Recommended by Benjamin Benne

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    I read this play a couple years ago and really enjoyed it -- but getting to see the Colt Coeur reading cemented my love for this play. The characters' voices are so distinct, its development of plot is thrillingly well paced, and its final twist is so unexpected and moving. Also, the dance sequences are so wildly theatrical and wonderful and hilarious -- oh, and those monologues: sublime. Highly recommend.

    I read this play a couple years ago and really enjoyed it -- but getting to see the Colt Coeur reading cemented my love for this play. The characters' voices are so distinct, its development of plot is thrillingly well paced, and its final twist is so unexpected and moving. Also, the dance sequences are so wildly theatrical and wonderful and hilarious -- oh, and those monologues: sublime. Highly recommend.

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    I saw a great reading of this play at Irish Rep. The way the play introduces its audience to the character pairings was riveting -- especially when the pairs we're introduced to began to mix and match into new configurations and vocabularies (on and offstage). The form is so exciting and getting to watch actors slip between identities and time periods so seamlessly was wonderfully theatrical and made me crave being able to watch it all unfold while fully designed in the context of a production.

    I saw a great reading of this play at Irish Rep. The way the play introduces its audience to the character pairings was riveting -- especially when the pairs we're introduced to began to mix and match into new configurations and vocabularies (on and offstage). The form is so exciting and getting to watch actors slip between identities and time periods so seamlessly was wonderfully theatrical and made me crave being able to watch it all unfold while fully designed in the context of a production.

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    Such a precise, specific exploration of isolation and disconnection in relationships, that's so full of longing and yearning (whether in parenthood or adolescence) that it makes me ache. I love the gestural vocabulary of the play and how it simply--but beautifully and poetically--highlights the body and, also, expresses the distance between mind and body so perfectly. A rare play that is so full of heart and tenderness -- and wow that final sensory gesture at the end: spectacular!

    Such a precise, specific exploration of isolation and disconnection in relationships, that's so full of longing and yearning (whether in parenthood or adolescence) that it makes me ache. I love the gestural vocabulary of the play and how it simply--but beautifully and poetically--highlights the body and, also, expresses the distance between mind and body so perfectly. A rare play that is so full of heart and tenderness -- and wow that final sensory gesture at the end: spectacular!

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    This play gutted me...over and over. Each scene is so perfectly crafted from a story perspective so that the final beat lands with impact -- and like a stone rolling down a mountain, each scene just keeps accumulating in momentum and stakes as it hurls towards an inevitable but striking ending. The language alone is so effective that it's an exciting prospect to see how the design/puppetry/mask components would enhance it.

    This play gutted me...over and over. Each scene is so perfectly crafted from a story perspective so that the final beat lands with impact -- and like a stone rolling down a mountain, each scene just keeps accumulating in momentum and stakes as it hurls towards an inevitable but striking ending. The language alone is so effective that it's an exciting prospect to see how the design/puppetry/mask components would enhance it.

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    This play truly took my breath away. It has a slow burn pace that gently pulled me into the world of its characters. And, as the play opens up, spanning time and space and imagistic vocabularies -- while consistently asking difficult questions about privacy, ownership, and preservation as it pertains to language and culture -- it concludes with a final scene that really snuck up on me and delivered one of the most emotional experiences I've had at a play reading. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.

    This play truly took my breath away. It has a slow burn pace that gently pulled me into the world of its characters. And, as the play opens up, spanning time and space and imagistic vocabularies -- while consistently asking difficult questions about privacy, ownership, and preservation as it pertains to language and culture -- it concludes with a final scene that really snuck up on me and delivered one of the most emotional experiences I've had at a play reading. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.

  • Benjamin Benne: #'s by Chad Kaydo
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    This play had me laughing harder than any other in a long time...like years. The behavior of the characters is always grounded even as their circumstances spiral into the absurd -- and always at the core is a question of: how do you evaluate someone? How can you put a number on a person's value? The urgency of the office culture is also juxtaposed with these haunting interludes of birds in nature that have stayed with me since seeing a reading at the Great Plains New Play Festival.

    This play had me laughing harder than any other in a long time...like years. The behavior of the characters is always grounded even as their circumstances spiral into the absurd -- and always at the core is a question of: how do you evaluate someone? How can you put a number on a person's value? The urgency of the office culture is also juxtaposed with these haunting interludes of birds in nature that have stayed with me since seeing a reading at the Great Plains New Play Festival.

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  • Benjamin Benne: Green Suga Bloos by Rudi Goblen
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    This play is astounding. The images and language strike me with awe. The dialogue is so poetic and playful. I also particularly love the portrayal of relationships between two father/friends and the fathers and their daughters. Seeing it performed at the Langston Hughes Festival was remarkable: so many theatrical vocabularies and planes of existence swirled together to make for a singular, memorable experience.

    This play is astounding. The images and language strike me with awe. The dialogue is so poetic and playful. I also particularly love the portrayal of relationships between two father/friends and the fathers and their daughters. Seeing it performed at the Langston Hughes Festival was remarkable: so many theatrical vocabularies and planes of existence swirled together to make for a singular, memorable experience.

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  • Benjamin Benne: Furlough's Paradise by a.k. payne
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    This is one of those rare plays that really just burrows right into the heart and stays there, and now it holds a space in mine and always will. It's so simple and streamlined in its storytelling that it feels like I inhaled it in a single breath. But it's by no means easy, it gets right into the knotty grievances shared between its characters and reveals more and more layers of grief that they are moving through. Beautiful, delicate, complicated portrait of a very specific relationship.

    This is one of those rare plays that really just burrows right into the heart and stays there, and now it holds a space in mine and always will. It's so simple and streamlined in its storytelling that it feels like I inhaled it in a single breath. But it's by no means easy, it gets right into the knotty grievances shared between its characters and reveals more and more layers of grief that they are moving through. Beautiful, delicate, complicated portrait of a very specific relationship.

    ”
  • Benjamin Benne: Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!) by Julia Izumi
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    Getting to encounter this play at OPC was a pure delight, in addition to being a rigorous dissection/deconstruction of identity. The play made me laugh so hard when reading it on the page -- but watching it performed made me laugh harder than any other play I can remember in years. It's brilliantly constructed by drawing a parallel between the consumption of yogurt and films (as culture), then does another mirror effect between Akira and the playwright in a deeply personal and affecting way. Can't wait to see this play fully produced.

    Getting to encounter this play at OPC was a pure delight, in addition to being a rigorous dissection/deconstruction of identity. The play made me laugh so hard when reading it on the page -- but watching it performed made me laugh harder than any other play I can remember in years. It's brilliantly constructed by drawing a parallel between the consumption of yogurt and films (as culture), then does another mirror effect between Akira and the playwright in a deeply personal and affecting way. Can't wait to see this play fully produced.

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  • Benjamin Benne: Lessons by Matthew Chong
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    I'm in awe of this play. It gripped me with mystery from the first scene and skillfully doled out one event after another that kept me riveted as I continued reading. The dialogue is sophisticated and feels lived-in. The characterizations are rich and dimensional. It's a satisfying blend of elegant structure, honest storytelling, and provocation (without being gratuitous or shocking). My congrats to Matthew.

    I'm in awe of this play. It gripped me with mystery from the first scene and skillfully doled out one event after another that kept me riveted as I continued reading. The dialogue is sophisticated and feels lived-in. The characterizations are rich and dimensional. It's a satisfying blend of elegant structure, honest storytelling, and provocation (without being gratuitous or shocking). My congrats to Matthew.

    ”