Recommended by Jack Levine

KERR LOCKHART is a extremely talented playwright. In “Time Code”, a male and female co-stars reunite after thirty years to talk about their famous on-camera love scene. At first, neither has a firm recollection of what happened. Then memories return and the emotional realization of it all first comes to one of them and then to the other. I love the characters and the simple situation, which explodes at the end into a dramatic realization. BRAVO!

NICK MALAKHOW gives us a sweet taste of his full length play in his “Second Look (10 minute excerpt of SEEING EYE)”. I love the two characters and want to read the full play. Such a sweet meeting of two men in front of a gay bar. One is blinded by preconceived notions of what to expect in a first meeting, and the other is blind but has his own stereotypes.

NICK MALAKHOW’s play, “Confirmation Bias”, was enlightening. I grew up in the 1950’s and there was open prejudice against gays. I was told that gays were deviates and ‘lesser-people’. My true change in how I saw gays came when I found out my sister in-law was gay. I was in my late 30’s. I cannot possibly fully understand what horrors gays have or do experience. I can at least say I am proud to have ‘seen the light’ to the extent I can. This is a wonderful play of an important event.

JESSICA HUANG’s characters are looking for faith of a better future. Her short play, “Mermaids”, is a beautiful look at a husband and wife wanting a sign of hope. We all have feelings of wanting to finding something good. Our search leads us in ways we may never fully understand. This is a thoughtful play.

ADAM SEIDEL has written a witty play of a loved-starved nerdy bachelor who has fallen in love with someone he met online but never spoken to or seen. His mother travels with him to met this person, who her son intends to marry. The circumstances are a bit bizarre but totally believable. “Meeting Gloria” makes fun of online dating and does it in a comedic way.

ELISABETH GIFFIN SPECKMAN’s play, “Continued On Page 12 - Monologue”, is really beautifully written. The playwright has captured the feelings of the COVID-19 pandemic. Great work!

ELISABETH GIFFIN SPECKMAN’s play, “Brothers On A Hotel Bed”, is a sweet but dramatic tale. The play provides a wonderful opportunity for two young actors to captivate the audience with well-written dialogue. I was struck by how much we found out in such a short play about the boys, their family dynamics, and the pain and joy from such relationships.

TOBY MALONE’s play, “Not Really (Little Star)”, was one of the most moving monologues I have read. For ten plus minutes, we hear the cries of pain, tears of regret, and sadness of a life ended too soon . And yet, a new life of a sister is born, not to replace the eleven-week unborn son but to give a family a reason to live. In a little star, a father feels the connection of a life he knew - not really - but which he feels - really. An absolutely brilliant monologue!

EMMA WOOD has written a play of a Zoom counseling session in which a single mother seeks help in coping. Parenting is never easy, but there are so many more challenges when one parent has to deal with it alone. Add-in the pressures of a pandemic and it is no wonder help may be needed. “Voices” is a look at what might take place in an online therapy session in 2020 in which the counselor may have some issues of their own. This play is a witty look at the serious topic of stress.

CINDI SANSONE-BRAFF takes a musician, who recently committed suicide, to the place on the Other Side where he gets ready for meeting our maker. He has squandered his talents and many years of his life by making wrong decisions. He has committed suicide believing he can rest up and have another chance. But choices have consequences. Good deeds are rewarded, but there is a price to pay for mistakes. “No Rest For A Soul” is a well-written play with a moral.