Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A superbly written and nuanced play about connection, relationships, alienation, and dating. Hilarious, unsettling, and heartbreaking, "Pareidolia" straddles a number of genres and moods quite well. I also love the unique theatrical world Fahmy builds by splicing the online world, naturalistic scenes, and some magical sounding montage/collage towards the end and in the wedding scene. I would love to see this staged, as it seems like an exciting adventure for directors and designers as well as actors. At the heart of this play are well developed characters--both the sympathetic Mal, and the other eclectic individuals.

The singular space of the library helps to underscore the disparate motivations and baggage that propel these five very interesting and well-drawn characters through "A Distinct Society." Manon is a powerful axis for the play to revolve around, and each of the other characters traverses satisfying and surprising arcs. This ultra-specific, small piece manages to explore immigration politics, Canadian history, alienation, identity, and family dysfunction in just a few tightly written scenes. The dialogue is human, often funny, and astutely observed. The ending is a well-earned moment of theatrical magic. I hope to follow this play's trajectory!

This surprising, sharp, insightful, and darkly hilarious play was a joy to read. Living in a sometimes absurd, sometimes all too plausible imagined future, Giles' characters grapple with what it means to survive through activism or complacency in our current socio-cultural context. I finished this briskly moving play in one sitting and enjoyed the shocking, titillating, and at times sad or horrifying moments as they unfolded. I'd love to see a production of this!

A group of well-meaning, liberal hipster friends finds their prejudices, flaws, and preconceived notions exploded and tested by their friend's decision wear a dress out one day. The characters in "dress" speak with the perfectly captured inelegant natural rhythms of speech. I appreciated that we were forced to look beneath each character's warts to understand the need to belong and self actualize as adults that drove them. I'd love to see this well observed piece on its feet--with its impeccable structure it straddles a unique line between theatrical and cinematic. It would be an affecting and intimate piece.

A contemplative and lyrical play set at a meditative yet always engaging pace. Green has created a truly original theatrical world whose visual and aural landscape--both what we see and what is simply spoken and imagined/pantomimed--is stunning. Polaris' journey looking for Gideon is poignant and takes several surprising turns. P O L A R I S is an exquisite meditation on grief, and its touching truths about the grieving process are organically folded in to the action of the "game within a play." The ending is very potent! I'd love to see what this looks like onstage.

A sharp and cleverly written satire. The "everything and the kitchen sink" approach to the secret revelations in this text really works as an exploration of the various ways that religious fundamentalism traps and oppresses women and poisons, as well, the perpetrators and maintainers of such structures. Consistently surprising, "Rapture" hooked me from the start and kept me engaged throughout. Dylan, Shawn, Jessi, and Orie are all meaty roles with amazing arcs, and Matt and Evector are colorful and well-drawn supporting characters. I look forward to following the journey of this play!

Wow! What a lovely, nuanced, well-crafted play. McGough has economically chosen a potent set of scenes that, stitched together, both tell this story really well while also doing right by all of his multi-dimensional characters. Katja has a compelling character arc, and her antagonistic relationship with Trent is both painful and truthful. Unsettling realities about toxic masculinity and social oppression of women across digital and analog worlds are paired alongside frequent genuinely hilarious moments that keep this play absorbing and briskly paced. I hope to see a production soon!

While the gloomy pall of inevitability hangs over this piece, it remains a warm-hearted and poignant end of Sickles' trilogy. I so appreciated how distinct each of these pieces was, while living within the same theatrical world. In "The Known Universe," we have the opportunity to follow the experiences of a unique blended family of multi-dimensional characters in a way that satisfyingly punctuates the compelling trajectory of Anzor and Teddy, now grown. I look forward to following this piece's journey!

"Chalk" is a tightly-written, compelling thriller. Like all truly good horror/science fiction, it explores potent real-world themes--parent-child relationships, memory, guilt--using fantastical elements to heighten the conversation. We learn just enough about the circumstances of this world to feel wholly engaged, and have just enough left up to the imagination to keep it terrifying throughout. Maggie and Cora are well-drawn characters and I imagine that their conversations would crackle with electricity if I were to see this live!

I am haunted by this beautiful work that gives voice and humanity to those who have that stripped away due to the cycle of incarceration. This piece was both theatrical in its structure--transitions, lyrical poetry paired with naturalism--and in its references to theatrical texts and the nature of theater itself. I found myself coming away with a newfound appreciation for some of the texts referenced that never so clearly resonated as they did in this context. All along the way, Gonzalez renders a large cast of nuanced and impactful characters. I hope to see this produced far and wide!