Recommended by Greg Mandryk

  • Veterans of Community Theatre
    19 Mar. 2024
    I've never understood what compels some actors to go from theatre to theatre playing the same role in the same play over and over and over. After reading Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn's Veterans of Community Theatre, I still don't understand them, but at least I got to laugh at them. Three community theatre regulars admit a normal person into their midst and the results are hilarious with a streak of bittersweet truth.
  • The Girl Who Could Talk to Birds
    13 Mar. 2024
    Well, Snow White this ain't. It's SO much better! Daniel Prillaman takes aim at the ridiculous notion that, if animals took an interest in human romantic affairs, their involvement would be limited to helping a maiden do her chores so she could go to a ball, or maybe singing a catchy calypso tune encouraging a prince to go for that smooch. They're animals, after all.

    Also, Toby is awesome.
  • New Girl in Town (a one minute play)
    13 Mar. 2024
    If you've just read John Busser's Treasure (and it's a one-minute play, so why don't you?), and it bummed you out, New Girl in Town will cheer you right up (also in one minute).
  • Backyard Stonehenge, Reclaimed
    10 Mar. 2024
    I don't know how a third entry in the Backyard Stonehenge saga would work, but I hope we get it. Again, Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn infuses her work with oodles of heart, and reminds us not to despair over the hardships life gives us, but to appreciate the people who love us enough to help us through them.
  • An Audience of One
    6 Mar. 2024
    The self-imposed rule of this short play starts out feeling like a gimmick, but quickly becomes a metaphor for our inability to connect with our fellow human beings on anything more than a superficial level, and the piece transcends being more than a writing exercise. It's 14 pages, but with almost every line being limited to one word, you have no excuse not to read it. So, stop reading this and start reading An Audience of One, by Michael C. O'Day!
  • SPATSY KLOTZ
    6 Mar. 2024
    Charles Scott Jones breathes so much life into the practically feral Spatsy Klotz. I would love to see this piece in the hands of a talented actress.
  • Twenty-Seven
    6 Mar. 2024
    This is brilliant. The dialogue right from the start is crisp and outrageously hilarious, pulling you in right away, with characters who are both repulsive and wildly entertaining. The second act allows the humor to slip a notch, permitting us to see the tragic and malformed humanity of the play's central character beneath the quips and punchlines. Some taboos get broken, true, but David Hilder handles it all so skillfully, I never once wanted to hit the eject button and walk away. Extremely well done!
  • The Council of Misplaced Things
    4 Mar. 2024
    Like a bit of modern mythology where real world events are given divine explanations, Rachel Feeny-Williams’ The Council of Misplaced Things provides an amusing answer to why I keep putting my wallet down in places I’ll never think to look for it later. It’s good fun and, as someone who’s been scolded by his wife for forgetting to remind her about something she consequently forgot, I found it highly relatable.
  • Faerie Ring
    3 Mar. 2024
    A fairy tale that's far more in the spirit of Brother's Grimm than Disney, Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn's Fairie Ring is a tale of a young mother coping with depression and the dark thoughts that come with it. Heartbreaking, yet ultimately reaffirming, this is excellently done.
  • Fine Tuning
    2 Mar. 2024
    When you give actors material that’s this much fun to perform, the infectious glee can’t help but spill out into the audience. A nice, short piece of macabre comedy.

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