Recommended by Brian James Polak

  • Plastic Love
    16 Jan. 2019
    Fun, funny, and head-spinning... this play has me considering the trajectory our culture is on with relationship to technology. Siri, Google, Alexa, etc. all aim to improve our lives in various ways, and this play explores what that might look like down the road. To me it's not that pretty (I mean the imagined future, not the play which is aesthetically brilliant). What this play dramatizes has me worried about humanity losing one thing that makes us human, which is the authentic interpersonal relationships with each other.
  • Alabaster
    10 Dec. 2018
    This play.... oh man. It is just so so good. I attended a reading of it and was unbelievably taken by its humor, heart, and humanity. This is a stunning play about art, vulnerability, and taking that first step toward healing wounds that seem as if they were destined to remain with us forever.
  • Fabulous Monsters
    9 Nov. 2018
    This is a rad play with rad songs. I love the excavation of the punk mentality from the late 1970s and extrapolating those ideals into the present day. This play portrays deep and complicated characters who are not like me, but are just like me. Life is hard, we all have dreams, some people achieve them, others get close, but in the end we are all confronted by mortality and the realization of what matters most in life.
  • Second Skin
    29 Sep. 2018
    Second Skin is dark and light and lyrical and raw. The dramaturgy, structure, and tone break the norms theater-goers tend to see, and they are three reasons why I love this play so much.
  • Dark Play or Stories for Boys
    31 Aug. 2018
    "dark play" was the first important play in my development as a writer. The story, which in some ways seems dated due to the rise of social media, is anything but dated as the concept of "catfishing" sadly catches on. This script intensely captures that need to be loved, to be touched... to feel something. It feels youthful, but these urges never leave us as we age.
  • #krazyman
    20 Aug. 2018
    This is a funny and dramatic look at life in the crazed culture of 2018, but is (thankfully) not focused on the insanity of politics as much as it is about social media, the need for attention, and the slippery slope of online news. This multi-media driven piece is funny, thought-provoking, and could be a powerful production for an ensemble theater company.
  • Derailed
    14 Jun. 2018
    A rich and layered drama/tragedy about family, attaining wealth, and the stranglehold opioids have on people. DERAILED is a time capsule for the culture we live in today.
  • Apocalypse Play
    23 May. 2018
    The world has ended, but it isn't over. A few survivors of an apocalypse try and figure out what life is now that everything they understood to be "life" is gone. There is so much to admire in this play. I love the humor Cory uses to signal these people have no quite given up. I love how the heart of the story is never lost in humor or in darkness. Most of all I love the end when a new hope emerges and shows us if we hold on long enough, what we love of life will return.
  • Holler River
    7 May. 2018
    A town awaits a soldier's return from war, fearful of the damage done. This play is operatic for its use of music and for extraordinary stakes - it is about surviving a tumultuous time in a place desperate for hope. This town has nothing but the people… and they have each other, which in the end is all they need to cope with the endless cycles of war. The play’s power washed over me. It’s a work as much for tomorrow as it is today - we’ll never not need reminding of the terrible consequences of war.
  • Man of the People
    3 Feb. 2018
    I'm a sucker for plays that explore the impact of charlatans on people. Dolores' play "Man of the People" tells a story you wouldn't believe was true; and it's as funny as it is unbelievable. And the crazy thing is, this play demonstrates its own relevance as Americans navigate life with a charlatan in charge. This would be a great play for an ensemble theater company.

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