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Rachael Carnes

Recommended by Rachael Carnes

  • A 3-act, centuries-long love affair (abridged) by John Mabey
    30 Jun. 2023
    “ Relationships are complicated! Especially for mythical creatures that subsist by feeding on the vital essence of the living across the centuries. Most of us just quibble about whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher - not the gradients of normative expectation related to 'turning' fellow vampires. Look, if you're lost by this recommendation, do yourself a favor and read Mabey's delightful play. It's one page, and so much more. I'd LOVE to see this one on its feet. Or floating in mid-air. Or suspended upside-down like a bat! Pure fun. Bravo! ”
  • Many Moons Ago (A Garden Party Story) by Hannah Lee DeFrates
    29 Jun. 2023
    “ This is lovely. The lushness of the writing juxtaposes with a simplicity that hit me right at the back of my spine. That's what stories - no, specifically nursery rhymes - can do. There's a promise inherent, and a question that might not have the answer we expected, or wanted. Within the spaces created by DeFrates' world, these subtle, imaginative, otherworldly dynamics can play. ”
  • Playing With Dolls by John Mabey
    26 Jun. 2023
    “ I remember when my son was little and he'd have a gift certificate to use at a big box store or toy store, and off we'd go to "choose" from options that fell entrenched into powerful gender norms. This smart, relatable play digs into the onslaught of those 360-surrounds that enforce expectations and adherence to societal constructs. Read and produce this play TODAY. ”
  • The Bear - Beginnings by Christopher Plumridge
    22 Jun. 2023
    “ How do we make the hardest, most cruel moments in life, safe, or safer, for children? Plumridge's heartbreaking monologue trains light on our stalwart, inanimate friends, who may witness, and help us through. A lovely, evocative piece. Looking forward to finding the audio play version... ”
  • A Reputation (A Short Monologue About Matthew Weaver, Whom I Have Never Met and Hopefully Takes No Issue With the Existence of the Following Existential Musings) by Daniel Prillaman
    21 Jun. 2023
    “ I remember reading somewhere that painters in La Belle Epoque used to give each other paintings as gifts, or maybe to settle poker bets. In any case, the vibe is similar among playwrights on NPX, and among us, Matthew Weaver's a legend of recommendations. Though I *feel* like I should know him - we've shared billings allOVER the place - I have never actually met Washington State's Favorite Son. Yet here I am, horning in on Prillaman's Ode to Matthew to wax poetic about the PacNW bard, myself! Matthew, the world loves you. Print Daniel's play and frame it! ”
  • Electric Teeth (a squirrel’s not-so-tall tale) by Lee R. Lawing
    20 Jun. 2023
    “ MORE PLAYS ABOUT SQUIRRELS, PLEASE. Is it too much to ask?? Lawing's hilarious rodent-rich world skitters with mischievous energy as these three devil-may-care daredevils make hay in an unsuspecting backyard. It makes me nostalgic for peak (low?) Covid isolation when I got a little too attached to the birds at my feeder(s).

    Producers: Please create a short play festival about woodland creatures. Thank you. ”
  • What if My Purpose is to Annihilate You? by Ryan M. Bultrowicz
    19 Jun. 2023
    “ The last message sent by Mars rover Opportunity (2004-2018) was "My battery is low and it's getting dark." An existential poem that launched a mournful response. Why does what we make become so infused with the dreams (and hauntings) of the maker? Bultrowicz digs into questions about AI with philosophical nerve, a steady structural hand, and great humor. I'm a superfan of Bultrowicz's 'Two Timing Loaf of Bread' for its sharp, wry humor and dazzling weirdness. This play holds a candle to one of my faves. I'd love to see this onstage! ”
  • The Fate of a Garden Gnome by Bram Hartman
    18 Jun. 2023
    “ You think you're going to the show — displayed not with but IN FRONT of the other garden gnomes at Home Depot — and you end up getting shipped online to a frat brother. It happens. I got way invested in CLYDE and his cast-resin plight. This delightful monologue is engaging and funny, it would be a costumer's adorable **dream** and Hartman's doing much more here, too. Beneath the laughs are some deep ideas, about dreams, and ideas, and the stories we tell about our possible futures, and how we might make peace with what is. Lovely! ”
  • 10 Billion by Jay Eddy
    17 Jun. 2023
    “ In form and function, Eddy's '10 Billion' explores the online video conferencing platform as theatre format in remarkable dimensionality, infusing the inherent flatness, sometimes stuckness, of the zoom-o-sphere with a time-hopping dopamine rush. Eddy's piece drills into deep pockets of memory, and in confident swoops, takes us into the crisis when old wounds meet the new. Just stunning. As a piece of literature, a tone poem, a cozy, experimental hug. Thanks, NPX, for the 'featured writer' on the homepage, and introducing me to Eddy's work. I'll check out more plays, soon. ”
  • Divided Requiem (One Act) by Paul Donnelly
    15 Jun. 2023
    “ Genuine, heartfelt exploration of unspeakable loss. Fictional tropes around child loss rarely if ever center LGBTQ stories (why?) and Donnelly is re-centering the narrative towards normalizing inclusive depictions of instrumental and intuitive grieving, which - in the throes of relentless pain - can spin and turn on a dime. That's a universal. ”

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