Recommended by Samantha Cooper

This play is a wonderful coming-of-age exploration of high school female friendship, a mother-daughter relationship, and a budding romance all wrapped up in one. Both Ellie and Jana are wonderful and well-rounded representations of the complexity of teenage girls. The pacing is quick and the dialogue is snappy. Plus the use of both Eleanor Roosevelt and Dolly Parton as icons is delightful. A really lovely play with great parts all around, especially for young actors.

From the stage directions, to the dialogue, to the use of silence, the entire play is lyrical and poetic. The underlying tension of the situation is felt from the start which makes the quiet moments of normalcy and connection all the more effecting. Playing with both time and hyperrealistic movement, this play is a surely an emotional and visual feast for any audience.

The themes of this engaging historical docudrama reverberate from 1891 until modern day. To experience Sophia go from so much hope and promise to the inevitable conclusion based on the circumstances is heartbreaking and Walker does a great job of telling that story. Using memory and jumps in time is an effective device for the play. And lots of great parts, especially for women!

Jennifer and Maria's relationship is clearly established from the start. The natural ebbs and flows of their conversation and emotions while waiting for news about their mother feels very natural. This lovely short play candidly explores universal themes of personal facades, family, and mending broken relationships very nicely.

An intriguing set up for exploration of a digital afterlife vs. a physical afterlife and how those two things might, actually, be the same. The caring relationship between the two friends/pastors creates an open space for tough ideas and differences of opinions. Overall, you feel the love the two have for each other even in light of a great uncertainty of the future.

Setting the budding relationship between Penn and Alexis against a background of tree rescue and environmental justice creates an exciting and active plot arc in this ten-minute play. Both Penn and Alexis are well-drawn characters and we get a good picture of their backstories in easy and comfortable ways. The activities of the play are also an accessible way into ideas of environmental justice for a larger audience. With two great parts for actors, this would be a lovely play to add to any 10 minute play festival.

From the start of this ten-minute play, you can feel the history and depths of the friendship between Dee and Linda. Their relationship is steeped in the realities of growing up and the illusive hope that one event might change it all. The excitement at the possibilities of a new world is genuine, the let down is honest, and their reliance on each other for support is heartfelt. A lovely read!

In a play about the world of art forgery, what a joy to have a whole host of unreliable narrators. It is a device that fits the narrative and fits it well. This play is a funny exploration of what is considered real and what is considered fake and who decides. With four people playing all the characters, the opportunities to stretch the acting chops and really play into the humor are many.

This play deftly uses the spaces between history and the history we are told to explore parallel experiences between the people creating a play about Grace O'Malley and the real Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley. The language is quick paced and often poetic. Wagner also leans on some great moments of silence to further indicate where lapses in history come from. All the Graces and Maeve are especially great parts for actors to sink their swords into.

This play has a little bit of everything: lightning paced and witty dialogue, great well-rounded parts for the whole cast, thoughtful and honest insights into sex, relationships, gender, and why we want what we want, and a little bit of snack charming. The fluidity between spaces really adds to the fluidity of the discussions of gender and sexuality. I was engaged from the very first moment to the very last moment.