Recommended by Kerr Lockhart

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    "Instead of pulling a quarter from behind a kid's ear, this circus clown pulls a bit of hope out of a day that seemed hopeless. A very good play for a school or youth program that needs to show hope in a wry and somewhat comic disguise for the benefit of us who don't respond to that kind of "Up With People" relentless cheerfulness. A wink, a poke in the ribs, and a leg up from Clownie might be just what is needed.

    "Instead of pulling a quarter from behind a kid's ear, this circus clown pulls a bit of hope out of a day that seemed hopeless. A very good play for a school or youth program that needs to show hope in a wry and somewhat comic disguise for the benefit of us who don't respond to that kind of "Up With People" relentless cheerfulness. A wink, a poke in the ribs, and a leg up from Clownie might be just what is needed.

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    At first it seems gratuitous and even cliched, and then it turns to a left-handed profession of love from a father to a daughter. But is he a protector, or the object of manipulation. Copper leaves the door open for an astute actor to tread an ambiguous line and give an audience something to talk about.

    At first it seems gratuitous and even cliched, and then it turns to a left-handed profession of love from a father to a daughter. But is he a protector, or the object of manipulation. Copper leaves the door open for an astute actor to tread an ambiguous line and give an audience something to talk about.

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    Precise, well observed, particular, real. A piece of cosmic slapstick in which the unconscious mind bubbles up to the surface, and expresses the speaker's true wishes. Doubtless the audience will also experience a degree of wish fulfillment with this resonant punch.

    Precise, well observed, particular, real. A piece of cosmic slapstick in which the unconscious mind bubbles up to the surface, and expresses the speaker's true wishes. Doubtless the audience will also experience a degree of wish fulfillment with this resonant punch.

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    A comic plea on behalf of children who don't feel heard, even when they believe they are being perfectly reasonable. Exploring the gap between what we know to be true and what the rest of the world can see -- and isn't that just what Christmas is all about? A deceptively silly meditation on the nature of faith. Put it into your Christmas pageant for a change of pace.

    A comic plea on behalf of children who don't feel heard, even when they believe they are being perfectly reasonable. Exploring the gap between what we know to be true and what the rest of the world can see -- and isn't that just what Christmas is all about? A deceptively silly meditation on the nature of faith. Put it into your Christmas pageant for a change of pace.

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    Ian Thal is a verbal stylist, and he has let it all go with a fantasia on Orwell's Newspeak Gone Wild, which like many dialects, seems strange at first but gradually becomes easy to understand. The heart of the piece is the pitched battle between scientific inquiry and the almost inevitable desire of governments to to control thought -- words being one of the most efficient tools. (How can you think about things for which there are no words?) There are laughs, but the story is not really funny.

    Ian Thal is a verbal stylist, and he has let it all go with a fantasia on Orwell's Newspeak Gone Wild, which like many dialects, seems strange at first but gradually becomes easy to understand. The heart of the piece is the pitched battle between scientific inquiry and the almost inevitable desire of governments to to control thought -- words being one of the most efficient tools. (How can you think about things for which there are no words?) There are laughs, but the story is not really funny.

  • Kerr Lockhart: The Interrogator by Russell Sharman
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    I had the privilege of assisting at a staged reading of THE INTERROGATOR by Russell Sharman at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. It is a moving meditation on guilt, responsibility, identity, and justice. The level of craft is old-school, weaving portions of actual transcripts with both original and composite characters, using rhythmic repetition, and a few enigmatic visuals to fashion something very different than the standard WWII melodrama you think you're going to see at the outset. Mr. Sharman is an exceedingly skilled writer and I look forward to following the progress of this play and...

    I had the privilege of assisting at a staged reading of THE INTERROGATOR by Russell Sharman at the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. It is a moving meditation on guilt, responsibility, identity, and justice. The level of craft is old-school, weaving portions of actual transcripts with both original and composite characters, using rhythmic repetition, and a few enigmatic visuals to fashion something very different than the standard WWII melodrama you think you're going to see at the outset. Mr. Sharman is an exceedingly skilled writer and I look forward to following the progress of this play and his career in general.

