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Peter Fenton

Recommended by Peter Fenton

  • Neighbor! Neighbor! by Abhisek Bhattacharya
    27 Aug. 2023
    “ What more could you want out of a ten-minute comedy? NEIGHBOR! NEIGHBOR! is a great, consistently funny piece that seems to be about squabbling neighbors mediated by a police officer with a twist ending that I genuinely did not see coming… loved seeing how these characters pulled off their “Bavarian fire drill” plot ”
  • How About Them Dodgers by Philip Middleton Williams
    19 Aug. 2023
    “ Philip Middleton Williams has done excellent work with taking the current state of the Florida education system to its logical, maddening conclusion. A deliciously funny satire and a read quick enough to want to go back and read it a second time immediately (which I did!). I also have to agree Rhonda Santis, Governess of Florida, is an excellent name for a drag queen. Timely, clever, and frustrating—as all good satire should be! ”
  • The Disappearance of Greta by Christopher Plumridge
    19 Aug. 2023
    “ Every time I think World War II is a topic every writer has given every possible take on, I find a story like THE DISAPPEARANCE OF GRETA—Chris Plumridge has given the world a fresh new story revitalizing the human experience of World War II. What I especially love is Plumridge's very modern twinge to the dialogue in the period piece, it really underscores the drama and dark comedy of the whole situation. I know this one has potential to be expanded into a feature-length play and I'd be excited to read it! ”
  • Pillow Talk by Brenton Kniess
    19 Aug. 2023
    “ Brenton Kniess has taken a wild idea and just ran with it! The men in their 30s in Seattle owe a debt of gratitude. Kniess' world of pillow hoarders and serial killers is wacky and fun. I'd be really excited to see PILLOW TALK performed live! It has all the hallmarks of the type of "weird" comedy that when acted and directed fully committed to the bit, can be one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences. ”
  • Puck You! by Dana Hall
    19 Aug. 2023
    “ In PUCK YOU!, Dana Hall has written a tight, sharply funny and ridiculously clever 10-minute piece sure to please any fans of Shakespeare. There is always something funny about juxtaposing Shakespearean language with a modern-day setting and sensibility and the addition of the barista character to this Shakespearean quartet really makes this piece work (even if this barista doesn't give a Puck). A great choice for a short comedy festival or anyone with a passing familiarity with Shakespeare and wants a laugh! ”
  • Everyday Monsters by Donald E. Baker
    13 Aug. 2023
    “ Whoa. This one's a dark, heavy two-hander. Don Baker has illustrated a bone-chilling everyday monster with this piece and it's really not for the faint of heart, in all the right ways. Definitely worth a read when one is in the mood to explore a dark character study with themes of sexual abuse, racism, and privilege. I can see this being a very powerful theatrical experience when performed live. The monologues were especially strong. Well done, Don. ”
  • The Blattriam by Jarred Corona
    6 Aug. 2023
    “ With THE BLATTRIAM, Jarred Corona has written a creepy, high-concept play with terrifying ambition and deliciously brutal execution that draws on what it means to be human, but not quite in the way a reader might expect. I especially appreciated the themes of familial disappointment and rejection, and the parallels between Petyr's transformation into a cockroach and LGBTQ identity were unmissable. A great read, especially for fans of Kafka. ”
  • Last Laugh by Morey Norkin
    6 Aug. 2023
    “ This is the first of hopefully many Morey Norkin pieces I'll pick up! Norkin's dialogue in this two-hander is incredibly clever, two comics (one at the start of her life, the other at the end of his) meeting in sort of a limbo between optimism and cynicism in the dressing room right before Ms. Jennifer Rasmussen's shot to perform for an SNL scout. This piece reminded me of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and would be a joy to see performed live! Comedy with a melancholy twinge always hits me in the right place. ”
  • What You Did Say by Sam Heyman
    29 Jul. 2023
    “ I had the pleasure of playing Hal in a reading of this short piece this afternoon—Heyman does a great job of illustrating a tender wound that cuts both ways of this very recent break-up. What I loved about this piece was how quickly George and Hal are established as to who they are and what they're all about. You can tell there was something there between these two men without falling into the trap of over-writing their backstory. A powerful piece that will be great to see live! ”
  • Phones by Darrin Friedman
    20 Jul. 2023
    “ The thing I love about Darrin Friedman's work is that there is never an easy answer, and it's almost like as the playwright, he takes a smirking delight with the reader posing sort of a question: "How do YOU think it ends?"—I've been waiting to see him do this with a comic piece, and in PHONES, his first short and his first comedy, he delivers! Shades of the surprisingly poignant Adam Sandler movie CLICK, Friedman offers us a chance to live vicariously through an everyman who gets the chance to take revenge on those who have wronged him. ”

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