Recommended by Annalise Cain

Malakhow’s characters just jump off the page. It was beautiful to see Jasmine and Ben’s friendship tested, threatened and heal throughout the play, and exciting to see Ben get to speak his truth at the end. Examining white supremacy specifically in a Quaker School, we follow the characters as they discover how deeply entrenched those racist policies are, and in the end, we want Jasmine to leave just as much as we want her to stay. A powerful, precise play.

This play is an absolute delight. It moves at the speed of light, it's downright hilarious, and the poetry and rhythm of the play are so refreshing. This play recontextualizes the mundanity of heterosexual, middle class modern life to reveal its reek of thoughtlessness and absurdity.

I heard this play as a part of a reading series at Indiana University, and I was just blown away. I felt so much for the two characters, and bore witness to the absurd kinds of pressure we put onto teenagers without even thinking about it. I was especially moved by the speech about grit near the end of the play. Malakhow knows how to build up trust, tension and earn transformation onstage and off.

I absolutely loved this play. It's construction is air-tight, it's characterization is buoyant and full, and it's rhetoric is unreal. When I opened it up, I lost track of time and just had to finish it. Marx Rice presents an unsolvable question in the shape of two boundless characters for just under an hour. I can't recommend it enough.

This play is a punch in the gut in the best way. Equal parts delightful and heart-wrenching, anyone would be lucky to see it.

Rattler is a deftly crafted new play that pulls no punches. Adams leads us through this minefield of issues with curiosity and confidence. An unrelenting look at how rape culture manifests in small town America.

The play approaches mental health with such whimsy and wit, and is chock full of captivating theatrical moments. It makes space for magic while still honoring the depths of depression. A fun and challenging ride!

A tender yet taught play: a wonderful story full of magic, breath and the wonder of a child at a carnival. It moved me!

This is a delightful play for young audiences--honest, playful and funny. But its political undertones make this piece worth producing: the discussion of a young Mexican American boy's two-ness will resonate with children who don't see their identity represented enough, and will open up the minds of those who do.

I just saw this play in Austin, and I want it playing it every city. The questions that populate my mind every day, questions about activism, feminism, and of course, revolution, take center stage and are given the time and space they deserve. This play is deeply needed.