Recommended by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Modus Operandi

    I love a good surprise! This silly short about two slightly odd detectives and one very baffled suspect is a great skewing of the interrogation trope in cop dramas. We're constantly trying to play catch up, wondering what this person is accused of doing, why the questions are so strange, and what on earth happened to Cal Wilkington. It's a delightful ride with a great reveal and a perfect button at the end.

    I love a good surprise! This silly short about two slightly odd detectives and one very baffled suspect is a great skewing of the interrogation trope in cop dramas. We're constantly trying to play catch up, wondering what this person is accused of doing, why the questions are so strange, and what on earth happened to Cal Wilkington. It's a delightful ride with a great reveal and a perfect button at the end.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Dating in the Workplace and Other Acts of Courage

    This short play about meeting your grandson's almost-significant other under... unique circumstances is adorable. It's a hilarious ensemble romantic war play that's only ten minutes long. (It doesn't seem like all those descriptions should work together, but they do.) What a fun piece with hilarious dialogue and a zany, delightful premise.

    This short play about meeting your grandson's almost-significant other under... unique circumstances is adorable. It's a hilarious ensemble romantic war play that's only ten minutes long. (It doesn't seem like all those descriptions should work together, but they do.) What a fun piece with hilarious dialogue and a zany, delightful premise.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Bleeding Love

    This short is a sweet study in sibling dynamics when the middle child gets her period for the first time. Her older sister is convinced this is the dawn of their My Sister is My Best Friend era, while her younger brother doesn't see how this changes anything. This would be a great play for a late elementary/middle school audience, as it does a great job focusing on periods as a positive thing. A lovely little story about a day on which both everything and nothing has changed.

    This short is a sweet study in sibling dynamics when the middle child gets her period for the first time. Her older sister is convinced this is the dawn of their My Sister is My Best Friend era, while her younger brother doesn't see how this changes anything. This would be a great play for a late elementary/middle school audience, as it does a great job focusing on periods as a positive thing. A lovely little story about a day on which both everything and nothing has changed.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Twenty-Seven

    I love what David Hilder does with dialogue. This dark sex comedy about a pair of wealthy, shallow siblings during those teenage years when one knows everything is fantastic. It hooks you from the very first (angrily shouted) line, and the twists and turns and cringes and comedy which follow are a terrific ride. I especially enjoyed how the rapid fire dialogue would stop every so often and a character would speak directly to the audience, allowing us to see a new and different side of them.

    I love what David Hilder does with dialogue. This dark sex comedy about a pair of wealthy, shallow siblings during those teenage years when one knows everything is fantastic. It hooks you from the very first (angrily shouted) line, and the twists and turns and cringes and comedy which follow are a terrific ride. I especially enjoyed how the rapid fire dialogue would stop every so often and a character would speak directly to the audience, allowing us to see a new and different side of them.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: BANSHEE

    I love this one act! It blends folklore and history as it explores the question of how much we are able to shape who we are and what we are destined to be, versus how much the people and events that came before us shape us. Plus it's so wonderfully steeped in its setting - a designer's dream!

    I love this one act! It blends folklore and history as it explores the question of how much we are able to shape who we are and what we are destined to be, versus how much the people and events that came before us shape us. Plus it's so wonderfully steeped in its setting - a designer's dream!

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Look Away

    Wow! I used to teach American History, and I never knew this story. What a great piece of readers theater for high schoolers and all of us, highlighting one more complicated piece of the United States's complicated history. Antisemitism is, unfortunately, a perennially relevant topic, and the question Morey Norkin poses is a great one for a post-show discussion: Was Grant antisemitic, or did he allow the stresses of his position to cause him to fold to popular public sentiment? And which is worse? I especially enjoyed the songs and quotes woven throughout.

    Wow! I used to teach American History, and I never knew this story. What a great piece of readers theater for high schoolers and all of us, highlighting one more complicated piece of the United States's complicated history. Antisemitism is, unfortunately, a perennially relevant topic, and the question Morey Norkin poses is a great one for a post-show discussion: Was Grant antisemitic, or did he allow the stresses of his position to cause him to fold to popular public sentiment? And which is worse? I especially enjoyed the songs and quotes woven throughout.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Moon in a Barrel

    What a fun short this is! There's humor in the language and the situation, but there's a lot of opportunity for physical comedy as well, which isn't often the case in plays I read. This play is a real gift for a trio of comedic actors!

    What a fun short this is! There's humor in the language and the situation, but there's a lot of opportunity for physical comedy as well, which isn't often the case in plays I read. This play is a real gift for a trio of comedic actors!

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Check Please

    This short play has so much going for it: high stakes, a cliffhanger, and even some facts about chess. It's a fresh take on an old trope, and I'd love to see it live, especially for that final stage picture.

    This short play has so much going for it: high stakes, a cliffhanger, and even some facts about chess. It's a fresh take on an old trope, and I'd love to see it live, especially for that final stage picture.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Manslayer

    Wow, this short is full of twists! I was constantly surprised and reevaluating how I felt about the characters and where I thought the play was going. Accomplishing that in only ten minutes is a feat! This is one that stays with you.

    Wow, this short is full of twists! I was constantly surprised and reevaluating how I felt about the characters and where I thought the play was going. Accomplishing that in only ten minutes is a feat! This is one that stays with you.

  • Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend: Waiting in the Rain

    This sweet little one-minute play is adorable. Phoebe has moved to a new city with new possibilities, one of which she meets at a bus stop. I love how the ending is both a happy ending and also left open-ended. Very cute!

    This sweet little one-minute play is adorable. Phoebe has moved to a new city with new possibilities, one of which she meets at a bus stop. I love how the ending is both a happy ending and also left open-ended. Very cute!