Recommended by Emma Skinner

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    A brilliant, chilling, haunting gem of a piece. Eppler unflinchingly lays bare the deepest threads of grief, memory, and technology that haunt us in the modern day, crafting one of the most timely and distressing ghost stories that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. His cast of complicated and sympathetic characters is matched perfectly with gutwrenching dialogue and clear-cut, visceral staging notes. This is a play that I am desperate to see onstage as soon as humanly possible.

    A brilliant, chilling, haunting gem of a piece. Eppler unflinchingly lays bare the deepest threads of grief, memory, and technology that haunt us in the modern day, crafting one of the most timely and distressing ghost stories that I've ever had the pleasure of reading. His cast of complicated and sympathetic characters is matched perfectly with gutwrenching dialogue and clear-cut, visceral staging notes. This is a play that I am desperate to see onstage as soon as humanly possible.

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    "If we did everything the right way, nothing would ever get done." A lovely, bloody, whip-smart show that perfectly nails the intersection of attraction and ambition. Guided by Snyder's vivid and gut-wrenching dialogue, Hadley and Veronica's twisty dance between what is smart and what is good is a genuine treat to watch. Inventive staging and doubling tricks allow for a wide variety of performance options, without ever sacrificing the story of the show. A grimly glorious tale. Highly recommend.

    "If we did everything the right way, nothing would ever get done." A lovely, bloody, whip-smart show that perfectly nails the intersection of attraction and ambition. Guided by Snyder's vivid and gut-wrenching dialogue, Hadley and Veronica's twisty dance between what is smart and what is good is a genuine treat to watch. Inventive staging and doubling tricks allow for a wide variety of performance options, without ever sacrificing the story of the show. A grimly glorious tale. Highly recommend.

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    A sharp, fluid, frighteningly beautiful play that reaches into your soul and refuses to let go. Senese-Grossberg gives us three complicated, messy characters who feel as real as the breath in our lungs and the hearts in our chests, and does not shy away from the tangled intricacies of modern-day loneliness, prejudice, autonomy, and faith. I was captivated, terrified, and entranced throughout, and I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come. What an absolutely stunning script.

    A sharp, fluid, frighteningly beautiful play that reaches into your soul and refuses to let go. Senese-Grossberg gives us three complicated, messy characters who feel as real as the breath in our lungs and the hearts in our chests, and does not shy away from the tangled intricacies of modern-day loneliness, prejudice, autonomy, and faith. I was captivated, terrified, and entranced throughout, and I'll be thinking about this one for a long time to come. What an absolutely stunning script.

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    An eerie, unnerving tale of sorrow, family, and love. "Holding the Head of Pentheus" transposes "The Bacchae" to the modern day with a precise and careful touch, allowing the life-altering magnitude of familial tragedy to bloom amidst all-too-familiar struggles, technologies, and political strifes. Pitch-perfect moments of humor, anger, and reflection all lead up to a gut-wrenching climax which had me glued to the page with every word! A beautifully adapted and realized work of art.

    An eerie, unnerving tale of sorrow, family, and love. "Holding the Head of Pentheus" transposes "The Bacchae" to the modern day with a precise and careful touch, allowing the life-altering magnitude of familial tragedy to bloom amidst all-too-familiar struggles, technologies, and political strifes. Pitch-perfect moments of humor, anger, and reflection all lead up to a gut-wrenching climax which had me glued to the page with every word! A beautifully adapted and realized work of art.

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    A whirlwind of wit and emotion, "Bedfellows" cuts sharply to the core. The intimate and intense relationship between Anne and Louise-Clothilde eschews an easy definition - watching the two dance around one another throughout the years (perfectly in sync even as they argue!) is deeply captivating. The web of intersecting themes - gender, class, identity, and many more - is handled deftly and skillfully, as the play beautifully refuses the luxury of comfortable resolutions. What a wonderful read!

    A whirlwind of wit and emotion, "Bedfellows" cuts sharply to the core. The intimate and intense relationship between Anne and Louise-Clothilde eschews an easy definition - watching the two dance around one another throughout the years (perfectly in sync even as they argue!) is deeply captivating. The web of intersecting themes - gender, class, identity, and many more - is handled deftly and skillfully, as the play beautifully refuses the luxury of comfortable resolutions. What a wonderful read!

