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Matthew Weaver

Recommended by Matthew Weaver

  • Inez Cupcakes Starring in: "Math Problems" by Steven G. Martin
    24 Apr. 2018
    “ Kindness permeates throughout Martin's work. Here is a play that tells students it's OK to be as smart as they are, celebrates them for that kindness and recognizes that smarts aren't the only thing in the world. Martin captures how stunningly easy and even chillingly tempting it can be to hide our true visage from the world, as when Anna Macadamia ever so "nicely" suggests that Inez give the WRONG answer once in a while. It's a slippery slope. Fortunately, Inez has Miss Ella Louella as a teacher. Teachers always know. Special shoutout to Joshua Sausage's math problem answer. ”
  • A Trial in Nuremberg (Originally: Paperweight) by William Triplett
    17 Apr. 2018
    “ Tense, taut and a fine line of wry humor throughout. Imagine A FEW GOOD MEN set after World War II, told with spies, ghosts, oodles of psychological drama and sons trying to live up to their fathers and you get Triplett's play, all the best of Aaron Sorkin and John Le Carre rolled into one. Everyone, every single character here, works with at least three levels of motivation, a stellar accomplishment on Triplett's part. I particularly liked the Philpott/Donovan rivalry. Readers/viewers will be helpless to do anything but watch as secrets fill to the brim and spill over. ”
  • The Hallmark Man Card by Emily Hageman
    12 Apr. 2018
    “ Boys! Boys having feelings! Boys coming together to support a friend! Hageman does an excellent job of playing with society's expectations of the friendships and behavior of adolescent males. The characters initially display some discomfort over the prospect of showing vulnerability, but when the chips are really down, they are given the chance to shine and rise to the occasion. Would be an excellent resource to show in high schools, sure to inspire conversations, and an opportunity for talented young performers to showcase their range. ”
  • FUKT by Emma Goldman-Sherman
    10 Apr. 2018
    “ Goldman-Sherman speaks her truth honestly and creatively, in hopes of lifting up audience members with a similar experience, as well as elevating her own past, present and future. To call this "bold" and "unflinching" feels like just using buzzwords that have lost their meaning, although I do think it is bold and unflinching (although her characters do flinch, and we love them all the more for it) and on Goldman-Sherman's own terms. This is her story, told in a way only she can. She's trusting us with it. May we all prove to be worthy of receiving it. ”
  • SECRET'S OUT by Greg Burdick
    31 Mar. 2018
    “ An honest, kind, open conversation between two men about women at different stages in their lives. Seems particularly timely with current events, and yet also feels flawlessly timeless and yet with a hopeful end that maybe some things - "We are the monsters, aren't we?" - can change, even if it's in the small act of throwing something in the garbage when nobody's looking. The revolution begins quietly. ”
  • Back Cover by Emily Hageman
    31 Mar. 2018
    “ Hageman draws you in with an irresistibly appealing voice and, once you've fallen in love with these adorable characters ("That's you. You're the poop") and everything is going hunky-dory and safe, she sucker punches you with reality and history and the result is pure magic and oh my word why doesn't this have all the awards and a longer production history and why isn't it performed each year throughout the year ... Here is a play that celebrates history, learning, teachers, young people, particularly young women, kind young men, growing up and being the ones who shape our own stories. ”
  • Lilly and Celeste by Louise Wigglesworth
    27 Mar. 2018
    “ A tour de force in waiting for two powerhouse actresses. Wigglesworth pairs an actress seemingly past her prime with the young woman who has been tending to her dressing room and sees how they survive an evening in a blackout while riots and looting go on outside. A very strong and moving piece. The writing here is a marvel, as Lily and Celeste impart gifts onto each other and find one another in the dark. ”
  • I Lived, In Rancho Tehama by Donna Hoke
    2 Mar. 2018
    “ A too-young (although is there an appropriate age?) school shooting victim simplifies things by telling us numbers. Hoke lets the charm of her character, in oh-so-simple MATH, slowly unwind the sheer horror, great and small. "There are one thousand four hundred eighty-five people who live in Rancho Tehama. That’s the biggest number I know of. " This is a short piece, but Hoke is as powerful and as thoughtful here as any of her work. Elegant, quiet, deceptively simple, and quite effective. ”
  • The Pen by Diana Burbano
    1 Mar. 2018
    “ Burbano lays her rage, her heart, her soul, bare on these pages and on the stage. A stark, timely, provocative, work of pure honesty and anger. She is as true with her words here as she is with all of her other works. An amazing blend of Kafkaesque fear and raw, simmering social satire - gifts she has honed to the point of mastery. Expect to see THE PEN performed a LOT, and audience discussions to flow for hours after. If you haven't read or staged a Diana Burbano play before now, what the hell is keeping you?! ”
  • THE CELLPHONES OF THE DEAD (ten-minute) by Dwayne Yancey
    24 Feb. 2018
    “ Effective and heartwrenching, Yancey takes one of the most chilling details from reports of gun violence (he cites a particular incident, I heard about it in another, which just goes to show how sadly commonplace such events have become) and brings it to life in a piece that speaks for itself ... and for the victims of such murders and the helpers who come along and have to face the aftermath. Simple stage directions underline the tragedy of such events. Yancey's words here are both a moment of silence for victims and a call to arms for we who remain. ”

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