Recommended by Diana Burbano

  • Photos with my Rapist: A One-Minute Monologue
    13 Mar. 2020
    Brilliant in its simplicity and sadly, its universality. Delicate and painful.
  • Here Rests the Heart
    21 Nov. 2019
    This is a gorgeous, affecting, heart bursting play. Polak is crystal clear in his characters needs, and wants even when they are hiding them from themselves. Really, it felt like he was walking me through his soul. A historical play that feels all too modern. Urgent and REAL.
  • Into The River I Went
    31 Aug. 2019
    Diaz-Marcano is a writer to watch. His fierce plays engage on a deep level to provoke the audience into reexamining their biases and long held beliefs. This play's strong plot builds to a exciting payoff that a lot of people need to see. This writer is someone I would love to see commissioned and valued for his unique perspective on life in our times.
  • THEMBA by Amy da Luz & Kamilah Bush
    15 Jul. 2019
    A beautiful, thoughtful piece about international adoption by Evangelicals. Very well told, and clear eyed. What you learn about the children in these situations will break your heart and not for what you think. Great roles for women, including a lot of juicy parts for AA actors. Amy knows what she is doing, and writes from truth and empathy. Her comments on white fragility and the white savior complex are especially searing.
  • Yellowstone
    30 May. 2019
    The genius of this work is that the play within a play is so good. You could put men in the roles and have a great male play. Putting women in the roles and subverting the narrative makes the play sing with notes I wasn’t expecting. I performed in this at New Harmony 2019. The roller coaster Barclay put us on was exhilarating.
  • Merrion Square
    13 May. 2019
    Witty, charming and revelatory. This piece peels back the origin story of Oscar Wilde and his contemporaries. An intellectual delight.
  • DIVISADERO
    8 Apr. 2019
    Brilliant. A searing look at white fragility, and the lengths the conquerors will go to center themselves in POC stories. A tremendous work.
  • Poor Wayfaring Stranger
    9 Feb. 2019
    Such a fascinating and raw play! A story about older Americans living out of their cars and working seasonal jobs to get by. Beautifully told, with a protagonist that is so relatable it hurts. Karen writes with a strong and feminine voice that is honest and touching.
  • THE ARRIVAL OF A TRAIN
    5 Feb. 2019
    The delicate way Rachael reminds us how women do the emotional work for men is both powerful and frustrating. As Jeanne deals with people, including the distraught mothers of lost children, her brothers get opportunities denied to her and her brilliant mind. This play makes me want to work harder to put women on the forefront.
  • How I Joined the Navy, A Monologue
    31 Jan. 2019
    Gorgeous attention to detail, place, time. I knew where I was and I felt the menace that this boy was facing. This felt like a truthful piece of writing, almost as if Boyle transcribed something that he had over heard. Powerful writing.

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