Writer - Performer
DIKE
" Benitez doesn't settle
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for pat answers as to the characters’ futures, and that’s a good thing. Thanks to her openness, and the strength and commitment of the actresses here, you will care about the eventual outcome—but you won’t necessarily know it.
...But Benitez avoids lectures, and makes her people talk like people...
-Sarasota Magazine, Kay Kipling
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" It's a play without a hitch,
-you can lose yourself in the production, which is a gift not given at every play I’ve seen this past year. You need to go see Dike, because it’s a damn fine show." -Cathy Salustri- Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
" The young playwright demonstrates a profound gift
for crafting intense dialog, every line of which rings true. Dike moves at a crisp pace as the tension is masterfully-ratcheted up and up through even the most subtle scenes. Absent the sometimes hyper-realistic dialog of a medium that is, for the most part, denied the nuanced subtext that can be achieved in film, Benitez somehow manages to bring to the stage something that feels much more like an indy movie than a typical theatrical drama. At a time in which the stage is desperate to draw the attention of youthful audiences, this may well be Dike's most impressive achievement. The play drips with authenticity so convincing as to create an experience so intense that it stays with the audience long after the proverbial curtain has fallen....Dike is nothing short of a brilliant piece of innovative stagecraft that will have even those who find themselves cynical about theater's future in an increasingly digital world excited about the medium once more. It is also sure to leave anyone who has the pleasure of seeing it eager for whatever Miss Benitez does next. "- Bradenton Times, Dennis Maley
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Benitez asks many questions and doesn’t provide a neat and tidy package of answers. She wisely leaves some things open to interpretation. "
-Jay Handelman-The Herald Tribune
ADAPTIVE RADIATION
" The show’s metafictive elements are refreshingly unconcerned with their own mechanics and, instead, earnestly exhort viewers to take an active role in interpreting the play’s none-too-obvious position on self-actualization and modern existential dread. " -Chronogram
"It's themes speak to the seeker in all of us."
"-As strange as the journey is for the four protagonists, it's a heck of a lot of fun for the audience. The whole show has a mystical, dream-like quality to it. " - Aisle Seat
"A word of warning, you’ll want to be sharp and alert when you attend Adaptive Radiation. One joy of this production is that there is a boatload of subtle drama and humor, both in dialog and in action. Don’t blink—you won’t want to miss a thing - Arts Knoxville