Recommended by Morey Norkin

This is my other recommendation of a chilling, eerie short from Debra Cole. In Pressure Points, we have a male supervisor treating two female subordinates to a reward for their fine work managing schools in a private system. It seems there are no red lines this supervisor will not cross. I found it hard to sit comfortably while reading this because the supervisor is so… eww! This play will spark a good deal of discussion, especially from anyone who has ever felt even the slightest discomfort in the workplace. Bound to be the talk of any festival!

I just read two of Debra Cole’s short plays, both eerie and chilling, but in very different ways. Good Samaritan is a tightly written mystery in which a tragedy is slowly revealed to be something more menacing. I wanted the play to continue because I was worried about what might happen next! I can imagine audience members wanting to shout out a warning! Worthy of Hitchcock!

Puns promised, puns delivered! Zany, crazy, and lots of fun! Bodily fluids aside, or wherever one keeps them, Jarred Corona has discovered his superpower!

This is an extremely intense 10 minutes! Two brothers reveal the years of abuse that lead them to an act of desperation. That is followed by fear of the consequences, which leads to the final act of desperation. I think audiences seeing this staged live will be amazed to discover that they are capable of holding their breath for 10 minutes! Powerful. Riveting. Disturbing. A must see!

DC Cathro’s short play provides directors and actors with many interesting choices and challenges. The seemingly comic situation and dialogue at the beginning with a somewhat manic new bride suddenly showing up at an old college acquaintance’s door, evolves to a moment of clarity for the bride. And we are left to wonder just how the acquaintance might reconsider her own circumstances. Incredibly well-written and certainly a treat for audiences and performers alike. My first Cathro play, but not my last!

Congratulations to Debra Cole on having this lovely play selected for production at the Crafton Hills College’s New Works Festival for 2022. This is a tender story of a seasoned traveler who usually plans every detail preparing for one last journey and leaving it all in other hands. No doubt a few tears will be shed at Crafton Hills College.

Paul Smith is truly a brilliant writer. This monologue, written in verse, with clever interior rhyming, is a joy to read! No doubt it would be a joy to perform for an actor or witness from the audience.

Paul Smith is truly a brilliant writer. This monologue, written in verse, with clever interior rhyming, is a joy to read! No doubt it would be a joy to perform for an actor or witness from the audience.

Paul Smith treats us to another short play with a film legend. Unlike with with James Mason’s nostalgic recollections in “The Deaths of James Mason,” we see an Orson Welles at a time when he was more of a punchline than a legend, reduced to making wine commercials. Still, the story is told with sensitivity and provides a glimpse of the artist from earlier times. A choice role for an accomplished actor.

What a clever idea! Paul Smith has created a charming monologue for this film icon. I wonder if there is a full-length version in the works?!