Recommended by Doug DeVita

Wonderfully existentialist one-minute charmer, with a helluva twist at the end.

This is a terrific work. By turns funny, horrifying, lighthearted, infuriating… read it yourself and fill in your own adjectives and superlatives; Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend has written quite the parable for our times here. Her use of contemporary language and mores bring the script to sharply observed life and give it an immediacy that is both hugely entertaining as well as deeply thought-provoking. I would love to see this staged.

John Busser working in creepy paranoia mode is just as good as John Busser working in silly comedy mode, which leads to the inevitable conclusion that John Busser is really, really good in any mode in which he chooses to work. Oh, and don’t drink the coffee if he offers it to you.

“It’s no small thing, when your drug dealer dumps you. I would think it occasions a self- reflection.” Lines like that impress me, and this wonderfully surreal comedy is rife with them. Brendan Bourque-Sheil’s absurdist approach to his premise and characters is the work’s greatest strength; the lines are convulsively funny not because they are witty punchlines, but because they are deeply rooted in the wants and needs of both characters and plot: no matter how farfetched things get, Bourque-Sheil keeps things completely believable because he, and by extension us, believe in them – no mean feat...

Bizarrely beautiful, Sabrina Rose Bivens’ monologue challenges and excites with its dreamlike tone and intensely personal – yet universal ¬– paean to individuality and acceptance. Great role for an actress.

Endings, beginnings, secrets, lies, and a ricocheting ball of emotions are Bivens’ playthings in this taut, two-character work in which decades of feeling are skillfully unearthed in a little over ten minutes of playing time. Two great roles for older performers and a deceptively simple premise make this highly producible.

This period piece from Donald E. Baker perfectly captures the rural America of both past and contemporary society, and jolts one out of even the tiniest bit of complacency which may have set in since the change in administration with nearly every well-considered line. As timeless as it is timely, TRADE WITH KLAN… is ugly, and brutal, and pulls no punches. It is a must read, must produce part of the ongoing American story.

An angry, gut-wrenching cautionary monologue from Donald E. Baker, proving the more things change, the more they stay the same, at least in terms of LGBTQ issues in this country – especially in times of a health crisis. Beautifully written, with a message that – while not preach ¬– needs to be taken to heart. Great role for an older actor, too.

The tension and paranoia ratchet up with every well paced and placed word in this stunning, thought-provoking, lean, and scary mind-fuck of a play. Excellent work, with two great roles for actors skilled at subtlety.

There are some plays you read twice, because the first time through is such a rich experience you want to
1: experience it again
And
2: make sure you haven’t missed anything.

THE NATURAL HORSE is one of those plays; it is so breathtaking in its scope, use of language, and creative theatricality all I can say is “hot damn, I wish I’d written that.”

The only thing I can imagine being better than reading this is seeing it performed live.

One lives in hope.