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Charles Scott Jones

Recommended by Charles Scott Jones

  • THE CASE OF THE STOLEN MOON by Monica Cross
    13 Jan. 2022
    “ One of our jobs as playwrights is to create an atmosphere of curiosity that allows for well-timed backstory. Monica Cross pulls this off expertly - with a wonderful premise and a sci-fi noir buildup that makes welcome a mini history of the moons orbiting Mythos IV. The back and forth between two former childhood friends in adversarial adult roles is touching and entertaining. THE CASE OF THE STOLEN MOON serves up an outer-worldly take on the classic detective story dynamic of idealism vs. cynicism. This insightful and innovative short makes me want to read more from this writer. Cool stuff. ”
  • The Ballad of Leslie by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend
    12 Jan. 2022
    “ This is a beloved short for good reason - mostly how L D Feriend lowers the stakes for needing a chorus to the farcical when Leslie gets stood up by a girlfriend. THE BALLAD OF LESLIE hilariously skewers a tradition in tragedy exemplified by Sophocles' Electra, who has her own chorus too - but much more to complain about - and more recently Sheila Callaghan's heroine in Everything You Touch. BALLAD relates at an ordinary human level. Sometimes life sucks and it helps to have someone who gets your sad and puts it out there for the world to hear. ”
  • Cranberry by George Sapio
    11 Jan. 2022
    “ The droll humor carries the day in CRANBERRY, though George Sapio gives out the sad with the mirth. There are two playful (serio-whimsical?) roles for actors over sixty, and the tour of Malicia's dungeon hurts so good. I like Marley's business-like approach, that he's already interviewed several other Ds that day and his disdainful assessing - "Harlequinesque shack-and-smack," and that Malicia has grander designs than an BDSM session. The ending rocks. If ever a short play calls for a sequel . . . just saying. ”
  • Renewables by Christine Foster
    10 Jan. 2022
    “ With RENEWABLES it's astonishing how much Christine Foster accomplishes in just 10 pages, how easily (it seems) she pulls off this eerie and complex dystopian future where the mental energies of its population are harvested for utilities. Sure the work of Philip K Dick comes to mind, but our entry into this alt-world seems less bumpy. And there's tea. Most brilliant is the idea that ghosts of loved ones are Mutual Manifest Memories. I love the reverse plot-move that the daughter Sybil longs for, rather than fears, a ghostly relative, a taboo act that brings on the unnerving climax. Tremendous! ”
  • BACKSEAT DRIVER by Scott Mullen
    9 Jan. 2022
    “ Besides the cool banter and off-beat humor, I think what makes BACKSEAT DRIVER such a satisfying ride is the motif of mysterious caring. The play's focus is on Rose who never appears in the play and for whom Darcy is a figure in the fog of a drunken New Year's Eve - while unbeknownst to Darcy, her drunken uninvited guest Tina shares a parallel motive. Scott Mullen pulls off a 2-part magician's trick of sweet over-protectiveness and the caring is contagious. A favorite bit is Tina's trying to guess Darcy's name. Inspired work. ”
  • New Kid Next Door by Arthur M Jolly
    8 Jan. 2022
    “ As the title suggests, NEW KID NEXT DOOR is a universal, one most of us experienced as kids, but Razielle steadily becomes unlike any other new kid. I love Arthur M Jolly's patient storytelling, the early use of repetition, how Kevin can't get over how the newcomer has never seen fireworks, his sister Simone taking this up only to discover that it includes fireworks on television. So much of this play depends on beautifully crafted implications, the savagely weird and bloody irony that the fireworks are well underway offstage. I wouldn't tweak a darn thing about this gem. Nice work. ”
  • Eight Drafts of a Letter Never Sent (Ten Minute Play) by Marcia Eppich-Harris
    7 Jan. 2022
    “ One of the quietist, most surprising plays, EIGHT DRAFTS is gorgeously constructed and very moving. I admire how Marcia Eppich-Harris builds the backstory through nurturing, constructive dialogue and drafts of letters, rather than from quarreling (as so often happens in married-couple plays). And I love Kate for her dreaming of, thinking about, and grieving over her high school friend and sweet heart. EIGHT DRAFTS with its deep emotional journey makes a case for all of us being more open about our feelings for long lost souls, for honoring our dead with sorrow, instead of moving on. Thank you so much! ”
  • The Get-Together by Daniel Prillaman
    1 Jan. 2022
    “ Whoa - THE GET-TOGETHER feels composed like a song you want to hear over and over - for its elusiveness, for grim sounds that pair up so well with scary visuals, for the truncated interplay of Lora and Cassidy, and for the way it washes over you with shocks of recognition and macabre imagination. Daniel Prillaman manages to write this savvy horror tale from the periphery of a party - suspense from a bedroom as absurdly gripping as the most arresting scenes of Ionesco - a pitch-perfect fragment of fear. The combo of excess and restraint is irresistible. Superb job!! ”
  • HAMLET'S REVENGE by Martha Patterson
    26 Sep. 2021
    “ I love this earl-of-sandwich Hamlet and his ghostly dad who neglected him (but hasn't forgotten him). Funny as HAMLET'S REVENGE is, Martha Patterson's modern take on this father-son conundrum rings true in our world of dysfunction. How many modern dads want payback for their absentee fathering? It also rings true about Shakespeare's play, as the father ghost has to remind his speechifying son of his long postponed vengeance. Part of the charm of this short play is how easy it is to see happening. Great job. ”
  • Man & Wife by Emma Goldman-Sherman
    14 Sep. 2021
    “ Quite a feat to pull off 25 years of Missy and Ron's hilarious and sad journey from the top of the wedding cake! Emma Goldman-Sherman delights as she enlightens in MAN & WIFE. The plot and character twists are deployed with aplomb. And EGS's superb use of technique & theatrical instincts makes this 2-actor play feel richly populated with children and relatives. A favorite scene among many is "Mary and Joe Move In" in which Missy's parents are made completely visible to the imagination in all of their ingloriousness. Would love to see this staged with multiple sets of actors. ”

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