Recommended by Aly Kantor

  • Aly Kantor: Locked Down

    This is a fun ensemble piece full of colorful characters, and the audience is lucky enough to peek in on them during an ordinary afternoon in a local cafe. Tensions rise, and just when you think everyone is going to pay their tab and leave, a sudden lockdown keeps them all in place, forced to confront the feelings that were about to propel them out the door! I loved it when the storylines began to blur together, and instead of each table maintaining a distinct storyline, they came together to form one united story. Funny, quick, and clever!

    This is a fun ensemble piece full of colorful characters, and the audience is lucky enough to peek in on them during an ordinary afternoon in a local cafe. Tensions rise, and just when you think everyone is going to pay their tab and leave, a sudden lockdown keeps them all in place, forced to confront the feelings that were about to propel them out the door! I loved it when the storylines began to blur together, and instead of each table maintaining a distinct storyline, they came together to form one united story. Funny, quick, and clever!

  • Aly Kantor: It's a Fabulous Play

    I know this is a comedy, but it feels an awful lot like a tragedy...if not a horror story! This play hones in on a problem we see at local theatres across the country: a tendency to value safety over ingenuity. I think every one of us has been passed over for one of the reasons outlined in this play, likely by an eccentric, sheltered, and very traditional board like this one. That said, actors will love to embody these colorful, familiar characters and milk all the humor here! This play is clever, prescient, and VERY relatable!

    I know this is a comedy, but it feels an awful lot like a tragedy...if not a horror story! This play hones in on a problem we see at local theatres across the country: a tendency to value safety over ingenuity. I think every one of us has been passed over for one of the reasons outlined in this play, likely by an eccentric, sheltered, and very traditional board like this one. That said, actors will love to embody these colorful, familiar characters and milk all the humor here! This play is clever, prescient, and VERY relatable!

  • Aly Kantor: Women of 4G

    I cannot figure out how this play managed to make me care so deeply for this group of ambitious, messy, brilliant, deliciously flawed women so quickly, but I was all in from page one. Just when you think the stakes are high, there's a gasp-worthy twist that brings things to the next level. I'm most impressed by the politics - these relationships feel so nuanced and lived in, which is such a breath of fresh air in a script featuring 7 women! Designers will lose their minds over the opportunity to create the stunning Act II spacewalk. A fantastic play!

    I cannot figure out how this play managed to make me care so deeply for this group of ambitious, messy, brilliant, deliciously flawed women so quickly, but I was all in from page one. Just when you think the stakes are high, there's a gasp-worthy twist that brings things to the next level. I'm most impressed by the politics - these relationships feel so nuanced and lived in, which is such a breath of fresh air in a script featuring 7 women! Designers will lose their minds over the opportunity to create the stunning Act II spacewalk. A fantastic play!

  • Aly Kantor: small quiet good

    A commedia-style retelling of a dark Greek myth? Hubbard nails it! This adaptation of the Medusa story is moving, stunning, and, most impressively, absolutely hilarious, confronting audiences without triggering them. Audiences will experience rich, evocative language, stunning stage pictures, and some of the wittiest, smartest dialogue I've heard in recent memory. There are so many opportunities for creative staging, even in the most pared-down campfire-style production, and actors will have a BLAST embodying up to 7 characters each, giving each of them a unique voice, quirks, and depth. The...

    A commedia-style retelling of a dark Greek myth? Hubbard nails it! This adaptation of the Medusa story is moving, stunning, and, most impressively, absolutely hilarious, confronting audiences without triggering them. Audiences will experience rich, evocative language, stunning stage pictures, and some of the wittiest, smartest dialogue I've heard in recent memory. There are so many opportunities for creative staging, even in the most pared-down campfire-style production, and actors will have a BLAST embodying up to 7 characters each, giving each of them a unique voice, quirks, and depth. The doubling blew my mind! A rich script that demands staging!

  • Aly Kantor: Glory to the Father

    I was lucky enough to attend a reading of this play, and it's a script I'll never forget. From the first lines of the play onward, there is something singularly theatrical about the storytelling - this play belongs on a stage! Making discoveries about Rachel's family in a room full of theatergoers was—dare I say—a religious experience. The characters are funny, specific, recognizable, and well-drawn, and I am amazed by how much humor there was in a script about such a serious topic. It's Moving and cathartic with a gorgeous rhythm. This is a must-produce script.

    I was lucky enough to attend a reading of this play, and it's a script I'll never forget. From the first lines of the play onward, there is something singularly theatrical about the storytelling - this play belongs on a stage! Making discoveries about Rachel's family in a room full of theatergoers was—dare I say—a religious experience. The characters are funny, specific, recognizable, and well-drawn, and I am amazed by how much humor there was in a script about such a serious topic. It's Moving and cathartic with a gorgeous rhythm. This is a must-produce script.

