Recommended by Vince Gatton

  • Vince Gatton: The Wrong Man

    I always enjoy a good comedy about afterlife bureaucracy, and this short in which Layla and an agent of D.E.A.T.H. investigate the possibility that her boyfriend’s demise was a clerical error is a solid addition to the genre. A kind of buddy-comedy road-trip case-review, it recalls Scrooge’s adventures with his visiting ghosts, but to darker, funnier, far less sentimental effect. You think you know a guy...

    I always enjoy a good comedy about afterlife bureaucracy, and this short in which Layla and an agent of D.E.A.T.H. investigate the possibility that her boyfriend’s demise was a clerical error is a solid addition to the genre. A kind of buddy-comedy road-trip case-review, it recalls Scrooge’s adventures with his visiting ghosts, but to darker, funnier, far less sentimental effect. You think you know a guy...

  • Vince Gatton: Clyt; or, The Bathtub Play

    This is just flat-out awesome. Elisabeth Giffin Speckman’s take on the House of Atreus gives us a Clytemnestra who’s relatable, modern, and human without sacrificing any of her towering capital-letter Tragic Grandeur. It’s a play in which the gods, Achilles, and mall ear-piercing kiosks co-exist; with language that alternates between spare elegance, zippy repartee, and delicious monologues of wry insight; and with choral movement that invites and demands bold theatrical imagination. Plus it’s hilarious. And enraging. An absolute hoot and an absolute tragedy, this play is alchemy of the first...

    This is just flat-out awesome. Elisabeth Giffin Speckman’s take on the House of Atreus gives us a Clytemnestra who’s relatable, modern, and human without sacrificing any of her towering capital-letter Tragic Grandeur. It’s a play in which the gods, Achilles, and mall ear-piercing kiosks co-exist; with language that alternates between spare elegance, zippy repartee, and delicious monologues of wry insight; and with choral movement that invites and demands bold theatrical imagination. Plus it’s hilarious. And enraging. An absolute hoot and an absolute tragedy, this play is alchemy of the first order.

  • Vince Gatton: TARTARUS

    Using the mythological underworld as an organizing principle, Scott Sickles give us a collection of short stories about a serial murderer of young boys that delivers all the horror its premise would suggest. But horror alone is not all he's after: the uses of attraction in the victimization of young queer kids; their pre-adolescent yearnings that aren't fully understood but are easily observed; the twisting of shame into a weapon...Sickles gets inside the minds of these young people as well as their predator, pulling up the rock and shedding light in several dark places. Wow. Yikes, but wow.

    Using the mythological underworld as an organizing principle, Scott Sickles give us a collection of short stories about a serial murderer of young boys that delivers all the horror its premise would suggest. But horror alone is not all he's after: the uses of attraction in the victimization of young queer kids; their pre-adolescent yearnings that aren't fully understood but are easily observed; the twisting of shame into a weapon...Sickles gets inside the minds of these young people as well as their predator, pulling up the rock and shedding light in several dark places. Wow. Yikes, but wow.

  • Vince Gatton: You're Working the Checkout at Albertsons

    A gorgeously strange, beautiful, sad, and funny solo piece. You’re Working the Checkout at Albertson’s uses a series of keenly observed vignettes to capture and examine our isolation and loneliness, and, by doing so (to some degree at least?) transcend them. Clearly speaking to our Covid-19 enforced-distancing times, but just as resonant with our atomized contemporary existence in general, this is one pandemic-born play that will remain just as powerful and funny in years to come.

    A gorgeously strange, beautiful, sad, and funny solo piece. You’re Working the Checkout at Albertson’s uses a series of keenly observed vignettes to capture and examine our isolation and loneliness, and, by doing so (to some degree at least?) transcend them. Clearly speaking to our Covid-19 enforced-distancing times, but just as resonant with our atomized contemporary existence in general, this is one pandemic-born play that will remain just as powerful and funny in years to come.

  • Vince Gatton: You've Reached Justin

    On so many levels, this short play is a JOURNEY - an actual, physical one for our main character, and a terrifying, heart-straining emotional one for the audience. Told primarily through voicemail messages and with a WTF-worthy plot turn, Daniel’s fun night out goes grotesquely, apocalyptically wrong, and his only thought is to save his best friend/no-longer-secret crush from the horror — and maybe save their friendship. But is it already too late? With its structural simplicity, enormous emotional stakes, stunning set-pieces, and a heart-in-your-throat climax, You’ve Reached Justin is a...

    On so many levels, this short play is a JOURNEY - an actual, physical one for our main character, and a terrifying, heart-straining emotional one for the audience. Told primarily through voicemail messages and with a WTF-worthy plot turn, Daniel’s fun night out goes grotesquely, apocalyptically wrong, and his only thought is to save his best friend/no-longer-secret crush from the horror — and maybe save their friendship. But is it already too late? With its structural simplicity, enormous emotional stakes, stunning set-pieces, and a heart-in-your-throat climax, You’ve Reached Justin is a marvel of a short piece. Damn.

