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Maximillian Gill

Recommended by Maximillian Gill

  • A Tree Grows in Longmont by Philip Middleton Williams
    6 Mar. 2020
    “ A simply beautiful short play. The relationship at the heart is real, tender, and wonderfully rendered through memories of both big moments and small ones. The bond between the two characters is at the same time real and touchingly romantic. I am impressed by Williams’s natural feel for the dialogue of two people who understand each other deeply but who all too often fail to really understand each other. ”
  • The Fierce Urgency Of Now by Doug DeVita
    5 Mar. 2020
    “ Despite the advertising world setting, I forgot about “Mad Men” in the first couple of pages as this piece is driven by a delirious wit and verve that are distinctly DeVita’s. The dialogue is sharp, the characters glorious in their backstabbing, and the pace snappy. Kyle, Kate, and Dodo are all unique and unforgettable characters. The ad world details all ring true, and we are so immersed in the milieu that the stakes always feel heightened, yet throughout the corporate warfare the play maintains perspective and revels in the dream of flying high above it all. Masterful work. ”
  • Smoke and Mirrors by Chelsea Frandsen
    4 Mar. 2020
    “ A wonderful meditation on love, life, and letting go. The dialogue is sharp and direct yet also amazingly expressive and perceptive about the inner emotional states of the characters. In less confident hands the mixing of characters in the “living” world and those in the world “beyond” could easily get muddled, but Frandsen keeps everything clear and visual so that the reader is never confused. The dramatic flow is tight, never an ounce of fat or a wasted line. The resolution is completely earned. Impressive work overall. ”
  • Death Plans A Holiday by John Busser
    3 Mar. 2020
    “ A really fun short play! Using the embodiment of death as a character is irresistible for any writer (or maybe it's just me), but Busser’s portrayal is unique for making Death into a purveyor of dad jokes who is simultaneously a terrible customer service client because of course it's never easy to deal with death. I can see this piece being really funny onstage. ”
  • THE DEFECTORS by Nick Malakhow
    2 Mar. 2020
    “ One of the many things I love about Malakhow's work is his deep sensitivity for characters at peak vulnerability, and his gift really shows through in this piece. The writer conveys the anxieties of those suffering from eating disorder with honesty and deep empathy. Their difficulties around what are everyday situations for most people are detailed and utterly convincing; the piece so completely captures the world from their eyes that we cannot help but feel for them. The perfume scene is intoxicating and sensual. I look forward to seeing how the play develops as Malakhow continues working on it. ”
  • Pangea (Part Two of The Second World Trilogy) by Scott Sickles
    1 Mar. 2020
    “ Our favorite characters from the first part of the trilogy yet again form the spine of the play, and we delight in their mature perspectives and touching re-acquaintance. This time the story takes in both the political events of this richly imagined future and the impending collapse of our ecosystem. Sickles fills the outwardly sterile Antarctica environment with wonderfully lively characters and lots of sexy science talk. The characters are removed from some catastrophes even as they witness others firsthand, and we watch breathlessly over their shoulders, completely engaged thanks to Sickles’s always assured writing. ”
  • The Mortal Drama by Chris Gacinski
    29 Feb. 2020
    “ Gacinski doesn’t hold back in this rough portrayal of a relationship bound by co-dependency, creativity, and abuse. The play’s clear-eyed rendering of the male character depicts how his philosophical stances on art and drug use progress towards brutal violence in a chilling portrait of the manipulative methods of toxic masculinity. Tough and compelling. ”
  • A Poison Squad of Whispering Women by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos
    28 Feb. 2020
    “ McBurnette-Andronicos’s thrilling play has a lot to say about how our current political situation can be traced through the country’s history. Her portrait of a town with a normalized KKK presence is chilling and effortlessly convincing. Yet again, I have to remark on the writer’s incredible feel for language in the dialogue. How she is able to convey the rhythms and peculiarities of American English from a century ago is beyond me. The use of antiquated slang always feels authentic, yet the characters are so real I never feel like I’m reading a period piece. ”
  • Band-Aid by Chris Gacinski
    28 Feb. 2020
    “ Imagine something like a film noir set in the world of theatre and playwrights, complete with double-crossings and lovers with suspicious agendas. Now imagine it with Gacinski’s unique style and you have an engaging play that takes some unexpected twists and turns and keeps you wondering until the very end. Also an apt metaphor for how creativity both fulfills and depletes an artist spiritually. We've all been there! ”
  • The Children Who Played at Slaughter by David Hansen
    27 Feb. 2020
    “ Oh wow! A compact, brutal tale. No spoilers, but just when I thought I knew where it was going it instead ended up someplace unexpected, dangerous, and mythic. Just perfect in melding content to theme. I won’t say any more, just read it. ”

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