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River Timms

Recommended by River Timms

  • ??????????? by Dizzy Turek
    19 Apr. 2023
    “ This play is actually brilliant. Part of me wants to analyze every line and detail, but the bigger part of me just wants to have it wash over my brain. Truly refreshing. Don’t sleep on this playwright. ”
  • Black Hollow by Aeneas Sagar Hemphill
    21 Mar. 2020
    “ 'Black Hollow' is a wonderful piece about how communities come together in the midst of tragedy, a theme that seems too relevant right now. Hemphill has taken one of the nightmares of American life and transformed it into a play about healing together. The characters are incredibly fleshed-out, each having their own voice and motivations; the interactions between them flow so naturally. Excellent piece. ”
  • The Ice Treatment by Nate Eppler
    11 Feb. 2020
    “ Man, I devoured this play. Eppler has a way of crafting dialogue and characters that is just so compelling, and his work in 'The Ice Treatment' is no different. This is a story about rewriting one's own narrative, and Blondie does this so well that it's easy to see her as a genuine hero, despite what we already know about the story. I also really REALLY enjoyed the dead astronaut setup and payoff. I want to see this play done everywhere! Take an afternoon and treat yourself to this play. ”
  • Infallibility by Matt Barbot
    11 Feb. 2020
    “ 'Infallibility' is a master class in wit. Barbot takes the absolutely bananas story about the Cadaver Synod and shapes it into a tale about how there may be no true ultimate plan of God. Genesius and Carlo are excellent foundational characters (EXCELLENT choice to use the patron saint of clowns), but what really struck me about the play is how effortless and fluid the scene and character changes are. The action never truly stops as Carlo is thrown from one situation to the next. Modern comedia dell'arte at its best. This is the kind of religion-inspired art that I love. ”
  • Alond(R)a by Gina Femia
    31 Jan. 2020
    “ God, I love plays with wrestling in them. However, instead of taking on the WWE system a la ‘The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,’ Femia has chosen to use wrestling to mirror the tumultuous act of figuring out who you are as a young person. The characters are boisterous and so easy to love. The action clips along speedily, but it never feels rushed. And the final three pages threw me for a loop! Excellent work. ”
  • Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery
    10 Jan. 2020
    “ As soon as I finished this play, I started reading it again. Arberry crafts his characters with such care that one can hate them and empathize with them simultaneously. It’s a jarring and necessary play that generated a familiar dread inside of me. Read it, then read it again. ”
  • FROZEN FLUID by Fly Jamerson
    2 Dec. 2019
    “ This may be my favorite play that I’ve read all year, and I’ve read a LOT. Fly gives us a deeply personal dive into the shifts and changes that occur when one begins to discover their true gender identity, as well as all of the challenges that come with it. Set against a melting tundra littered with dead whales, the fantastical and abstract action gives us some distance in order to safely explore the traumas of dysphoria for non-binary people. This play taught me how to write in my own language. Can not recommend highly enough. ”
  • Torera by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
    2 Dec. 2019
    “ Monet has a winner here. ‘Torera’ effortlessly tells a story of gender power dynamics and class struggle by weaving it together through the theatricality of bullfighting. The dialogue shines here, and the conversations between Elena and Tanok mirror those of Pastora and Don Rafael, almost telling a generational love story. No wonder it was picked for the Kilroy’s list. This play should be produced everywhere. ”
  • Crying on Television by R. Eric Thomas
    29 Nov. 2019
    “ I was privileged to see a reading of this play for the 2019 Ingram New Works festival. Thomas is so effortlessly funny, and the characters’ search for friendship in wacky situations eventually gives way to a genuine search for belonging. I especially resonated with Chris’ love for watching church from home out of fear of being othered if he actually went. ”
  • Initiative by Jacob York
    16 Nov. 2019
    “ ‘Initiative’ is that rare play that balances lighthearted fun with hard-hitting subjects, and it does so with aplomb. The gut punches never come cheap; emotional moments are built up by the care that the characters have for each other. The play has such heart with a strong emphasis on friendship, and it asks the question we are sometimes too afraid to ask ourselves: what do we do when our loved ones only have a short time left with us? Read with a tissue box at hand. ”

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