Recommended by Laura Rohrman

  • THE ART OF MARTYRDOM (A Comedy)
    8 Apr. 2021
    The Art of Martyrdom really got me thinking about Hrosvitha again. I hadn’t thought about her, the first woman playwright, hundreds of years before Shakespeare, since graduate school.
    The play is a joy to read too. It unfolds mysteriously and is written with a nod to modern feminism. This is quite a triumph considering the play deals with a history that goes back to the dark ages. In this case, the playwright, who confidently researched her source material, has made Hrosvitha's story lively, accessible and fun.
  • Bandera, Texas
    6 Apr. 2021
    This often side-splitting play packs a poingnant message about 'angels' that feels true. When we are desperate and at our worst, which is where the main character finds herself, angels appear to save us.
    In this case, Liz's dead grandmothers have found her -- pregnant and in a trailer, far from home (NYC) in Bandera, Texas with her drunk, gun-shooting husband. What has Liz done? Wonderfully written scenes between all the characters allow this play to give many antedotes about life, love and the pursuit of happiness; it also has a message about angels that is lovely & uplifting.
  • Are You Comfortable?
    14 Apr. 2020
    Brutal, devastating and so well written. This needs to be in a monologue book so teens will do this piece. I want to cry right now.
  • Something Borrowed...
    2 Apr. 2020
    Ohh...this is good and creepy. Perfect for a night of short plays.
  • The Agency
    30 Mar. 2020
    This is a fun, modern take on the concept of the purchasing power of money. Or...
    "Can money buy happiness?"
    Sprinkled with comedic nods to modern life, an out of work actress takes an absurd temp assignment to help pay her share of the rent. The story keeps shifting, and the writing is controlled, witty and well-observed.
  • Embers
    1 Jan. 2020
    Embers is a beautifully written play with powerful visuals -- a delicate balance between light and dark. Embers is about the death of a relationship and what happens when all our wounds are exposed (literally). Can love be reborn from the ashes of deceit? A play about the aftermath of a terrible house fire and the embers that linger in the relationship. Poetic & powerful -- a potent story about marriage and the different ways we can show love.