  • Aly Kantor: Gold Paint

    This is the perfect comedy for a small ensemble of quick, witty actors of a certain age. The dialogue moves a mile a minute, but I'm sure the action will be pausing frequently to keep up with audience laughter! The specificity of the historical and political climate in the play adds so much texture and depth, but I fell in love with the fantastic characters... one of which is DEAD, and still gets his fair share of laughs! This play is about heavy topics, but it's so light and human, with a feel-good ending that left me smiling!

    This is the perfect comedy for a small ensemble of quick, witty actors of a certain age. The dialogue moves a mile a minute, but I'm sure the action will be pausing frequently to keep up with audience laughter! The specificity of the historical and political climate in the play adds so much texture and depth, but I fell in love with the fantastic characters... one of which is DEAD, and still gets his fair share of laughs! This play is about heavy topics, but it's so light and human, with a feel-good ending that left me smiling!

  • Aly Kantor: ART-ificial Intelligence

    There is some real wisdom hidden in this chilling 5-minute play, which is more honest about the place AI occupies in the current artistic landscape than a lot of media. With that said, the subtle but terrifying reversal leaves more questions than answers, leaving the reader to wonder if Monalis-AI is hiding something...or merely an artificial consciousness working within her constraints. Ultimately, it leaves you with questions about the future of this technology and what it means for our humanity... and possibly all humanity! An excellent, efficient little play!

    There is some real wisdom hidden in this chilling 5-minute play, which is more honest about the place AI occupies in the current artistic landscape than a lot of media. With that said, the subtle but terrifying reversal leaves more questions than answers, leaving the reader to wonder if Monalis-AI is hiding something...or merely an artificial consciousness working within her constraints. Ultimately, it leaves you with questions about the future of this technology and what it means for our humanity... and possibly all humanity! An excellent, efficient little play!

  • Aly Kantor: He Ain’t No Stephen Adly Guirgis

    Every theatre artist has been in a room with a bad script, an inexperienced director, or both, but this play takes this dreaded scenario and turns it into an ode to theatre as a collaborative art form! The characters are bright and specific, and the dialogue is full of big laughs and unexpected reversals. The moment when the actor and the director begin to work together and truly play is dynamic, and I could feel the renewed energy popping off the page!

    Every theatre artist has been in a room with a bad script, an inexperienced director, or both, but this play takes this dreaded scenario and turns it into an ode to theatre as a collaborative art form! The characters are bright and specific, and the dialogue is full of big laughs and unexpected reversals. The moment when the actor and the director begin to work together and truly play is dynamic, and I could feel the renewed energy popping off the page!

  • Aly Kantor: Oh, Dear God, Dad is a Feminist

    The characters in this play are so rich and specific that by the end of ten pages, you'll feel like you've known them for years - but what could a feminist and a "dinosaur" have to talk about? It turns out, a ton - and this play utilizes clever theatrical asides to add plenty of moving context throughout. The conclusion? Love and affection isn't about masculinity or femininity, but how someone makes you feel. If you feel safe and cared for, all else is secondary! A gorgeous conclusion to a smart and genuine short play!

    The characters in this play are so rich and specific that by the end of ten pages, you'll feel like you've known them for years - but what could a feminist and a "dinosaur" have to talk about? It turns out, a ton - and this play utilizes clever theatrical asides to add plenty of moving context throughout. The conclusion? Love and affection isn't about masculinity or femininity, but how someone makes you feel. If you feel safe and cared for, all else is secondary! A gorgeous conclusion to a smart and genuine short play!

  • Aly Kantor: 1918

    This charmingly anachronistic play is set in 1918 but could easily be taking place in America today. Three funny, specific young women grapple with pandemic isolation and the anxieties of a distant war.

    While, in the 21st century, we talk about screens and feeling "too connected," this group of girls is left to speculate about the whereabouts of a lover stuck "over there." Audiences of all ages will be able to relate to the helplessness and anxiety these girls feel - but there are plenty of laughs throughout to keep things light! A sweet and moving short for teen performers!

    This charmingly anachronistic play is set in 1918 but could easily be taking place in America today. Three funny, specific young women grapple with pandemic isolation and the anxieties of a distant war.

    While, in the 21st century, we talk about screens and feeling "too connected," this group of girls is left to speculate about the whereabouts of a lover stuck "over there." Audiences of all ages will be able to relate to the helplessness and anxiety these girls feel - but there are plenty of laughs throughout to keep things light! A sweet and moving short for teen performers!