Recommended by Mark Harvey Levine

  • Ever After
    12 Oct. 2023
    I was delighted when I saw the reading of this at the 2023 Midwest Dramatists Conference. Having Mother Goose as a marriage therapist is brilliant touch. I loved that she is called "Dr. Goose". I really love how it uses the fairy tale trope to talk about modern problems, and to highlight how ridiculous some of our stories are. Very funny.
  • Sputnik
    11 Oct. 2023
    A great yarn -- that also happens to be a true story. Everett Robert tells the life of an unlikely civil rights hero in this fun (and funny) play. "Sputnik" Monroe is not the sort of person you'd think of to take a stand against segregation, which makes it so fascinating when he does. I got to see this at the 2023 Midwest Dramatists Conference and enjoyed every minute of it.
  • Brian's Poems
    11 Oct. 2023
    A very sweet play wrapped up in a very funny package. I got to see a reading of this at the 2023 Midwest Dramatists Conference. An officious librarian, a snarky teen and a ticking clock provide the comedy, but underneath all this is a very human story of unrequited love, regret and yearning. Nicely done.
  • Life in the Hard Drive
    11 Oct. 2023
    A play with a neatly folding structure and a really cool Sci-Fi premise. It feels like an episode of Black Mirror (and I love that show). Greg Lam skillfully mixes the scary futuristic premise with some very human, emotional scenes. The kind of play I wish I had written!
  • Camel Girl
    9 Oct. 2023
    What a refreshing character -- a circus "freak" who's actually a strong, self-sufficient woman in charge of her own life. Her knees may be screwed on backward, but her head isn't. And amazing, it's based on a true person. Deb Cole's short play is fun and inspiring -- I wanted to hear more!
  • The Last Week
    9 Oct. 2023
    An unflinching look at the end of a life, without a drop of saccherine in it. Jessie Salsbury's play, which I saw in a reading at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, has lots of sympathy for its characters, even when they have none for themselves. It turns death into an action, something the character can decide to do through sheer willpower alone. Very moving. Well done.
  • Forgive Us Our Debts
    9 Oct. 2023
    Yet another sweet, sort-of-romance from Philip Middleton Williams. The tentative dance between the characters is subtle and deftly drawn. You believe in both of them, you feel for both of them. Two wounded people find each other from an unlikely meeting. I got to see this at a reading at the 2023 Midwestern Dramatists Conference and I'm so glad I did. It was touching and bittersweet.
  • The Last Fantasy Package
    9 Oct. 2023
    I saw this read at the 2023 Midwest Dramatists Conference. What a touching and heartbreaking play. Without giving too much away, a risky and empathetic gesture on the part of one character leads to a sad, sweet and also funny finale. Lots of great opportunities for physicality for one lucky actress who gets to do this play.
  • Unghosting the Chromosome
    9 Oct. 2023
    I saw a reading of the wonderful first scene of this play. It's a great example of the kind of play I really love -- combining science with human emotion. Very theatrical and also very human. The first scene is all about family and the tug they have on our lives, and was very affecting. The feeling comes first, the science comes later. Nice work.
  • The Trouble With Cashews
    9 Jun. 2023
    The tiniest thing can lead to a larger conflict -- and it does so brilliantly in this play. Besides being extremely funny, the play takes a woman eating a bowl of nuts and turns it into a statement on human behavior, and good and evil. A great play, in a nutshell.

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