works even on the page, and the tough truth that it's fiendishly hard to get out of a soul-sucking job. Parts of it will stick with you. Brilliantly funny work! ”
- You've Reached Justin by9 Dec. 2021“ Terrifying, rich, intense, and hopeful! The piece immediately establishes a compelling personal and theatrical world, shifts surprisingly and elegantly into sc-fi/horror and ends with more than you hoped would happen.
Don't run from things you fear, take things slowly, connect in the real world, and miraculous things can happen. Lovely work!
” - Password: 2020 Escape Room [a 1-minute play] by6 Dec. 2021“ Only the brilliance of a writer like Steven G. Martin can have you howling with laughter and cringing in recognition--somehow without ever taking a breath.
Oh, wait, I guess 2020 can do the same! Which is an even greater testament to how well this short play works.
Password packs a punch. Yes, the immediate past was awful; yes, we all want to escape it; no, we haven't yet figure out how. I guess it's time to rage-trash some furniture... ” - Dark & Stormy by1 Aug. 2021“ As Bradley says in this surprising and delightful twist on noir, "None of us are ever just one thing." It's an apt description of this play, too. These two characters start in expected places and end up somewhere completely different. It's a thoroughly beguiling bit of work -- all the foreboding of noir, mixed with a sense that hope for human connection can happen even in a dark & stormy encounter. ”
- AFFINITY LUNCH MINUTES by27 Jul. 2021“ Affinity Lunch Minutes is a sharp look at the way predominantly white institutions - even/especially those that espouse liberal values - recapitulate supremacist structures. The brilliance of the play lies in the way it shows us how systemic failures impact the lives and choices of the individuals involved. Ben's wrestling with his connection to the institution and its goals is powerful and, at times, heartbreaking. The personal and political mirror each other, pulling us deeply into the individual and structural issues. Great, complex roles, and exciting design challenges in the interludes. ”
- Stew by28 May. 2021“ This is a stunning, deeply resonant play. What begins as a charming grandfather-grandson play about a baseball tryout quickly becomes a powerful story of how love can help us manage grief and reconnect after loss. A gorgeous short play with outstanding roles for both performers. ”
- Skin to Skin: A Virtual 10 Minute Play by22 Apr. 2021“ This play has so much to say about parenting, marriage, what we owe each other/our kids/our parents, and it says it unflinchingly--especially during a pandemic, but it's truths are about more than that. An outstanding short play that uses the zoom/virtual format brilliantly. ”
- I, Corn Dog by11 Apr. 2021“ A corn dog (or is it Corn Dog) has an existential crisis. Hilarious, deep, and ultimately deep-fried.
And there's a stage direction about a stick that may rival "Exit, pursued by a bear."
This is a joy to read, and an actor would have a blast performing it! ”