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Scott Sickles

Recommended by Scott Sickles

  • Tina is Weird by DC Cathro
    26 May. 2022
    “ We only get a glimpse of Tina at the beginning but it's enough to not only spark the discussion that follows but to lure us into it. The arguments in the "robot vs alien" debate are both breathtakingly funny and remarkably realistic. It's a delightful cavalcade of logic and sensibility versus oddities just irregular enough to give one pause. The individual roles are masterworks of comic precision and the payoffs are spectacular! Also, BAGELS!!! ”
  • AND SCENE by Vivian Lermond
    26 May. 2022
    “ There's a tonality in art that heightens life. It sharpens things, making the wit and banter more vivid than the everyday utterances of regular people. Lermond gives her raconteur the best of both states of being, providing a lovely twist/shift for the performer and the audience. It's resoundingly affirming. Remove the artifice and you discover there's nothing quite like the real thing. ”
  • What are the Odds? by Randy Hunt
    19 May. 2022
    “ Some plays are confections and this is certainly one of them. Which is not to say it's insubstantial. Just because it's sweet, doesn't mean it's frothy. Hunt uses the contrast between the characters and the converging narrative structure, blending the dark and light, the creamy and the airy, to fashion a perfect chocolate mousse of a play... and it couldn't be more delicious and satisfying.

    I recommend reading this after a long day. And let it be the last thing you read at the end of that long day. It'll nourish you for a better tomorrow. ”
  • theorem by Lee R. Lawing
    11 May. 2022
    “ A fascinating melange of documentary and ecclesiastical/political afterlife courtroom drama.

    One gets the sense that these characters review the facts in the case of the assassination of Pasolini every time this tribunal convenes. They're tired of rehashing it, yet have never been willing or able to reconcile their disparate versions or individual responsibilities. An annual festival of finger-pointing. Even Pasolini is fed up with the ritual and comes armed with unprecedented honesty and accountability.

    Cinephiles will love it for illuminating the director's death while audiences will embrace the drama and, ultimately one hopes, Pasolini. ”
  • SECRET'S OUT by Greg Burdick
    27 Apr. 2022
    “ What is a coming of age story than people realizing that the world is not what they were brought up to believe it is? You don't have to be a kid because life's harsh lessons are doled out on a non-stop syllabus. Burdick fashions an illuminating chat allowing a man who doesn't know he's naive -- but to his credit knows his limitations -- to learn from the hard-won lessons of an elder. It's a great intergenerational exchange and leaves a powerful impression on the characters and the audience. It's also terrifically entertaining. ”
  • As You Wish by Daniel Ho
    27 Apr. 2022
    “ ARE YOU A CLASSICAL ACTOR WHO FENCES AND/OR A STAGE COMBAT AFICIONADO LONGING FOR GOOD ACTING/SWORDPLAY ROLES?

    AS YOU WISH!

    Daniel Ho's gloriously surreal, combatively romantic tribute to Princess Bride devotees is a dream come true. The casting pool requires skilled actor/fencers to parry and thrust with emotion and wit as well as sabres. The requisite visuals will inspire designers, and all the acting behind fencing masks will be wonderfully bizarre! The characters and story work on so many levels, yet the journey is as simple as it is passionate. The culmination is perfect.
    Wish granted! ”
  • Maracaibo Mad by Nora Louise Syran
    26 Apr. 2022
    “ When reading a monologue, the first question on my mind is “who is this person talking to and why?” Especially when that monologue is or includes a reminiscence.

    MARACAIBO MAD is the best kind reminiscence: one where atmosphere and immediacy pressurize what must be said to those who must hear it. Syran tells an intimate, human story, filled with personal and global history. She putr you right in the thick of it and for 8 minutes you are watching encroaching storms in Venezuela. Her privilege means nothing. Her time has run out. There is no escape. ”
  • Posted by the Family by Cole Hunter Dzubak
    26 Apr. 2022
    “ In this delicate and powerful short, Dzuback fashions a concise examination of the online bravado that accompanies willful ignorance vs familial bonds. One feels Phineas’s isolation as one by one his relatives spew misinformation online then greet him with smiles (that they probably think are sincere), even though they don’t respect his choices to remain and keep them safe.

    The play refuses to sermonize, instead allowing Phineas’s feelings of loss to speak for himself and so many others. ”
  • PICKUP by Marj O'Neill-Butler
    20 Apr. 2022
    “ This is one of those conversations I wish was happening 1) in real life and 2) right next to me. A delightful contretemps that's funny with just a touch of social commentary about idiotic male entitlement and confusion over the word "no." The pace and rhythm are splendid. Actors will have a great time with this and audiences will bliss out. ”
  • Office Hours (A One Minute Play) by Jackie Martin
    20 Apr. 2022
    “ In 60 seconds, Jackie Martin sums up so much of what is wrong with academia, American, and American academia. We have become a society that's allergic to consequence, where privilege inures people from accountability. The play is fast and funny, yet painful in its surgical rendering of the truth. Bravo! ”

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