Recommended by Gemma Cooper-Novack

  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: This Play Has an Iguana for a Protagonist by Liz Dooley
    “

    Oh, I love a good silly play. Dooley's work of course delivers what the title promises, but it also manages to bring through the utter weirdness of human-pet relationships in a surreal, goofy manner and even delivers education about menstruation! This play would be so much fun to produce.

    Oh, I love a good silly play. Dooley's work of course delivers what the title promises, but it also manages to bring through the utter weirdness of human-pet relationships in a surreal, goofy manner and even delivers education about menstruation! This play would be so much fun to produce.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: 80 Cards by Jeremy Kareken
    “

    Well, this is fun! A really innovative form, reminiscent of The Neo-Futurists' work, reminding us, as we all need to be reminded, of the artifice of theatre for both performer and audience.

    Well, this is fun! A really innovative form, reminiscent of The Neo-Futurists' work, reminding us, as we all need to be reminded, of the artifice of theatre for both performer and audience.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: Frostbite by Nina Mansfield
    “

    Don't we all wonder about the intimate lives of people on lost, cannibalistic expeditions? How did the Donner Party interact? It's so difficult to find sharp comedy in being lost and doomed while still moving an audience, but Mansfield does it. She gives us a merciless, macabre take on a love triangle's trip to the Arctic Tundra and … well … any story that can genuinely *grow* when it opens with the consumption of a human leg has my deepest admiration and respect.

    Don't we all wonder about the intimate lives of people on lost, cannibalistic expeditions? How did the Donner Party interact? It's so difficult to find sharp comedy in being lost and doomed while still moving an audience, but Mansfield does it. She gives us a merciless, macabre take on a love triangle's trip to the Arctic Tundra and … well … any story that can genuinely *grow* when it opens with the consumption of a human leg has my deepest admiration and respect.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: UNDERFUR (co-written with Hugh Brinkley) by Rachael Carnes
    “

    Contemporary Jeeves and Wooster, starring a raccoon! We should all be so lucky as to see this joyful weirdness in production!

    Contemporary Jeeves and Wooster, starring a raccoon! We should all be so lucky as to see this joyful weirdness in production!

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: Storm Clouds for Lonely Hearts by Quinn Xavier Hernandez
    “

    The compellingly disjointed, cinematic structure of this play will leave you thinking and wondering for hours that far exceed the brevity of the play itself. Hernandez has found something deeply powerful at the heart of the play's alternative realities.

    The compellingly disjointed, cinematic structure of this play will leave you thinking and wondering for hours that far exceed the brevity of the play itself. Hernandez has found something deeply powerful at the heart of the play's alternative realities.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: Take the K Train by William Triplett
    “

    A funny, creepy piece! Although the references to Kafka are explicit, the play comes off as an odd and fascinating combination of Orwell and David Ives. Wonderfully surreal.

    A funny, creepy piece! Although the references to Kafka are explicit, the play comes off as an odd and fascinating combination of Orwell and David Ives. Wonderfully surreal.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: One is the Road by Mark Loewenstern
    “

    A haunting piece that provides amazing opportunities for both actor and director! It's so difficult to make monologues stand on their own, and Loewenstern uses an echoing, poetic structure to drive the play towards its potently inevitable conclusion.

    A haunting piece that provides amazing opportunities for both actor and director! It's so difficult to make monologues stand on their own, and Loewenstern uses an echoing, poetic structure to drive the play towards its potently inevitable conclusion.

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: El Yunque in English by Nelson Diaz-Marcano
    “

    Really a beautiful, surreal journey. "Vivid character in a surreal situation" might be my favorite genre, and Diaz-Marcano hits that nail on the head. Pedro would be a tour de force opportunity for an actor!

    Really a beautiful, surreal journey. "Vivid character in a surreal situation" might be my favorite genre, and Diaz-Marcano hits that nail on the head. Pedro would be a tour de force opportunity for an actor!

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: El Yunque in English by Nelson Diaz-Marcano
    “

    Really a beautiful, surreal journey. "Vivid character in a surreal situation" might be my favorite genre, and Diaz-Marcano hits that nail on the head. Pedro would be a tour de force opportunity for an actor!

    Really a beautiful, surreal journey. "Vivid character in a surreal situation" might be my favorite genre, and Diaz-Marcano hits that nail on the head. Pedro would be a tour de force opportunity for an actor!

    ”
  • Gemma Cooper-Novack: El Loro, El Gato y El Espiritu Santo (or The Parrot, the Cat and the Holy Ghost) by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos
    “

    The combination of the somewhat absurd scenario and the strong, realistically portrayed sisterly relationship makes this play hilarious and oddly moving! Also a great idea for school festivals.

    The combination of the somewhat absurd scenario and the strong, realistically portrayed sisterly relationship makes this play hilarious and oddly moving! Also a great idea for school festivals.

    ”