Recommended by Emily Hageman

  • Expectations
    15 Dec. 2019
    Absolutely gorgeous and gutting. This is one incredibly powerful short play, one that I cannot forget, every single word is so perfectly intentioned, so absolutely beautiful and devastating. This is one of the finest short plays I've ever read by one of the finest writers I've had the pleasure of knowing. Just stunning.
  • First Day in Trade
    29 Nov. 2019
    Absolutely delightful. O'Grady's hilarious and lively dialogue jumps right off the page. It's funny, it's real, it's witty, and it's just pure fun--but more than all of that, it's absolutely smart. O'Grady is one of the best playwrights out there--and everyone needs to start taking note.
  • Thrasher (10 minute excerpt of OFF THE PALISADES PARKWAY)
    10 Nov. 2019
    A very realistic look on two teenagers who are on the cusp of something that neither of them seem to understand. The dialogue is real, the characters are fully fleshed out in just two pages. It feels like looking in on a perfectly imperfect slice of life. I love how Malakhow treats these characters--their voices are truly excellent.
  • Stay for Dinner
    22 Sep. 2019
    An absolutely adorable short play. I saw this play at the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival and it was a total winner. Heartfelt, funny, sweet, and incredibly sincere. This play is a true charmer and would be a winner at any festival! Produce it now!
  • Realistic
    4 Sep. 2019
    Dark and funny and gutting. I'm not going to forget about this monologue any time soon. I didn't want to read it, it was frightening, but I couldn't stop--and now I can't stop thinking about it. Wow. Excellent.
  • Gun Play
    4 Sep. 2019
    A beautifully written, stunning play. I saw this at the Samuel French OOB Festival and I truly can't get it out of my head. Beautiful and stark and frightening, poetic and raw all in the same breath. Very masterfully crafted and it's truly breathtaking on stage.
  • ROUND
    3 Sep. 2019
    Lyrical and fascinating. I saw this play at the Samuel French OOB festival and I couldn't get it out of my head. It's strangely unsettling, but also widely funny--and very important piece of art written fascinatingly and irresistibly. The structure is marvelous and unique and the play has this way of really getting under your skin and inspiring tremendous feeling, maybe that you don't understand, but I dare you to read this play and feel nothing. The moment I finished seeing it, I needed to read it. So read it. It's fantastic.
  • CrossTalk
    2 Sep. 2019
    This play is funny--it's absolutely hilarious. But more than that, it's absolutely beautiful and completely and totally brilliant. I could spend a long time trying to explain just how perfectly Pipes balances comedy and poignancy, but I'd be wasting time that you could be using to read this play. Read it and you'll see what I mean. I've never felt so much tenderness for my phone before. This is personification at its absolute finest.
  • Webster's Bitch (One-Act)
    2 Sep. 2019
    I absolutely love this play. Each of the four characters is so well-defined and thought out. It's absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious, but more than that, it is an absolutely scathing look at the words we use to define women. Seriously, I wanted to give a standing ovation at the discussion of how being a woman is offensive. This is a fantastic play written by a fantastic writer, and EVERYBODY needs to read it, or, better yet, see it.
  • Where the Fireworks Come From
    21 Aug. 2019
    Tender and sweet and breathtaking. I saw the performance of this wonderful play at the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival and I found myself so beautifully taken by this marvelous short play. Pisaturo lovingly creates two incredibly real young men who are struggling. He reminds us that magic in this mundane, confusing world is still so possible. This play will live in my heart for a long time.

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