Recommended by Ricardo Soltero-Brown

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: Something Profound

    The atmosphere a playwright feels in their heart/head is seldom without hard work achieved in the room, that is to say, the theatre. It's like constructing a greenhouse then claiming you've wielded Mother Nature. Hageman makes a jovial sports-like piece out of the searching for that component so elusive, so ethereal in 'Something Profound', while skewering gender tropes; it's both testament and homage to theatre-making. Her use of the technology available is challenging and appreciated. This meta-work of comedic half-fiction is more than worth accomplishing, as much for us as for them. Both of...

    The atmosphere a playwright feels in their heart/head is seldom without hard work achieved in the room, that is to say, the theatre. It's like constructing a greenhouse then claiming you've wielded Mother Nature. Hageman makes a jovial sports-like piece out of the searching for that component so elusive, so ethereal in 'Something Profound', while skewering gender tropes; it's both testament and homage to theatre-making. Her use of the technology available is challenging and appreciated. This meta-work of comedic half-fiction is more than worth accomplishing, as much for us as for them. Both of whom are in the play.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: Homo for Christmas

    Probably the finest, cleverest, most inspired aspects of Bavoso's Christmas-set comedy are the complications that are never alleviated, only exacerbated. Grandma could prove a goldmine. The grand miscommunications, both deliberate and genuine, are ablaze and absolutely what set this apart from the other plays in its genre. Ready for the holidays or festivals, this family malfunction will absolutely work anywhere, anytime.

    Probably the finest, cleverest, most inspired aspects of Bavoso's Christmas-set comedy are the complications that are never alleviated, only exacerbated. Grandma could prove a goldmine. The grand miscommunications, both deliberate and genuine, are ablaze and absolutely what set this apart from the other plays in its genre. Ready for the holidays or festivals, this family malfunction will absolutely work anywhere, anytime.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: A Good Catch

    An age-old hunt is given a bait-and-switch by Jeanette Farr. The classic dynamic initially yields puns, innuendos, and euphemisms before using satire, militant and charging, to take Man down a peg and put him in his place, merciless and unconcerned if he ever actually learns what that is. Which isn't necessarily ever the aim of the gods. Very funny.

    An age-old hunt is given a bait-and-switch by Jeanette Farr. The classic dynamic initially yields puns, innuendos, and euphemisms before using satire, militant and charging, to take Man down a peg and put him in his place, merciless and unconcerned if he ever actually learns what that is. Which isn't necessarily ever the aim of the gods. Very funny.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: THE BIGNESS OF IT ALL

    There's a profoundness to this play that is so unsettling. The simplicity of it all. The straightforwardness of it all. The matter of fact-ness of it all. How the subject of a small physical movement can mean something so large that it has for so long been, in a way, unapproachable. However, it has been approached, faced, ignored, warded off, acknowledged, dismissed, etc, etc, etc, and for some reason, it continues to perplex some and vex the rest. This is a deep, deep play from Stephanie Alison Walker about empathy and ignorance and so much more. Just pick an angle.

    There's a profoundness to this play that is so unsettling. The simplicity of it all. The straightforwardness of it all. The matter of fact-ness of it all. How the subject of a small physical movement can mean something so large that it has for so long been, in a way, unapproachable. However, it has been approached, faced, ignored, warded off, acknowledged, dismissed, etc, etc, etc, and for some reason, it continues to perplex some and vex the rest. This is a deep, deep play from Stephanie Alison Walker about empathy and ignorance and so much more. Just pick an angle.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: Autophobia: noun. a fear of one’s self (a monologue)

    Let the actor who tackles this rehearse, rehearse, and immerse. Let the set be as close as possible to what Partain describes. The outcome would be hypnotic, a theatrically induced tachycardia. Beautiful and beguiling, terrifying and tragic. Partain's investigation into the limits of the self and of self-awareness here would make for a compelling and reflective evening on its own or as a standout segment in an evening of her work.

