Recommended by Monica Cross

THINGS I LEARNED CAREENING TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE is a lovely holiday slice of life with family problems and Star Trek metaphors. A beautiful short for any seasonal show.

Jillian Blevins uses the common mythology of Medusa to show us how women can protect one another even when they themselves have survived so much. This play is heart felt and oh so very smart. It has so much stunning potential for design. And includes a role for a blind/vision impaired actor.

Growing up in a small town trying to navigate geek culture as a woman, I feel so incredibly connected to Bethany Dickens Assaf's play! SLAYMAKER does not condemn geek culture as misogynistic but rather exposes how misogyny and abuse are excused within geek culture as "just part of the game." While geek culture has become more mainstream, the subset of geek culture that Bethany highlights (those in small economically depressed towns who use geek culture as an escape) is still underrepresented.

The urgency! TOTALITY is a brilliant short sci-fi love story that is infused with an overwhelming sense of urgency. Chase D. Fowler has given us a beautiful snap shot of a relationship that needs no backstory and leaves us with the longing of hope for a future. But in this moment we have two characters who just don't have enough time in the present. It would be a great scene for actors wanting to work on stakes or inclusion in any short play festival.

THE DEATH OF JULIET is a stand alone monologue that can be part of a larger play (THE SECRET MUSE) which adds other characters and creates a larger world in which Ned is a part. I love THE DEATH OF JULIET as a stand alone monologue because it feels like a celebration of the unspoken history of queer performers. NED is created for an AMAB trans actor to share the experience of gender euphoria that can be found through acting (in particular playing Juliet and Cleopatra).

I had the honor of being the dramaturg on the staged reading of THE SECRET MUSE at Wisconsin Shakespeare Festival in 2024.

Mark Evan Chimsky has given us a moment in history to imagine the queer experiences we don't have records of. Infused with so much historical detail that we do know, this monologue cycle feels very real and raw and immediate (even though the characters are speaking from the afterlife).

The role of Ned is much needed part for AMAB trans actors.

What is more unbelievable string theory or bigfoot? Meghan Endres Brown gives us dark comedy about loneliness, family, and connection, then infuses it with quantum physics and cryptozoological conspiracy theories. These are dynamite characters with a shocking turn of events that takes the whole story another level entirely. I imagine production teams having a blast with this script. Are you looking for a tight 3-person play? Don't miss this gem!

Daniel Prillaman is a master of making the utterly mundane creepy AF. THE REMARKABLY UNREMARKABLE CRUCIFIXION OF EMMA REYNOLDS is just that! Prillaman has perfectly captured the exasperated tone of a teenage girl who is impressed by nothing, and then given her a story that is both completely run of the mill and impossibly beyond belief. It's the little details that makes this monologue so spot on: Being late for school, annoyed the surprise assembly, the weird reassurances from the magician!

What a treat! Emily C. A. Snyder has given us a Hamlet joke to DIE FOR! In GRAVEDIGGERS, we get to hear Hamlet from the Gravediggers point of view. And you might be surprised what you learn. I absolutely guffawed at the punchline of this scene! Every Shakespeare nerd should read this!

Looking for a Hard Boiled Detective story in the world of Elizabethan England? Francis RTM Boyle delivers! The characters in TREASON AT THE GLOBE are worthy of their Shakespearean influences and there are so many lovely moments in this script that would be fun for Shakespeare lovers to put up on its feet.