Recommended by Rachael Carnes

  • Casta
    22 Sep. 2018
    I saw this compelling piece performed as part of Milagro Theatre's Ingenio festival, and I'm grateful for Dawes' tremendously effective work with this historic project, fearlessly exploring -with relevance and insight - 300 years of identity and culture. We need plays like this one to be read and seen. I'm so glad I had the opportunity.
  • Integrated
    19 Sep. 2018
    EEeeek this is fun and just a little too close to reality for comfort. Augmenting our bodies with Smart technology seems a logical extension, and Cirone explores this alien new space with confidence and humor in this gripping short play. Lots of room here for a creative team to make the technology really come to life — I'd recommend this piece for SciFi festivals, also line-ups that address the way women's bodies are viewed and treated societally. Lots to think about in this accessible, resonant piece.
  • Super Mythology Girl Tells a Scary Story
    18 Sep. 2018
    Wahoo! Mythology AND puppets?? Be still my weirdo heart! Simon is hilarious -- Thanks NPX, for bringing this swell writer and dramaturg to my attention as a "featured reader" -- This little play is a real treat. I love it when I read something that's spinning at a high velocity, where the imaginative world of the play and the relationships and conflict therein are enough to make an enjoyable and satisfying theater moment. It's like a play for three characters, played by one off-kilter person! Looking forward to reading more of this writer's work soon.
  • My Thoughts And Prayers
    17 Sep. 2018
    Robert lets the rhythm of brutal gun violence statistics wash over you here — Setting us up for wave after wave of facts and figures, a counterpoint to loss, the rent of grief and real, unimaginable horror and loss. It's overwhelming in its energy, steady and relentless, pulling us -- hopefully -- out of our collective slumber and stirring us towards meaningful change.
  • A Mother's Privilege
    14 Sep. 2018
    Hoke develops this play with equal measures heart and head — It's redolent with warmth and humor, the balance of safety and the chiding, teasing familiarity of family — while being just so beautifully constructed and polished. As a reader, this is a satisfying, meaty play, the perfect blend of drama and comedy, and I'm sure it would be an exciting playground for a creative team, full of bold dynamics and timely conversation.
  • Salat al-Janazah
    13 Sep. 2018
    This monologue is why theater exists and has always existed — To express, through art, what cannot be expressed otherwise. And here, Burbano has charged us with 10,000 volts of energy, anger and deep humanity — Read this, feel the loss, the exquisite, heartbreaking detail. If you're like me, cry. And then please produce this play.
  • It's Always the Quiet Ones
    12 Sep. 2018
    Bohannon might be the funniest writer on NPX. I busted a gut reading this gem and I'm even more impressed that it's a 24-hour project. Crackling language, fun setup and room for big broad humor. Love this! If you're ready for a little levity -- read this!!!
  • Runaway Holiday Train
    11 Sep. 2018
    Hahaha! Cozzola has delightful fun with this set up and creates a devilishly funny holiday monologue - ribald and welcoming, it's like surreal David Sedaris. I'm a big fan! I'd love to see this onstage, and I might read it again during the midst of an especially deflating holiday -- Because haven't we all had those from time to time? This piece would make a super-fun audition piece to boot.
  • A Question, a Monologue
    10 Sep. 2018
    What a GEM. With breathtaking clarity and succinct word choices, Gonzalez develops a miniature world for this lost soul, seeking solace and salvation, and knowing she has it buried somewhere within her all along. I love the treatment of the 'other' here — the person listening to this comes into focus as we see the protagonist climb the foothills, the mountain, and peer into the abyss, all with subtlety and that important dramatic element: Humor. I'd love to see this performed onstage! Would make a terrific audition piece, as well.
  • Dancers at Rest (10 min)
    7 Sep. 2018
    This lovely play is like catnip for me. Dance and history in one piece? Bring it on! Rose does a wonderful job playing with the dynamics of the studio, its competition and fear, while wrestling against the porcelain illusion dancers create for an audience. She makes bold choices, asking creative teams to build movement, to be embodied, in words and dance. I'd love to see this onstage!

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