Recommended by Asher Wyndham

  • You're Hired! A 10-Minute Play
    14 Oct. 2017
    In many recommendations I use the word 'heelarious.' If I had to choose a single short play that defines that word, I'd choose this. Every line, every page, sooo funny. And so smart: spot on in its depiction of someone who's super-educated, fighting to nail a job that they're overqualified for. It'll make you remember those interviews for jobs you were overqualified for that you never got.
  • ORD
    12 Oct. 2017
    A romantic ten-minute play that's incomparable to the conventional boy-meets-girl in a bar/restaurant shorties. With its unconventional structure - a combo of realism and direct address - this play is poignant in what it captures about the fleetingness of friendships/relationships. Comparing these two people to owls makes this an unforgettable piece of theatre. Its weirdness reminded me of some shorts by Richard Maxwell.
  • Two to Make an Accident
    8 Oct. 2017
    The language is well-wrought like something from Tennessee Williams and as erotically charged as something from Kathy Acker. The viciousness of its two characters, the raunchiness keeps you turning the pages, even while you're disturbed.
  • Hey Joe, What Do You Know
    8 Oct. 2017
    Raises a lot of excellent questions about one of most overlooked figures from the Bible -- Joseph the father of Jesus Christ. Yeah, this guy deserves better from us! He should go right up there with Abraham and Moses. Bob's questioning makes a powerful argument why this figure is an unsung hero, a special guy that deserves his own song. Definitely a tested figure who proved to be brave and who changed the course of history. This figure is definitely the stuff of drama. A great addition to church services (definitely!) around the holiday season.
  • Unanswered Questions
    8 Oct. 2017
    Know a high school student that needs a powerful monologue for audition/competition/forensics? Then have her check out Everett Robert's Unanswered Questions. In a world "ruled by violence," a girl grasps for answers like fingers in the dark, trying desperately to make sense of a recent school shooting. Vivid. Poignant. Shocking. A must read.
  • The Interview
    8 Oct. 2017
    HAHAHAHA! One of the funniest short plays I've read on the New Play Exchange. One of the most memorable 'interview' plays -- actually, it's the best interview play that I've read so far. If I was a producer, I'd definitely choose this play. Part of the fun is expecting the performance at the end and getting it with 'wild abandon.' I was conflicted as to what side to take. What is asked is ridiculous and a bit insulting (she's got the credentials!), but you if you want something you got to prove you got it (so perform!)
  • Polly and Cass
    8 Oct. 2017
    Flirting, tenderness and some remembrances for a scientist and her former fling - someone who's slightly human. An unexpected play about reunion and intimacy at last minute -- with a memorable kiss. The backstory and the incident that resulted in captivity in the interrogation room is as captivating as something out of Philip K Dick.
  • Distant Music
    7 Oct. 2017
    If you're an admirer of Conor McPherson or you're a fan of Irish theatre, you should check out this engrossing play. It's got an emotional intensity and depth that's Beckettian at times. I had the opportunity of seeing a staged reading at the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Nebraska in 2010. And it was a pleasure to re-read.
  • Darkness
    7 Oct. 2017
    A trapped soul embodied by a barefoot woman under a spotlight...an intriguing image. Her existential predicament is both her dark comedy as well as our own. You'll laugh at her and at yourself. She has many disagreeable traits including swearing like a trucker, but her crappy attitude about life on earth and even her pessimism may make her relatable. A complex character in a short time. Definitely a stand-out among the many afterlife plays. Bravo.
  • Brainsick (10 min)
    6 Oct. 2017
    Brainsick is In-Yer-Face with its depravity, its cruelty is expressionistic in its presentation, kind of not naturalistic, but totally believable -- because this world is dangerous for too many women. This play is shocking just like something from Kathy Acker or Pierre Guyotat, but that doesn't mean it's not serious. It's serious about sexual slavery and degradation of women. A play that can be performed in different cultures and countries. Kane would be proud.

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