Recommended by John Busser

  • John Busser: Silent Vows

    In less than 5 minutes Christopher Plumridge shows us that, contrary to what a Catholic school upbringing might have me believe, nuns are people too. (Monks give into temptation as well, but then, we ALWAYS knew that.) This is a quiet walk down a slightly naughty path that builds in a surprising amount of tension as we wait to see what each new reveal will lead to. Terrific stuff.

    In less than 5 minutes Christopher Plumridge shows us that, contrary to what a Catholic school upbringing might have me believe, nuns are people too. (Monks give into temptation as well, but then, we ALWAYS knew that.) This is a quiet walk down a slightly naughty path that builds in a surprising amount of tension as we wait to see what each new reveal will lead to. Terrific stuff.

  • John Busser: Two of Every Animal

    For a short play to tackle such a large and intimidating subject must have been daunting, but Aly Kantor not only hits it out of the park with this one, she does it with grace and dignity. I was spellbound by this piece. Aly Kantor is a wonderful writer and you should take a look at her work. I would love to see this staged. It's a message piece with more heart and soul than you'd expect. And I expected a lot.

    For a short play to tackle such a large and intimidating subject must have been daunting, but Aly Kantor not only hits it out of the park with this one, she does it with grace and dignity. I was spellbound by this piece. Aly Kantor is a wonderful writer and you should take a look at her work. I would love to see this staged. It's a message piece with more heart and soul than you'd expect. And I expected a lot.

  • John Busser: Fish Tank

    Talk about a great setup and payoff! Aly Kantor's FISH TANK does what a great play should do. It hooks you in right from the start, but builds on its premise in an unexpected way. I thought I knew where this was going and I absolutely did NOT! And boy, did it succeed brilliantly. I don't want to give anything away here as she play itself should tell its tale. Would LOVE to see this staged on Zoom

    Talk about a great setup and payoff! Aly Kantor's FISH TANK does what a great play should do. It hooks you in right from the start, but builds on its premise in an unexpected way. I thought I knew where this was going and I absolutely did NOT! And boy, did it succeed brilliantly. I don't want to give anything away here as she play itself should tell its tale. Would LOVE to see this staged on Zoom

  • John Busser: A Quarter Placed on Railroad Tracks

    The setting here is just as important as what's being said, as two friends are about to move on from each other as friends often do. Equating life as a journey with quarters placed on the track, signifying bumps along the way was a nicely subtle metaphor. There is a quiet dignity in the characters here and would be wonderful to see someone get a chance to say these words.

    The setting here is just as important as what's being said, as two friends are about to move on from each other as friends often do. Equating life as a journey with quarters placed on the track, signifying bumps along the way was a nicely subtle metaphor. There is a quiet dignity in the characters here and would be wonderful to see someone get a chance to say these words.

  • John Busser: Wedding Bill Blues

    I'm always assured of a roller coaster ride with any Jacquie Floyd script, and this one is no exception. Fast-paced jokes right out of a screwball comedy, plenty of outrageous characters with not a dud in the bunch, and the inclusion of audience members with very clever ways to help them keep up their end of the shenanigans, make this a crowd pleaser. There's never a dull moment here. But then again, it's a Jacquie script. She doesn't know that word.

    I'm always assured of a roller coaster ride with any Jacquie Floyd script, and this one is no exception. Fast-paced jokes right out of a screwball comedy, plenty of outrageous characters with not a dud in the bunch, and the inclusion of audience members with very clever ways to help them keep up their end of the shenanigans, make this a crowd pleaser. There's never a dull moment here. But then again, it's a Jacquie script. She doesn't know that word.

  • John Busser: Crab Cakes

    A very quirky little romantic comedy about hair color, coping with stress, a dodgy economy and crab cakes. I like the banter between the two main characters and really thought it was going another way when it turned into territory I wasn't expecting. What a great surprise. I hope audiences like it as much as I did.

    A very quirky little romantic comedy about hair color, coping with stress, a dodgy economy and crab cakes. I like the banter between the two main characters and really thought it was going another way when it turned into territory I wasn't expecting. What a great surprise. I hope audiences like it as much as I did.

  • John Busser: The Presidential Chili Cook Off

    From the great character names to the screwball-comedy like pace, this Watergate parody is a spicy mix of hilarious jokes, pointed jabs at reporters, cover-ups and chili cook-offs that should win top prize. I laughed throughout and kept thinking this would be a perfect satire for the stage. And any play that has doubling and tripling of roles for actors has to be fun just watching them have to create these zany (yes, I said zany) characters. Terrific!

    From the great character names to the screwball-comedy like pace, this Watergate parody is a spicy mix of hilarious jokes, pointed jabs at reporters, cover-ups and chili cook-offs that should win top prize. I laughed throughout and kept thinking this would be a perfect satire for the stage. And any play that has doubling and tripling of roles for actors has to be fun just watching them have to create these zany (yes, I said zany) characters. Terrific!

  • John Busser: Scripted Characters

    Absolutely and ludicrously brilliant. Every aspect of a play gets their due in this fast-as-lightning piece with a joke-per-line ratio that's hard to beat. What a great opener or closer to a festival this would be. I loved it.

    Absolutely and ludicrously brilliant. Every aspect of a play gets their due in this fast-as-lightning piece with a joke-per-line ratio that's hard to beat. What a great opener or closer to a festival this would be. I loved it.

  • John Busser: Drawing for Dad

    Evan Baughfman knows how to creep you out in the simplest of ways. Here it's with a child's drawing and a few well-chosen words. This is horror with a maximum payout with minimum story. And there's a gruesome gallows humor to it all as well. I love this play and would really love to see it performed!

    Evan Baughfman knows how to creep you out in the simplest of ways. Here it's with a child's drawing and a few well-chosen words. This is horror with a maximum payout with minimum story. And there's a gruesome gallows humor to it all as well. I love this play and would really love to see it performed!

  • John Busser: This is it

    There is a palpable sense of anticipation built up in this short play by Rachel Feeny-Williams that feels so real, you'd think this was based on a true story. From the highs of learning a play is accepted, through the rush of meetings, castings and rehearsals, to the lows of supposed hopes being dashed when expectations don't match the reality, Rachel shows it all in a roller coaster of events. Bringing moments of support and sanity, the character of Tom provides an audience surrogate that lets the audience become a small part of the story. This is really good stuff!

    There is a palpable sense of anticipation built up in this short play by Rachel Feeny-Williams that feels so real, you'd think this was based on a true story. From the highs of learning a play is accepted, through the rush of meetings, castings and rehearsals, to the lows of supposed hopes being dashed when expectations don't match the reality, Rachel shows it all in a roller coaster of events. Bringing moments of support and sanity, the character of Tom provides an audience surrogate that lets the audience become a small part of the story. This is really good stuff!