Recommended by Shaun Leisher

"None of us are coming for you. Why do you feel so threatened? Is it because we know who the real predators are?"

This play is filled to the brim with poetic dialogue and stage directions. Labotka does a great job showing the trans experience through the mythology of the werewolf. I loved how this play shows the different ways someone can identify as trans. The thoughts and opinions in this group are not always kind and loving but they are a community. I would love to see this piece produced with a courageous company of actors.

Blevins does a great job creating this picnic for endlings. A party for animals that are the last of their kind. These animals are forced to face their mortality and I love how they all face it a bit differently. Should they just be grateful they are still around? Should they ruminate on their loneliness? Should they revolt? We are able to learn so much about these character in such a short number of pages. Your heart breaks for these animals knowing that this is a future for them that is not far off.

We have seen plays and films about a world beyond repair but few have approached that depiction of our world from a place this intimate and heartbreaking. Pharel's short play asks us, "What will it be like when we can no longer dream and hope?" You can tell how badly this couple wants to see their lineage continue but they know doing so would be selfish and futile. I loved the moments when the characters speak to the audience and then return to the intimacy of the attic. Would love to see this produced.

A short play that packs a lot of laughs and a, frankly, pretty depressing ending. I thought it was genius to personify the sun and planets as they all come together to figure out what to do about earth. Loved the little details like the conference badges on lanyards. A drunk party girl is exactly how I would imagine earth in its current state.

A very funny look at the very scary world we will find ourselves in in the very near future. This story about polar bears and penguins serves as a poignant allegory for climate change. I'd love to see how actors, directors and designers use their creativity to make this play come to life. I could see it being done so elaborately in terms of props and costumes but it could also be done very simply. A great piece for a short play festival with an environmental theme.

I loved how much actual ping pong is played in this piece. I loved how often the results of matches are not pre-determined until the result is imperative to the plot. I loved how much climate change impacts this relationshiop. This play explores the highs and lows of Yinin and Anjali's relationship. We get to see them fall in love and break up with partners. We get to see them explore their genders. We see them be close and move apart. This is a grand challege for an actor. Produce this play.

The quest for eternal life is nothing new but Massoud is able to depict in such an original way. Massoud does a great job at depicting the Regimen as something understandable to modern audiences while also keeping an air of mystery around it. I loved the conversations that are happening here around the ethics of this procedure. I was so compelled by Zack's rationalizations and objections to certain aspects but even I could see those were only temporary. This plays features great roles for MENA actors and I'd love to see it produced.

This is a small and intimate play that feels very much inspired by Sarah Kane while also being its own original piece of art. A depiction of a toxic relationship between two people in a world that is a real dumpster fire. It honestly doesn't feel too far off from where we are headed now in this country. The dialogue flies and hits these characters hard as they both are finding ways to deal with their human urges. Loved all the gory stage directions and I can't wait to see this staged one day.

A great play about smart and ambitious teenagers dreaming up ways to end childhood hunger. I loved how intimate this play is. The two girls are just so unapolegetic when it comes to their bodies and natural things it does. I loved how they shift from having conversations about each other's bodies and guys to working on their bills for the model congress. These young people are written really authentically. They are bold but also insecure. This play belongs in the canon of plays about smart teenage girls.

A wonderful look at what it's like to be a teenage girl. The first time watching porn together seems to be a big deal to Melissa and Laura and I appreciated the fact that they both have wildly different reactions to it. These two are such an odd couple but their friendship feels really authentic. I could really see why they love each other. I loved the monologues each of the girls got. I enjoyed getting a peek into their psyche and how they see their futures. Not all childhood frienships last but I really hope this one does.