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  • Kerr Lockhart: Southlake by Mike Byham
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    A country porch on a languid Texas night, memories, alcohol, ethical choices, a ghost, the perfect stew for a powerful play about responsibility and regret, how they echo across time and space and even across generations. A field day for actors who know how to handle focus and suspense and keep an audience at the edge of their seats over a sustained stretch of time. Fine theatrical craftsmanship and audience awareness. Meant to be produced.

    A country porch on a languid Texas night, memories, alcohol, ethical choices, a ghost, the perfect stew for a powerful play about responsibility and regret, how they echo across time and space and even across generations. A field day for actors who know how to handle focus and suspense and keep an audience at the edge of their seats over a sustained stretch of time. Fine theatrical craftsmanship and audience awareness. Meant to be produced.

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  • Kerr Lockhart: Madeline by Bruce Bonafede
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    A big empty room with a bed in the middle and a large sunny window open to a beautiful day. Naturally, we are in the pit of hell. Bruce Bonafede has previously demonstrated his expertise at showing the underside of bland, happy, middle America, but even if you're used to his dark perspective, MADELINE conceals a wallop between the eyes that will send an audience reeling; yet that wallop has been prepared as assiduously as Chekhov loaded one of his guns. As usual, the dialogue flows crisply, made for actors to act and bound to make one's head spin.

    A big empty room with a bed in the middle and a large sunny window open to a beautiful day. Naturally, we are in the pit of hell. Bruce Bonafede has previously demonstrated his expertise at showing the underside of bland, happy, middle America, but even if you're used to his dark perspective, MADELINE conceals a wallop between the eyes that will send an audience reeling; yet that wallop has been prepared as assiduously as Chekhov loaded one of his guns. As usual, the dialogue flows crisply, made for actors to act and bound to make one's head spin.

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  • Kerr Lockhart: The Equestrian by Ricardo Soltero-Brown
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    To call Ricardo Soltero-Brown's exhilarating high-wire act of a play The Equestrian is like calling Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, "The Play About The Baby." We wonder if there really is a horse, or if that voice on the phone is actually the horse, then wonder if Danielle is any of the things she says she is. Pinter meets Beckett in a lyrical, yet undependable web of words. And who is being gaslit, Sarah or the audience? Grab on, strap in, get ready for the ride, knowing perfectly well there is no ride unless there is. A bravura mind-f**k.

    To call Ricardo Soltero-Brown's exhilarating high-wire act of a play The Equestrian is like calling Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, "The Play About The Baby." We wonder if there really is a horse, or if that voice on the phone is actually the horse, then wonder if Danielle is any of the things she says she is. Pinter meets Beckett in a lyrical, yet undependable web of words. And who is being gaslit, Sarah or the audience? Grab on, strap in, get ready for the ride, knowing perfectly well there is no ride unless there is. A bravura mind-f**k.

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  • Kerr Lockhart: The Five Stages: 5 Short Plays About Life, Death, and Love by Brenton Kniess
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    Imagine the absurd world of early Terrence McNally, addressed with the manic madness of David Ives. Brenton-Kneiss-Land is a Sad-Mad-Happy-Frightened-Brave world of dreamers and hopers, and is destined to attract theatermakers and theatergoers of a similar temperament. Is there such a thing as a melancholy romp? If there is, you'll find it here among The Five Stages. And stages are where these plays belong.

    Imagine the absurd world of early Terrence McNally, addressed with the manic madness of David Ives. Brenton-Kneiss-Land is a Sad-Mad-Happy-Frightened-Brave world of dreamers and hopers, and is destined to attract theatermakers and theatergoers of a similar temperament. Is there such a thing as a melancholy romp? If there is, you'll find it here among The Five Stages. And stages are where these plays belong.

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