Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

  • TAINT
    1 Aug. 2020
    Maybe this should be called "Gross Encounters of the Turd Kind."

    This is not for the faint of heart, the dainty, or those who can't get their shit together, because this hilarious take on the film noir... or is it brun... is one long download of brownware. Scott Sickles holds nothing back and the list of euphemisms and colorful expressions that flow through it are worth the imagination, not to mention the cringing laughter.
  • One Job Thou Hadst: Giovanni (Monologue)
    30 Jul. 2020
    An Elizabethan "oops" cleverly done in such a way that the Bard himself could have used it. Then again, if the friar had done his job, we'd never have had a certain play or a story from the west side.
  • Chalk
    30 Jul. 2020
    A private moment that means nothing to anyone else but these two people, yet a universal cry of pain, of joy, of sorrow, of remembrance. Poetic and powerful.
  • CASE CLOSED
    29 Jul. 2020
    Suspenseful and told in such a cold and chilling way that you keep going, holding your breath, wanting to know but afraid as well. A wonderful piece for an audition... or telling spooky stories around the campfire.
  • Ms. Julie: No Strindbergs Attached
    29 Jul. 2020
    Several geological ages ago I took a grad school seminar in Scandinavian Drama at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis taught by Prof. Stockenstrom. We studied the hell out of "Miss Julie," so I approached Heather Meyer's play with piqued curiosity. Oh, how I wish we could have had this play alongside the work it is based on during those frigid dark days of class because it would have done two things: enlightened me to what that tortured soul Strindberg was writing about more than any seminar, and it would have been great to hear Prof. Stockenstrom laugh for once.
  • Haunted House (a monologue)
    29 Jul. 2020
    A fascinating little moment that has the perfect twist at the end. Then again, I expect no less from Matthew Weaver.
  • Effie
    29 Jul. 2020
    Sometimes a story can be told in such a way that the reader thinks they know how it will end. Not so with this powerful and incisive drama about a father and son with seemingly irreconcilable differences. TJ Young gives us a full portrait of the relationship in a concise way that shows insight to both points of view yet doesn't give in to sentiment. The characters are full and relatable, the dialogue genuine and ringing with honesty of feeling, and it leaves us with wanting to know them as much as they do each other.
  • The Waves
    28 Jul. 2020
    The battle Michael takes on within himself is a haunting and poetic moment.
  • My Life Has Been a Preparation
    19 Jul. 2020
    A lot of us could write this story, me included, but I don't think anyone could have told it with as much feeling and visceral impact as Larry Rinkel. We know what the playwright is going through, but the power and brutal honesty he brings out in these short pages is exactly right. Thank you, Larry.
  • Commemorative Edition
    18 Jul. 2020
    There are moments in this play that bring smiles of recognition to me, told in such a way that it's not just about a boy's crush but on any person's unrequited yet unquenchable fixation -- in a good way -- on someone who has no idea that there's someone watching and wondering... or do they? DC Cathro's deft and lyrical writing never goes beyond the innocent curiosity and longing, and leaves the reader with a sense of understanding and caring.

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