New York playwright Larry Rinkel has posted a nice review of my full-length play GOD OF A DEAD UNIVERSE on the New Play Exchange:

” Yancey’s themes are clear – the destructive effects of climate change, here applied in a parable-like manner to Mars rather than earth. And his characters are clear as well rather than being rounded – the intrepid investigative reporter, the courageous scientist imprisoned for speaking unpalatable truths, the pompous but corrupt empty suit of a president. But what makes the play work is its skillful fast pacing and well-written dialogue. A good choice for theaters looking for a cautionary tale on climate change.”

He also had nice things to say about the short play THE MATH LESSON, which began life as a stand-alone short but was later incorporated into one scene of GOD OF A DEAD UNIVERSE.

GOD OF A DEAD UNIVERSE
A dark look at the last days of life on Mars. The Martian civilization has mismanaged its resources and is now running out of water. The rival political factions appear to have come together to install a new government, one that has embarked on a massive canal project to bring water from the poles. A newspaper reporter covering the canal project notices a discrepancy, though, and he/she begins investigating. The reporter suspects embezzlement. When the reporter confronts the chancellor, the chancellor freely admits to siphoning off money, but not for personal use. Instead, it’s to build a giant underground library in which to store Martian artifacts. The chancellor confesses that the canal project is merely a diversion to keep people busy – there’s no way it will work. The planet will run out of water long before it’s completed, and the underground library is an attempt to save at least some remnant of Martian life in case other intelligent beings ever discover it. Cast: 12 or 13, all non-gender.

My 10-minute play THE MATH LESSON got a nice review from New York playwright Scott Sickles on the New Play Exchange:

“An elegant and concise sci-fi drama illustrating what’s at the root of everything wrong in the world, namely institutionalized ignorance. Yancey shows us a savvily-defiant teacher called to task over a subversive math problem. The power struggle is palpable and infuriating. Meanwhile, two normal girls simply observe the changes in the world around them, unaware that their planet is in a show but certain freefall. The play infuses doom with hope, and pays tribute to the beauty of their world and ours. Much like the math teacher, THE MATH LESSON is a sublime protest. A genuinely important short play!”
— Scott Sickles

Here are photos from a 2017 production in Chicago.