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Scott Sickles

Recommended by Scott Sickles

  • Orange Slices by Emily McClain
    9 Jul. 2022
    “ I *hate* asking for things. Even “could you pass the salt” feels like an imposition. Networking feels opportunistic and disingenuous.

    Emily McClain has created a beautiful parable for people like me: the inhibited self-deniers mortified by anything that could potentially be construed as an imposition.

    Like its titular oranges, the play is bright and delicious, even though it’s good for you! The characters are perfect foils for this lesson in which désire and negotiation escalate quickly with humor and honesty. Hopefully, you’ll end up a little braver after experiencing this play than you were before it started. ”
  • TikTok by Hilary Bluestein-Lyons
    4 Jul. 2022
    “ In great monologues, oftentimes telling the story IS the story! And what a great story — several, in fact. There’s the saga the speaker Angela is sharing, made up of a few other accounts other people’s mistakes, misdeeds, trials, and tragedies… and her own much quieter mostly unspoken story that cements this play in an unshakably heartfelt foundation.

    The build is spectacular, not just because the tales she’s relaying are so interesting, but because the mundanity of her life between TikTok takes cleverly fuels the need for her to share. It lands hard and beautifully. ”
  • The Volitive Effect of Oral Literary Inundation on the LSTM Recurrent Neural Network by Richard Lyons Conlon
    4 Jul. 2022
    “ Can an entity be self-aware and still be unaware of its self-awareness??? Can it have emotions while not being aware of how emotional it is? Can it have discovered God and even pray, if its creator is man?

    Conlon has certainly created an aritificial entity that evokes all of these questions while simultaneously ignoring them because it’s got a much more urgent problem: a deadline for a creative project! It’s Monkeys Typing Hamlet without monkeys, typewriters or Hamlet, wonderfully skewering our expections of technology and humans, science and creativity.

    I declare this experiment a success! ”
  • The Alchemist's Gambit by Sam Heyman
    4 Jul. 2022
    “ This is why I always fly between major cities instead of drive. The last thing I need is to be strapped to table by a mad scientist with a vague European accent who’s in the mood to “experiment” and not in the sexy way.

    Heyman builds an instantly fun Hammer Films meets Mel Brooks world. The negotiation between mad scientist and alchemist is a delightfully swinging pendulum. The personalities go way beyond archetypes and are insanely fun to play. And how often do you hear “homonculus” these days??? So much fun, ja! ”
  • The Spot by Scott Stolnack
    2 Jul. 2022
    “ THE SPOT has the “foxhole vigil” feel of Milestone, Kubrick, or Coppola, but Stolnack gives the genre a specificity and warmth all his own. When comforting someone whose departure from this world is imminent, absolutions are granted, promises are made sincerely but with the knowledge that one may never be called to fulfil them. The kinship is everything. In seeking such comfort the characters create a paradise with words that’s both idyllic and earthbound. The resulting journey is beautiful, for us and for them. A gorgeous play about humanity persevering during war. ”
  • OPEN MIC AT THE BISTRO BAR by Monica Cross
    30 Jun. 2022
    “ Determining artistic ownership, managing creative egos, triaging who gets to express themselves when, all while keeping the audience invested… it’s a helluva juggling act and Cross has captured It perfectly. The play also conveys with astonishing vividness the robust aspirations of amateur impresarios and performers whose gifts require more patience from their listeners.

    This would be so great to see performed and probably even more fun to rehearse! Only one was to find out! SOMEBODY DO THIS PLAY! ”
  • On Queue by Morey Norkin
    25 Jun. 2022
    “ Fast paced and funny without a trace of ennui, and how often do you get to say that about a take on GODOT?!

    Norkin has great fun with these two characters, one mild and constant, the other subtly bouncing between moods and attitudes, kindness and dickishness. Their perfectly crafted conversation smoothly rolls from subject to subject with ease, astute wit, and a hilarious yet grounded absurdism.

    I would love to see this play over and over, even though I hope these two characters never meet again. Except of course when this play is performed. Over and over!
    ”
  • Tresseme Mucho by Judd Lear Silverman
    22 Jun. 2022
    “ It's one thing when you walk into an alternate reality, but what happens when an alternate version of everything you've always known comes to you. Via a referral!

    Silverman creates a wonderfully absurd circumstance in the midst of normal, albeit somewhat posh, everyday surroundings. The balance of panic vs calm is a perfect nudge to anyone who needs a little more bravery. It's also a tremendously loving appreciation of people and their individual qualities, both simple and complex, ordinary and unexpected. From the title to the fade, TRESSEME MUCHO delights! ”
  • Playing with Fire by Debra A. Cole
    20 Jun. 2022
    “ Damn.

    Cole takes a familiar narrative - deciding to put a relative with dementia into home - fortified it with her typically terrific characterizations (the understatement here is masterful) and gives the proceedings a perfect little kick!

    Great roles. Super easy to stage. Relatable and highly entertaining! ”
  • Sunbrella (from the THE WRINKLE RANCH AND OTHER PLAYS ABOUT GROWING OLD collection) by Debra A. Cole
    20 Jun. 2022
    “ “Sometimes… things that are expensive… are worse.” ~ Aunt Freckle

    Influencer culture deserves all the ribbing it gets. And FFS, has this chick never heard of a parasol??? Guess not! Which makes her fate even more delicious. Raven is perfectly pompous and Dorothy is who we want to be when we’re 80: Jedi calm, Buddha zen, and right on time with a zing!

    With great actors and clever staging, this will be a treat to watch! ”

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