←

Richard Thompson

Recommended by Richard Thompson

  • North Wind by Sarah Cosgrove Gaumond
    28 Mar. 2024
    “ Not many full-length (or long one-act) scripts do I end up reading on one gulp. This one I did. Gaumond's play starts out like your standard "three people caught in a storm" setpiece that touches you from the start and then gradually reveals itself as a ghost story where two souls locked in grief are finally set free. I loved it. ”
  • The Thatcher Theater Terror by Brenton Kniess
    12 Feb. 2024
    “ This is a fun one-act with some nifty twists and some good parts for young actors. Combine that with some comedy, a few shocks and a message that will resonate with the teen audience and you have a show that should do very well at one-act festivals. ”
  • Luck of the Draw by Brenton Kniess
    21 Sep. 2023
    “ There was a time when arranged marriages were the custom, not so much now but they do still exist. Brenton Kneiss gives a hint in this short work of what it might have been like for couples who said, like Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof," "The first time I met you was on our wedding day." This has something to say about love, and it says it cleanly and straightforwardly. By the end of "Luck of the Draw," you think Irelynn and Bennett are, well, lucky. As you can tell, I liked it -- loved it even!. ”
  • The Peculiar Puppets of Penelope Platt by Brenton Kniess
    18 Sep. 2023
    “ Take two puppets, add a sprinkling of magic, and you get Ace and Loopy, the "peculiar puppets" of the title who are specialists in helping a young woman cope with her first birthday without her father. Maybe it's the approach of Halloween that does it, but this little charmer of a play made me feel good. Must be the magic! ”
  • Prism of the People by Emily Julian
    22 Aug. 2023
    “ The saying goes, "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Well this little piece does indeed keep it simple, but it's a far from stupid musing on how we see color, and people of. ”
  • Poise and Grace by Debra A. Cole
    24 May. 2023
    “ A ten-minute play can say a lot, and this one does. In the space of its ten minutes, author Debra A. Cole gives us some meaningful dialog, with an ending that tells us Ella Fitzgerald knew segregation and Jim Crow will eventually wither in the face of reality, like running water eventually erodes to nothing the biggest of stones. It's not there yet, but we've come a long way. ”
  • Abandon All Hope by Peter Fenton
    22 May. 2023
    “ Three young people face their afterlife in this unique and very enjoyable piece. Peter Fenton never tells us where in the afterlife this takes place, but then nobody knows what happens after death, do they? There is a talisman that is a key to Heaven, but is it really? The writing is sharp as each gets a replay of their death, courtesy of a mysterious host known as "Teresa" until a surprise finish that makes a serious statement we'd all do well to consider. There is a definite "Twilight Zone" vibe going on here. (And I love "The Twilight Zone.") ”
  • Heart Land by Emily Hageman
    21 May. 2023
    “ Emily Hageman has a gift for dialog, and here she directs it at a beginning therapist learning that the real world has some surprises for her, and a student just beginning to recover from a school incident that may have been violent (we never learn what in particular). There are some heartbreaking scenes and a sudden turn where the lead character walks away from something good. In short, life is messy. "Heart Land" leaves you wanting more — in theater, not a bad thing at all! ”
  • Unfinished Business by Susan Decatur
    10 Apr. 2022
    “ Not often do you run across a script that's just heart-warming — no message, no moral, no great societal impact — simply a story that wants to be shared. "Unfinished Business" is one of those. This tale of a man who rediscovers his love of a sport, and discovers Susie, a new love, along the way pulls you in at the start and doesn't let you go until the last page. It's emotional without being mawkish. And I loved every page of it. ”
  • Riding Rails by Chelsea Frandsen
    9 Apr. 2022
    “ "Desperate times demand desperate measures." So goes the old saying, and "Riding Rails" is a story which combines that truism with a young man's coming of age in the Great Depression. Matt is 16 years old, and the romance of getting out of his monetarily poor circumstances is attractive. The arrival of another 16-year old shows him the flip side of such a choice. Matt is faced with his choice: Romance of the road, or the responsibilities of his current home -- especially to his younger brother and others. It's a story well-told and worth telling. ”

Pages