    Let the actor who tackles this rehearse, rehearse, and immerse. Let the set be as close as possible to what Partain describes. The outcome would be hypnotic, a theatrically induced tachycardia. Beautiful and beguiling, terrifying and tragic. Partain's investigation into the limits of the self and of self-awareness here would make for a compelling and reflective evening on its own or as a standout segment in an evening of her work.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: K-CUP SALES SPECIALIST: A MONOLOGUE

    Emergencies are transpiring all the time, it would seem, especially now - perhaps because we are all so connected through modern technology. The weight of this leaves us with no wondering as to why the CSR reacts the way she does to an Amber Alert in this gem of an outburst from Wyndham's astonishing canon. Emergency has become both a daily activity and personalized trial befalling various communities and individuals, there is a kind of implosion required before a move into action may occur. That cataclysm is remarkably dramatized here and may serve as the precursor to an audience's efforts.

    Emergencies are transpiring all the time, it would seem, especially now - perhaps because we are all so connected through modern technology. The weight of this leaves us with no wondering as to why the CSR reacts the way she does to an Amber Alert in this gem of an outburst from Wyndham's astonishing canon. Emergency has become both a daily activity and personalized trial befalling various communities and individuals, there is a kind of implosion required before a move into action may occur. That cataclysm is remarkably dramatized here and may serve as the precursor to an audience's efforts.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: The Presidency of William Henry Harrison in Real Time: A 10 Minute Play

    Hayet is really such a wonderful, clever, and enlightened comic writer. Here he takes a very real circumstance and gives a nearly-forgotten figure of U.S. history an opportunity to fight for his legacy, only to be thwarted by a millennial simply and understandably doing her job. What the employee hears is so incredibly to-the-point that everyone's misbehavior is ingeniously organic, impulsive, and hilariously tragic - all common, recurring qualities in the works of Steven Hayet.

    Hayet is really such a wonderful, clever, and enlightened comic writer. Here he takes a very real circumstance and gives a nearly-forgotten figure of U.S. history an opportunity to fight for his legacy, only to be thwarted by a millennial simply and understandably doing her job. What the employee hears is so incredibly to-the-point that everyone's misbehavior is ingeniously organic, impulsive, and hilariously tragic - all common, recurring qualities in the works of Steven Hayet.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: You Didn't Say That

    A straightforward lead up the garden, anxious and honest, a tale of He Said She Said that acknowledges the implications of personality and power. The true accomplishment of the piece is that it forces us to reflect on what we are willing to admit or dismiss.

    A straightforward lead up the garden, anxious and honest, a tale of He Said She Said that acknowledges the implications of personality and power. The true accomplishment of the piece is that it forces us to reflect on what we are willing to admit or dismiss.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: Playing Games

    An ideal scene for any festival featuring, anthology collecting, or acting class focusing on, young actors. The desires and goals are straightforward and the tactics clear. The particular bit about "moms rights" got me all emotional, even though it's well within a middle-schoolers abilities. That's one of several accomplishments Burbano displays here with this script, a crisp kind of truthfulness, a heart beating beneath a transaction.

    An ideal scene for any festival featuring, anthology collecting, or acting class focusing on, young actors. The desires and goals are straightforward and the tactics clear. The particular bit about "moms rights" got me all emotional, even though it's well within a middle-schoolers abilities. That's one of several accomplishments Burbano displays here with this script, a crisp kind of truthfulness, a heart beating beneath a transaction.

  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown: Day Six

    A perfect punchline for a classic dynamic. Hageman's words engage us in something that somehow has both fright and fancy, has both flight and foundation. Very quick, very fun, very clever. Easily a winner, and previously selected for a festival.

    A perfect punchline for a classic dynamic. Hageman's words engage us in something that somehow has both fright and fancy, has both flight and foundation. Very quick, very fun, very clever. Easily a winner, and previously selected for a festival.