Recommended by Scott Sickles

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    I didn't know what to expect but I certainly didn't see all that coming! A grand bit of silliness that embraces the tone and tropes of whaling stories from the high seas, complete with a revenge plot. The dialogue is sublimely silly. Yet while the whole thing starts out as a lark, Soucy gives us a great "wait, what?" twist that sends us careening towards a long-awaited destiny. Can't wait to hear the songs with music!

    I didn't know what to expect but I certainly didn't see all that coming! A grand bit of silliness that embraces the tone and tropes of whaling stories from the high seas, complete with a revenge plot. The dialogue is sublimely silly. Yet while the whole thing starts out as a lark, Soucy gives us a great "wait, what?" twist that sends us careening towards a long-awaited destiny. Can't wait to hear the songs with music!

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    We were all asked this question during lockdown! Those of us who were by ourselves never had this particular discussion so it's like Cole has given us a little present by making us privy to it. There's something reassuring about a couple that's been together a long time who still share a great fondness even during passively focused repose. This one will bring a great big smile to your face.

    We were all asked this question during lockdown! Those of us who were by ourselves never had this particular discussion so it's like Cole has given us a little present by making us privy to it. There's something reassuring about a couple that's been together a long time who still share a great fondness even during passively focused repose. This one will bring a great big smile to your face.

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    Finally, we know what happened to Amelia Earhart!

    Or do we…?

    Hanna presents a wonderfully imaginative microcosm in the least likely yet somehow most oddly logical of places. But as with any mystery, all is not what it seems. Even the comic absurdity has surprising depth and an effective, resonant twist. As an added bonus, any festival scenic designer would kill to do this play! Trompe-l'œil, people! It’s a wild, imaginative ride - and at least we know what we WANT to have happened!

    Finally, we know what happened to Amelia Earhart!

    Or do we…?

    Hanna presents a wonderfully imaginative microcosm in the least likely yet somehow most oddly logical of places. But as with any mystery, all is not what it seems. Even the comic absurdity has surprising depth and an effective, resonant twist. As an added bonus, any festival scenic designer would kill to do this play! Trompe-l'œil, people! It’s a wild, imaginative ride - and at least we know what we WANT to have happened!

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    Prejudices are funny things. Inherently absurd yet with traceable origins. And they are always weapons - defensive and offensive, able to be wielded against others or turned back on ourselves. Within families especially, our biases become prioritized so they either cancel each other out or compound the impact. Hanna’s DAMN ROBOTS achieves all of this in record time! The humor and the hatred escalate beautifully. There’s a logic to the loopiness that’s a perfect microcosm for the way we live now and have always been.

    Prejudices are funny things. Inherently absurd yet with traceable origins. And they are always weapons - defensive and offensive, able to be wielded against others or turned back on ourselves. Within families especially, our biases become prioritized so they either cancel each other out or compound the impact. Hanna’s DAMN ROBOTS achieves all of this in record time! The humor and the hatred escalate beautifully. There’s a logic to the loopiness that’s a perfect microcosm for the way we live now and have always been.

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    A cross between the Sesame Street Martians and “Echo Song” - the number cut from A funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - FIRST CONTACT throws a hilarious wrench into the proceedings while teaching an important lesson in diplomacy, specifically: know who you’re supposed to speak to when you get there! I believe in these Visitors, however. And I am optimistic they will figure out where they went wrong.

    A cross between the Sesame Street Martians and “Echo Song” - the number cut from A funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - FIRST CONTACT throws a hilarious wrench into the proceedings while teaching an important lesson in diplomacy, specifically: know who you’re supposed to speak to when you get there! I believe in these Visitors, however. And I am optimistic they will figure out where they went wrong.

  • Scott Sickles: ENDR by Ava Love Hanna
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    IF ONLY THIS SERVICE WERE REAL!!!

    For ending a relationship no matter how long or short, or even if it’s early enough to be called a relationship at all, ENDR is the app for you - regardless if you’re the dumper or the dumpee! Hanna has imagined the best of all possible futures in the digital dating era. Not only do you get let down as easily as possible but you get constructive notes for next time. A fast and funny outing rooted in exactly the right place: your about-to-be-broken heart!

