Recommended by Barry Wallace

  • While the play is about a human interacting with an alien being of some kind, it's really about two people learning to communicate, to trust based on faith, and not being afraid to help each other. It's a lesson we need to see played out more on stage and elsewhere, to remind ourselves that we matter to others, and they matter to us. We're not alone and shouldn't be in it just for ourselves. Well done, I loved reading this and would love to see it staged. Its simple message is one that's needed.

    While the play is about a human interacting with an alien being of some kind, it's really about two people learning to communicate, to trust based on faith, and not being afraid to help each other. It's a lesson we need to see played out more on stage and elsewhere, to remind ourselves that we matter to others, and they matter to us. We're not alone and shouldn't be in it just for ourselves. Well done, I loved reading this and would love to see it staged. Its simple message is one that's needed.

  • A quick, rich and honest look at contemporary marriage. This would be a great piece for a marriage-themed short play evening. Great twist at the end, too. I feel for both of them...

    A quick, rich and honest look at contemporary marriage. This would be a great piece for a marriage-themed short play evening. Great twist at the end, too. I feel for both of them...

  • Brian has written a great short play that succeeds in peering into the minds of two theatre archetypes: the boorish audience members, and their actor friend who must put up with them. You actually get to empathize with the disruptors, because they truly want their actor buddy to succeed. They just have some difficulty expressing their appreciation. Very funny, very recognizable.

    Brian has written a great short play that succeeds in peering into the minds of two theatre archetypes: the boorish audience members, and their actor friend who must put up with them. You actually get to empathize with the disruptors, because they truly want their actor buddy to succeed. They just have some difficulty expressing their appreciation. Very funny, very recognizable.

  • "Venus Needs Men" is a hilarious send-up of several old 50's sci-fi tropes, and turns expectation on its head. Alien abductee stories usually end up with the victims horribly violated, but in this play the abductee is forced to act in a community theatre production. Actually, ALL of them. Every actor's dream becomes a nightmare....

    "Venus Needs Men" is a hilarious send-up of several old 50's sci-fi tropes, and turns expectation on its head. Alien abductee stories usually end up with the victims horribly violated, but in this play the abductee is forced to act in a community theatre production. Actually, ALL of them. Every actor's dream becomes a nightmare....

  • Great monologue about a woman who just can't take it anymore, and finally found the time and place to let all of it out. I loved the ambiguity, and the raw shifts in emotion. So many people never get to say what needs to be said, and this character finally gets a chance to do so, on her own terms.

    Great monologue about a woman who just can't take it anymore, and finally found the time and place to let all of it out. I loved the ambiguity, and the raw shifts in emotion. So many people never get to say what needs to be said, and this character finally gets a chance to do so, on her own terms.

  • Barry Wallace: A Steamboat Willie Gravestone

    Marshall illustrates a moment in time when human needs collide with corporate greed. We see it all the time, a company fears any deviation from its intellectual property but loses sight on why people connect with it in the first place and what makes it special. A nice little piece that manages to send up a familiar organization, but it could be anyone who creates an idea that means something to a child, and in the end their own selfishness denies them the full value of that idea.

    Marshall illustrates a moment in time when human needs collide with corporate greed. We see it all the time, a company fears any deviation from its intellectual property but loses sight on why people connect with it in the first place and what makes it special. A nice little piece that manages to send up a familiar organization, but it could be anyone who creates an idea that means something to a child, and in the end their own selfishness denies them the full value of that idea.

  • Barry Wallace: Over the Fence

    Over the Fence in one sense is a thought-provoking look at how we view addiction in our communities, and what lengths we will go through to help those who are caught in its web. But deeper is a story about two people fierce in their own points of view, who find difficulty communicating their true feelings. One hides behind formality, while the other hides a deep personal pain. The two reluctantly try to find some kind of common ground. Very well written, I would love to see this performed.

    Over the Fence in one sense is a thought-provoking look at how we view addiction in our communities, and what lengths we will go through to help those who are caught in its web. But deeper is a story about two people fierce in their own points of view, who find difficulty communicating their true feelings. One hides behind formality, while the other hides a deep personal pain. The two reluctantly try to find some kind of common ground. Very well written, I would love to see this performed.

  • Barry Wallace: Laundry Day

    LAUNDRY DAY by Dan West is not just a play about weekly chores, it's a look at the opportunity we're all presented with from time to time to shed our outer identities, "clean" them up, and put on something nice and fresh to present to the world. Two superhero/roommates have opposite abilities and enthusiasm for how they can help the world, and this play examines how we all hide our true motivations from each other and ourselves.

    LAUNDRY DAY by Dan West is not just a play about weekly chores, it's a look at the opportunity we're all presented with from time to time to shed our outer identities, "clean" them up, and put on something nice and fresh to present to the world. Two superhero/roommates have opposite abilities and enthusiasm for how they can help the world, and this play examines how we all hide our true motivations from each other and ourselves.

  • Barry Wallace: My Daughter's a Demon!

    This play perfectly captures a typical mother-daughter relationship, where both refuse to see the others' perspective until it literally rises out of hell to force an understanding. I pity the poor psychologist/psychiatrist (same thing) who is caught in the middle and forced to reevaluate her worldview and medical credentials - reality is a bummer when it interferes with your degree. Great dialogue, fun twists, would love to see this staged.

    This play perfectly captures a typical mother-daughter relationship, where both refuse to see the others' perspective until it literally rises out of hell to force an understanding. I pity the poor psychologist/psychiatrist (same thing) who is caught in the middle and forced to reevaluate her worldview and medical credentials - reality is a bummer when it interferes with your degree. Great dialogue, fun twists, would love to see this staged.

  • Barry Wallace: Under A Watchful Eye

    Wow, this was not what I was expecting. As someone who very recently went through a similar experience with an older parent (the hospital part, not the rest of it - he was a wonderful dad) I still can understand the thousands of emotions that spill out at that time. Some of those can be not very positive, and some can come from a place of great pain. Great job, John, showing we all approach death in different ways.

    Wow, this was not what I was expecting. As someone who very recently went through a similar experience with an older parent (the hospital part, not the rest of it - he was a wonderful dad) I still can understand the thousands of emotions that spill out at that time. Some of those can be not very positive, and some can come from a place of great pain. Great job, John, showing we all approach death in different ways.