Recommended by Adam Richter

"Christmas Magic" is just another word for "necromancy." I love it! Sam Heyman's holiday comedy is filled with gems like this. A clever short that examines holiday traditions as well as the power of writers, "Fahrenheit Ho Ho Ho" is a great addition to any short-play festival.

Debbie has gone so far into depression that she's come out the other side at nonchalant gluttony. This thoughtful and funny two-hander is a "Bartleby" for our times, an entertaining look at what happens when everything everywhere all at once is simply too much. There's always breakfast pastry. I would love to see this on a stage.

Loneliness and longing are in plentiful supply around the holidays, and Scott Sickles gives us a tender story featuring both. Doug and Garrett are polar opposites in their personalities but such a perfect fit that the ending makes you long for a continuation of these characters, if only so THEIR ending will be different. This is a lovely and poignant play.

[2024-12-19]

Be careful what you ask for, especially of a high school teacher. "Angles In the Snow" is a delightful short with plenty of puns, warmth and one crucial sight gag. Bravo!

[2024-12-19]
Rarely do you see the tension between faith and science handled so deftly as it is in Nora Louise Syran's "Recent Impending Events." While the man flirts with the woman on a train trip, he makes it clear that his true love is the earth and all its natural beauty. This leads to a debate that, though familiar, takes unexpected turns and leaves the audience with plenty to think about.
This is a delightful two-hander I'd love to see on stage.

[2024-12-19]
"I, Tonya" does not capture the cutthroat world of competitive ice skating one-tenth as well as "Ice In Their Veins." The skaters in Aly Kantor's play are brutal, selfish, cruel and side-splittingly funny. The Machiavellian Stevie has enough ambition and malice to chase her dream of a championship, but those same traits stand in the way — to say nothing of a less-talented sidekick and a perpetually fainting rival.
This is a great play for young performers, and a riot for audiences.

[2024-12-05]

Peter Fenton pulls off the most challenging task of a whodunnit: making you care so much about the characters and their twisted, intersecting motives and actions that you forget to try solving the mystery. "Blue Skies Yonder" is a deft, engaging and fun play that showcases Fenton's talent for creating fascinating characters and intricate plots. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and would love to see a live production. Bravo!

Aly Kantor's "The Practice Room" tears down the patriarchy, one acoustic tile at a time. I loved the story, the staging but most of all the two characters at the heart of this powerful two-person full-length as they navigate what they want from life and each other. Absolutely brilliant!

[2024-11-21]

Misery loves company, and Buck personifies that saying to a frightening degree.
D.C. Cathro's powerful two-hander is a potent exploration of an uneven relationship, where the imbalance is due to one person's dreams and the other's lack thereof. "Scissor Stars" is short drama at its best, a treat for actors an audiences.

[2024-11-02]

What Monica Cross has achieved in this lyrical retelling of Frankenstein is nothing short of magical. The staging, sound and lighting are a designer's dream, but the dialogue between the Creator and the Creation sets this apart from any adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel that you've ever seen. The verse crackles and the ideas — about God, love, duty and so much more — propel these two to their inevitable conclusion. I loved this play and audiences will too. Bravo!