    IF ONLY THIS SERVICE WERE REAL!!!

    For ending a relationship no matter how long or short, or even if it’s early enough to be called a relationship at all, ENDR is the app for you - regardless if you’re the dumper or the dumpee! Hanna has imagined the best of all possible futures in the digital dating era. Not only do you get let down as easily as possible but you get constructive notes for next time. A fast and funny outing rooted in exactly the right place: your about-to-be-broken heart!

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  • Scott Sickles: Same Boat by Christopher Soucy
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    Not only just this monologue a perfect microcosm of the sociopolitical and socioeconomic state of the world in 2026, it recalls Mario Savio’s famous “Bodies on the Gears” call to action in 1964! (Or Chief Tyrol’s version of that very same speech on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, depending on if you’re a history nerd or just a nerd nerd.) Read it aloud. Let it rouse you. It’s a message that needs to be heard far and wide! It doesn’t matter if a rising tide lifts all boats when the enemy is in the air.

    Not only just this monologue a perfect microcosm of the sociopolitical and socioeconomic state of the world in 2026, it recalls Mario Savio’s famous “Bodies on the Gears” call to action in 1964! (Or Chief Tyrol’s version of that very same speech on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, depending on if you’re a history nerd or just a nerd nerd.) Read it aloud. Let it rouse you. It’s a message that needs to be heard far and wide! It doesn’t matter if a rising tide lifts all boats when the enemy is in the air.

    ”
  • Scott Sickles: ALL THAT WE DESERVE [A 1-MINUTE PLAY] by Steven G. Martin
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    At the time of this writing, liminal horror is all the rage. Empty or ambiguous spaces, eerily ordinary, yet somehow disconnected from normal time and space. Here, Martin uses a company break room as such a space but what he achieves is the opposite of horror. It is not without anguish or surreality. Just a kind hand reaching out of a well-lit darkness. With persistence and heart, Martin once again proves he is a master at the 60-second drama.

    At the time of this writing, liminal horror is all the rage. Empty or ambiguous spaces, eerily ordinary, yet somehow disconnected from normal time and space. Here, Martin uses a company break room as such a space but what he achieves is the opposite of horror. It is not without anguish or surreality. Just a kind hand reaching out of a well-lit darkness. With persistence and heart, Martin once again proves he is a master at the 60-second drama.

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  • Scott Sickles: NIGHT OF A THOUSAND SIPS by Charles Scott Jones
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    In the vivid monologue, Jones presents a woman who is perpetually teetering - and that's on a good day. On this day, maintaining sobriety is like balancing on a seesaw during an earthquake. The sense of place is palpable: you can hear the clamor and smell the second hand smoke and evaporating booze. The character's interior life is just as vivid. More than anything I've read on this subject, this piece will instill you with empathy for the person holding a drink they really shouldn't touch.

    In the vivid monologue, Jones presents a woman who is perpetually teetering - and that's on a good day. On this day, maintaining sobriety is like balancing on a seesaw during an earthquake. The sense of place is palpable: you can hear the clamor and smell the second hand smoke and evaporating booze. The character's interior life is just as vivid. More than anything I've read on this subject, this piece will instill you with empathy for the person holding a drink they really shouldn't touch.

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  • Scott Sickles: A Novel Approach to the End of the World by Josh Gauthier
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    Damn skippy, I love me a good apocalypse! And this one is a balm for the soul. The creative soul in particular. But it’s also a love letter to listeners and audiences. Gauthier creates an oasis in a wasteland in which civility outlived civilization. Children still make a racket. The local eccentric is embraced. Friendship abounds. And every creative needs a friend like Miguel who, like the play, is a testament to inspiration in hardscrabble times.

    ACTORS (ALL): Miguel’s monologue on pp 7-8 is a gift to you!

    Damn skippy, I love me a good apocalypse! And this one is a balm for the soul. The creative soul in particular. But it’s also a love letter to listeners and audiences. Gauthier creates an oasis in a wasteland in which civility outlived civilization. Children still make a racket. The local eccentric is embraced. Friendship abounds. And every creative needs a friend like Miguel who, like the play, is a testament to inspiration in hardscrabble times.

    ACTORS (ALL): Miguel’s monologue on pp 7-8 is a gift to you!

    ”