Recommended by Catherine Castellani

  •

    When you realize you're in IHOP and the play is called "stuffed" you are forgiven for thinking this is about pancakes. It is. Just not in any way you anticipated. I saw this read at the Valdez Theater Conference and it is a top-30 play at the Sam French OOB Festival in New York and the next place it shows up should be on your stage.

    When you realize you're in IHOP and the play is called "stuffed" you are forgiven for thinking this is about pancakes. It is. Just not in any way you anticipated. I saw this read at the Valdez Theater Conference and it is a top-30 play at the Sam French OOB Festival in New York and the next place it shows up should be on your stage.

  •

    I saw this two-hander performed at the 2024 OOB Festival. It begins in the stress and suspense of a coal-mine collapse as Carl and Thomas wait for rescue, and somehow ups the stakes from there! The first reveal is sobering, and the second reveal will send a literal chill down your back. Produce this play!

    I saw this two-hander performed at the 2024 OOB Festival. It begins in the stress and suspense of a coal-mine collapse as Carl and Thomas wait for rescue, and somehow ups the stakes from there! The first reveal is sobering, and the second reveal will send a literal chill down your back. Produce this play!

  •

    The action seems quotidian and simple, but layers and layers of strange are lurking below the ordinary surface. This super-producible two-hander is spooky, mysterious, and hilarious by turn as the truth is revealed bit by bit.

    The action seems quotidian and simple, but layers and layers of strange are lurking below the ordinary surface. This super-producible two-hander is spooky, mysterious, and hilarious by turn as the truth is revealed bit by bit.

  •

    I saw this play read at Naked Angels Tuesdays at 9:00 and I guffawed out loud in my living room as the Zoom weirdness unfolded, past the expected complications, on into the decidedly odd, and right through the "wait, what!?" twists. A strangely cathartic Zoom play for those of us who spend too much time on Zoom.

    I saw this play read at Naked Angels Tuesdays at 9:00 and I guffawed out loud in my living room as the Zoom weirdness unfolded, past the expected complications, on into the decidedly odd, and right through the "wait, what!?" twists. A strangely cathartic Zoom play for those of us who spend too much time on Zoom.

  •

    The emotional horror at the center of this play builds the tension bit by bit to a shocking conclusion. It's one of the tightest, best-structured short plays I've read. I need a glass of that Scotch they're drinking at the top to shake it off.

    The emotional horror at the center of this play builds the tension bit by bit to a shocking conclusion. It's one of the tightest, best-structured short plays I've read. I need a glass of that Scotch they're drinking at the top to shake it off.

  • Catherine Castellani: Six Dead Bodies Duct-Taped to a Merry-Go-Round by Dawson Moore
    “

    This play is set in 2009, but its brand of weird is perfect for 2020. As in, there are multiple layers of "What??" going on that somehow add up to an ordinary, yeah-we're-doing-this moment that I completely believe. A strange and very fun ride in the cab of a truck.

    This play is set in 2009, but its brand of weird is perfect for 2020. As in, there are multiple layers of "What??" going on that somehow add up to an ordinary, yeah-we're-doing-this moment that I completely believe. A strange and very fun ride in the cab of a truck.

    ”
  • Catherine Castellani: Phillie's Trilogy by Doug DeVita
    “

    Phillie's Trilogy is about the best thing I've read about the greatness and the horror that is a deep, long-term friendship. Philip and Barbara are besties, and so are their moms, and if that sounds simple and sweet keep reading. You can lie to someone you've known since you were five years old, but you can never truly fool someone who knew you when. Through grace and betrayal, and across the chasm that is trying to truly know and understand another person, Phillie's Trilogy packs a hugely enjoyable wallop.

    Phillie's Trilogy is about the best thing I've read about the greatness and the horror that is a deep, long-term friendship. Philip and Barbara are besties, and so are their moms, and if that sounds simple and sweet keep reading. You can lie to someone you've known since you were five years old, but you can never truly fool someone who knew you when. Through grace and betrayal, and across the chasm that is trying to truly know and understand another person, Phillie's Trilogy packs a hugely enjoyable wallop.

    ”
  • Catherine Castellani: The Fierce Urgency Of Now by Doug DeVita
    “

    If you've ever worked in the ad business, THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW will give you flashbacks. But it's not really about the ad business, it's about getting on with your life, no matter how young, old, jaded, or fresh you might be. I was rooting for these characters all the way.

    If you've ever worked in the ad business, THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW will give you flashbacks. But it's not really about the ad business, it's about getting on with your life, no matter how young, old, jaded, or fresh you might be. I was rooting for these characters all the way.

    ”
  • Catherine Castellani: ABIGAIL by Sarah Tuft
    “

    Sarah Tuft's ABIGAIL moves along a path you think you know well, until you find yourself someplace you don't recognize. And it plays this trick over and over again, and still: you don't see it coming. The pleasure of following this female protagonist--named Ashley, surprise--is real and uplifting, right to the inevitable surprise of a happy ending. This should get produced. And produced. And produced some more.

    Sarah Tuft's ABIGAIL moves along a path you think you know well, until you find yourself someplace you don't recognize. And it plays this trick over and over again, and still: you don't see it coming. The pleasure of following this female protagonist--named Ashley, surprise--is real and uplifting, right to the inevitable surprise of a happy ending. This should get produced. And produced. And produced some more.

    ”
  • Catherine Castellani: THE BUTCHER by Gwydion Suilebhan
    “

    The interactions in The Butcher are unexpected in the best way. The story pulled me through, never letting me get ahead of it or finish anybody's sentence. The Butcher respects its audience along with its characters and the conversation it starts is all the richer for that.

    The interactions in The Butcher are unexpected in the best way. The story pulled me through, never letting me get ahead of it or finish anybody's sentence. The Butcher respects its audience along with its characters and the conversation it starts is all the richer for that.

    ”