  • Emma Skinner: Left Overs by Roni Ragone
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    A deeply honest, witty, and bittersweet script that struck me to my core. Ernest and Max's multilayered dynamic is captivating, and brought me to tears! The way that information unwinds throughout the script, with small details and reveals appearing at just the right time, is absolutely superb, and done with a wonderful deftness and nuance by the author. A play about carrying weight and living with death - in the most heartbreaking yet hopeful human ways.

    A deeply honest, witty, and bittersweet script that struck me to my core. Ernest and Max's multilayered dynamic is captivating, and brought me to tears! The way that information unwinds throughout the script, with small details and reveals appearing at just the right time, is absolutely superb, and done with a wonderful deftness and nuance by the author. A play about carrying weight and living with death - in the most heartbreaking yet hopeful human ways.

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  • Emma Skinner: Coin by Sydney Duncan
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    "Coin" is a wry, smart script which pulls the audience into the delightfully dark world of afterlife logistics. Fast-talking Maude, quick learner Claire, and pragmatic Vicky are each sketched in excellent contrasting detail; the push and pull between the three characters as they confront their selflessness and selfishness and struggle for the titular coin is funny and simultaneously deeply poignant. A clever, carefully sculpted story with a touching and gentle ending.

    "Coin" is a wry, smart script which pulls the audience into the delightfully dark world of afterlife logistics. Fast-talking Maude, quick learner Claire, and pragmatic Vicky are each sketched in excellent contrasting detail; the push and pull between the three characters as they confront their selflessness and selfishness and struggle for the titular coin is funny and simultaneously deeply poignant. A clever, carefully sculpted story with a touching and gentle ending.

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  • Emma Skinner: Memorial Play (a Rube Goldberg Machine) by Sydney Duncan
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    This play reminds me of ripples of light seen underwater, of muffled sounds you hear beneath the sea. It faces the dual incomprehensibility of death and identity head-on, treating them with grief and grace and surety and fury all at once. Its language is precise yet all-encompassing; it can effortlessly summon myths and detail tiny moments at the same time, which is no small feat! It moves with an entrancing and absorbing rhythm, more than worthy of the Rube Goldberg machine built into its name.

    This play reminds me of ripples of light seen underwater, of muffled sounds you hear beneath the sea. It faces the dual incomprehensibility of death and identity head-on, treating them with grief and grace and surety and fury all at once. Its language is precise yet all-encompassing; it can effortlessly summon myths and detail tiny moments at the same time, which is no small feat! It moves with an entrancing and absorbing rhythm, more than worthy of the Rube Goldberg machine built into its name.

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  • Emma Skinner: MATH TEACHER by Sydney Duncan
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    Sharp and raw and visceral to the extreme. A script that will disarm and destabilize you, which brilliantly plays with mirrors and card tricks to illustrate the slippery slopes of suggestion, self, and truth. Such a good piece.

    Sharp and raw and visceral to the extreme. A script that will disarm and destabilize you, which brilliantly plays with mirrors and card tricks to illustrate the slippery slopes of suggestion, self, and truth. Such a good piece.

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  • Emma Skinner: Model United Nations by Thea Belle
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    I had the pleasure of seeing this at the Secret Theatre Winter One-Act Play Festival recently. It was a delight from beginning to end - funny, incisive, fast-paced, and clever, with a core of genuine camaraderie and sweet attraction that really moved me. The writing perfectly captures the awkwardness, precociousness, and intensity of high school competitions, where everything is high-stakes but simultaneously a facade. A really great work, and a perfect example of the ten-minute play!

    I had the pleasure of seeing this at the Secret Theatre Winter One-Act Play Festival recently. It was a delight from beginning to end - funny, incisive, fast-paced, and clever, with a core of genuine camaraderie and sweet attraction that really moved me. The writing perfectly captures the awkwardness, precociousness, and intensity of high school competitions, where everything is high-stakes but simultaneously a facade. A really great work, and a perfect example of the ten-minute play!

    ”