Recommended by Alissa Klusky

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    This play is wonderfully funny and feels like a dream unfolding and winding, ruminating on the themes of what it means to live, die, and what to do with all the moments in between. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since reading it. It touches on the essential fears and hopes that drive us and does so with an incredibly unique voice. I would be thrilled to see a production of this piece, if only to sit with my own grief and existentialism on a night where I know I'll also laugh.

    This play is wonderfully funny and feels like a dream unfolding and winding, ruminating on the themes of what it means to live, die, and what to do with all the moments in between. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since reading it. It touches on the essential fears and hopes that drive us and does so with an incredibly unique voice. I would be thrilled to see a production of this piece, if only to sit with my own grief and existentialism on a night where I know I'll also laugh.

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    I desperately would love to see this play again; it has stayed with me since I saw it in 2019 and I continue to come back to it when I want to be reminded about how powerful comedy can be in revealing deep and resonant truths. I've never laughed and cried simultaneously in the theater like at this play. I adore it and I'll never look at my lunches (or being a public defender) the same way.

    I desperately would love to see this play again; it has stayed with me since I saw it in 2019 and I continue to come back to it when I want to be reminded about how powerful comedy can be in revealing deep and resonant truths. I've never laughed and cried simultaneously in the theater like at this play. I adore it and I'll never look at my lunches (or being a public defender) the same way.

  •

    A witty, meaningful, and engaging piece that tackles the subject matter (grief, infertility, family and relationships, abortion, adoption, pandemic) with the utmost care. These characters are deeply human and I fell in love with each of them. This play will make many different kinds of people feel seen and has the potential to start powerful community dialogue. Bravo, Alli!

    A witty, meaningful, and engaging piece that tackles the subject matter (grief, infertility, family and relationships, abortion, adoption, pandemic) with the utmost care. These characters are deeply human and I fell in love with each of them. This play will make many different kinds of people feel seen and has the potential to start powerful community dialogue. Bravo, Alli!

  •

    If Kimberly Belflower has a playwright super power it's the ability to be so disarmingly honest that it cuts you right to the core. This play cut me right to the core and split me open in the best way. It made me giggle and it made me cry and it made me want to watch something on Zoom again (which is a feat). I want to give this character a big hug and be her best friend in the whole wide world. TL;DR - this is beautiful.

    If Kimberly Belflower has a playwright super power it's the ability to be so disarmingly honest that it cuts you right to the core. This play cut me right to the core and split me open in the best way. It made me giggle and it made me cry and it made me want to watch something on Zoom again (which is a feat). I want to give this character a big hug and be her best friend in the whole wide world. TL;DR - this is beautiful.

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    Agyeiwaa's ability to capture the nooks, crannies and intersections of friendship, identity, and the possibilities of motherhood is incredible. This is a highly relevant and produceable ten-minute play that gives you a window into the lives of two funny and interesting young black women whose friendship shines through. The humor peppered throughout the piece is just as masterful as the way these women navigate discussions of privilege within their community and their hope for the future.

    Agyeiwaa's ability to capture the nooks, crannies and intersections of friendship, identity, and the possibilities of motherhood is incredible. This is a highly relevant and produceable ten-minute play that gives you a window into the lives of two funny and interesting young black women whose friendship shines through. The humor peppered throughout the piece is just as masterful as the way these women navigate discussions of privilege within their community and their hope for the future.

  • Alissa Klusky: Esther Choi and the Fish that Drowned by Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters
    “

    It is a special thing when you meet a play that depicts big emotions in teenagers without seeming trite or like it is talking to down to them. This play deals with loss on so many different, swirling levels and features really impactful intersectional conversations between two bright young POC. This is how young people deserve to see themselves depicted. Highly recommended. :)

    It is a special thing when you meet a play that depicts big emotions in teenagers without seeming trite or like it is talking to down to them. This play deals with loss on so many different, swirling levels and features really impactful intersectional conversations between two bright young POC. This is how young people deserve to see themselves depicted. Highly recommended. :)

    ”
  • Alissa Klusky: John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower
    “

    I had the pleasure of seeing an incredible reading of John Proctor is the Villian at Ojai Playwrights Conference this year and I cannot implore you enough, dear review reader, that this play deserves a full-production. And SOON. It has been said so eloquently by so many other reviews below, how Kimberly dismantles stereotypes and gives power to young women through this play. But more than that, it reminds you of a special kind of magic that happens in the best kind of theatrical spaces. I don't want to spoil it, so just give it a read and a love.

    I had the pleasure of seeing an incredible reading of John Proctor is the Villian at Ojai Playwrights Conference this year and I cannot implore you enough, dear review reader, that this play deserves a full-production. And SOON. It has been said so eloquently by so many other reviews below, how Kimberly dismantles stereotypes and gives power to young women through this play. But more than that, it reminds you of a special kind of magic that happens in the best kind of theatrical spaces. I don't want to spoil it, so just give it a read and a love.

    ”
  • Alissa Klusky: Seven Spots On The Sun by Martín Zimmerman
    “

    Seven Spots on the Sun absolutely shook me to my core when reading it. Martin Zimmerman writes with intense purpose and conviction about the human spirit and explores how forcing yourself to live without empathy can affect a soul. The play is deeply moving and highlights the dichotomies that make civil war, or any war for that matter, so unbelievably painful. The most heartfelt recommendation for this wonderful play.

    Seven Spots on the Sun absolutely shook me to my core when reading it. Martin Zimmerman writes with intense purpose and conviction about the human spirit and explores how forcing yourself to live without empathy can affect a soul. The play is deeply moving and highlights the dichotomies that make civil war, or any war for that matter, so unbelievably painful. The most heartfelt recommendation for this wonderful play.

    ”