  • Vince Gatton: But This Is Us From Here

    Well, crap, do I love this — it’s funny, damn serious, hard, warm, and sweet. Christian St. Croix shows a terrific mastery of character, dialogue, and the small actions between people that speak volumes. Erica and Julian feel specific and individual, rounded and real, their complicated mother-son history made clear to us without a breath of clunky exposition. Filled with wonderful moments and rich material for actors, I’d hope to see this done far and wide.

    Well, crap, do I love this — it’s funny, damn serious, hard, warm, and sweet. Christian St. Croix shows a terrific mastery of character, dialogue, and the small actions between people that speak volumes. Erica and Julian feel specific and individual, rounded and real, their complicated mother-son history made clear to us without a breath of clunky exposition. Filled with wonderful moments and rich material for actors, I’d hope to see this done far and wide.

  • Vince Gatton: Malvolio's Revenge

    A sequel to Twelfth Night that's a charming, funny, and thoughtful winner. Refreshingly modern in its notions of gender and sexuality while staying fully grounded in the world of the original, Pflaster gives us a respectful and respectable pastiche of Shakespeare (including some delicious wordplay) that's fun and funny without devolving into spoof or parody. (There's a "Good Knight" bit that heads into "Who's on First" territory in a great way.) Made with (and about) love and care, Malvolio's Revenge sees 12th Night's happy ending, and gets it, sure, but...has a few questions.

    A sequel to Twelfth Night that's a charming, funny, and thoughtful winner. Refreshingly modern in its notions of gender and sexuality while staying fully grounded in the world of the original, Pflaster gives us a respectful and respectable pastiche of Shakespeare (including some delicious wordplay) that's fun and funny without devolving into spoof or parody. (There's a "Good Knight" bit that heads into "Who's on First" territory in a great way.) Made with (and about) love and care, Malvolio's Revenge sees 12th Night's happy ending, and gets it, sure, but...has a few questions.

  • Vince Gatton: Fire and Bread

    As invaders burn down their village, two medieval serf sisters have to make some important life choices in this damn funny short play. While delivering all the wit of a great Monty Python sketch, Fire and Bread also digs deeper, slyly contemplating the existential absurdity of life and asking questions about what gives it purpose and meaning. (Plus, the conclusion aligns pretty much exactly with my own personal approach to problem-solving, so yeah, Ky Weeks gets me. Or at least his medieval serfs do.)

    As invaders burn down their village, two medieval serf sisters have to make some important life choices in this damn funny short play. While delivering all the wit of a great Monty Python sketch, Fire and Bread also digs deeper, slyly contemplating the existential absurdity of life and asking questions about what gives it purpose and meaning. (Plus, the conclusion aligns pretty much exactly with my own personal approach to problem-solving, so yeah, Ky Weeks gets me. Or at least his medieval serfs do.)

  • Vince Gatton: Rage Play

    To say that Nandita Shenoy’s RAGE PLAY is timely and powerful and important would be entirely true, but that would give unfairly short shrift to how flat-out hilarious and wildly entertaining it is. Starting with a bang and letting up only in the most unexpected ways, this violent and absurdist ride is thought-provoking, deceptively simple, and playfully theatrical in the best sense; any production promises to be a helluva workout for its actors, its fight choreographer, and its audience. May there be many.

    To say that Nandita Shenoy’s RAGE PLAY is timely and powerful and important would be entirely true, but that would give unfairly short shrift to how flat-out hilarious and wildly entertaining it is. Starting with a bang and letting up only in the most unexpected ways, this violent and absurdist ride is thought-provoking, deceptively simple, and playfully theatrical in the best sense; any production promises to be a helluva workout for its actors, its fight choreographer, and its audience. May there be many.

  • Vince Gatton: Am I Still Your Christ? (ten minutes)

    OK, look. I may be a jaded old sumbish, but I unexpectedly misted right the hell up at the money moment in this sweet, easy-going short story about a genius and his former love. As the pair share a relaxed and private moment both in and out of the sight of God, they end up contemplating the past, the future, and the eternal -- a lot to pack into one brief reunion scene, but Lee Lawing makes it appear effortless. Likable, actable, and very moving, this one's a winner for the secret (and not-so-secret) sentimentalists among us.

    OK, look. I may be a jaded old sumbish, but I unexpectedly misted right the hell up at the money moment in this sweet, easy-going short story about a genius and his former love. As the pair share a relaxed and private moment both in and out of the sight of God, they end up contemplating the past, the future, and the eternal -- a lot to pack into one brief reunion scene, but Lee Lawing makes it appear effortless. Likable, actable, and very moving, this one's a winner for the secret (and not-so-secret) sentimentalists among us.