Recommended by Shaun Leisher

I loved how intimate this play was and how much it feels meant for the theatre. In sci-fi theatre there's a tendency to focus on expansive world-building. That can be fun but if there's no heart then I catch out pretty quickly. This play is a true character study and by the end I don't know if we actually know much more about Daughter than when we started but I see that as a strength. This is a snapshot into a moment in time for this young woman and I think that's all we sometimes. Also really fucking weird.

This play left me breathless. I found myself fist pumping with pride for the places Andrew was going to but also cowering with shame thinking about the "ally" I have been at times. This is a play both for BIPOC actors who have felt their voices stifled by the "good white people" and the white people that have seen themselves as the "good ones." The plot starts out traditional in ways that would lull an audience into complacency but then throws out all the rules and makes us sit in the shit. Produce this play EVERYWHERE

This is the kind of work that belongs at companies that dedicate themselves to the works of Shakespeare. Instead of overly-faithful productions of the Bard's work, we need pieces like this that are in conversation with him. The monologues are so well written. They are funny and will wreck your heart and each feels so perfectly suited for the heroine they are written for. After reading this, I felt like I almost needed a full play on each of them. But this works so well as a short piece too.

This play could not be more prescient. It's a wail of frustration with the state of theatre that will also make you laugh so hard you pee a little. Haddad-Chin has written an incredible satire in the vein of Yellow Face and An Octoroon that looks at the way artistic directors of PWIs seem to exclusively gravitate towards plays that flatten the members of BIPOC communities and revel in stereotypes. This play is an incredible play that those in the industry will love but those that aren't will certainly not be lost.

Even though I was an adult when in the psych ward, there's so much about this play that resonated with me. The friendships that are built inside but not encouraged to maintain outside. The overworked technicians. The endless card games. Mansouri does a beautiful job at mining specific experiences to craft a play that will feel familiar to many. The resiliency of these kids astound me and I think it's very effective that we only get bits and pieces of their back storu. The structure of the play is amazing as well.

Cohn strips Chekhov's masterpiece down to its bare bones and makes it one of the best adaptations I've ever read. It perfectly captures what makes this play so timeless and moving and cuts all the unnecessary fat. It stays true to the text but Cohn also makes something brand new. The choice to end solely with Nina was inspired. It's a fantastic play but it's even better when you remember that all the roles are to be played by one actor. An epic challenge for a performer that I can't wait to see attempted one day.

The final line of this play is "What’s lost will come to find us." I couldn't think of a better way to tie up this story about remembering forgotten history. At its core, this is a fun play about a man with a dream and the people that are their to support him but its also an extremely entertaining history lesson about Houston. This play should be regularly performed in Houston. It should be taught in schools. I learned so much from this play and I laughed and had my heart warmed while doing it.

I connected to the desire to be responsible in the age of climate destruction but then things go insane and I was there for it. I long for more plays that go to the absurd places this one does. So much of this play is just listing things and I was on the edge of my seat. Adams weaves a hypnotizing tale with recounts of dates and birthdays but also collections of random phrases that oddly make so much sense. I would love to see this play performed by an actor whose identity is the complete opposite of Nic's.

When I read what this was about, I definitely did not expect what I read to be so funny, heart-warming and cathartic. Khatiblou has taken every woman's worst nightmare and made it the focus of a great buddy road comedy. It's certainly not all laughs though. There are some incredible moments where characters express how hard it is to be a woman and the fear they constantly live with that their most private moments could belong to anyone with an internet connection. The dialogue sizzles and the ending is a such a great stage picture.

50 pages of puns and poop jokes and then at the very last moment I got my heart ripped out of me and I was forced to look long and deep at my life and how I feel about organized religion. I really hope I get to see this performed live one day. I'd be thrilled to see it with Eliza but I do love that they have left it open for other interpretations. At least in community, stomach troubles seems to be a pretty common thing so I'm glad that stories like this exist for both humor and solidarity.