Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A complex and super theatrical exploration of identity, home, and feeling like you exist in a liminal space with regards to both of those things. I've read several drafts of this as part of a playwright's group and I've loved seeing its developmental journey. The theatrical tools used to communicate the story have become so much more focused and potent, as has the central arc of the Pink Man. Clever usage of chorus, a compelling trickster story facilitator, and lots of opportunity for community engagement and unconventional use of theatrical space are just a few additional strengths.

Endlessly intriguing speculative piece that both looks ahead and looks to our present and the ways we're harming ourselves and our environment and how we might try to escape the consequences with dubious, ethically complicated methods. The fascinating final third of the play, a series of scenes that look far ahead to the future populated by various groups/flocks of creatures, humans, and beings, is a theatrically compelling climax. I'd be excited to see this on its feet.

An unsettling, darkly humorous, and razor sharp exploration of college rape culture and the ways schools consistently fail women and femme folk and oftentimes even pit women against one another. The genre-bending mash up of horror, absurdism, and satire serves the story and theme well, putting into stark relief the absolute absurdism of these systematic failings and harms. I'd be excited to see this in production!

A tightly written, propulsively-paced family drama that unfolds secrets and surprises with judicious pacing. New information always comes to light just when you think you've stabilized your sense of who these people are and who they are/what they do for one another. I also appreciated the deeply intersectional lens, so that we were able to get to know and love not just a "neutral" (re... "White") "everyfamily," but one whose particular identity intersections within its members clearly informed their trajectories, anxieties, concerns, and dreams. I'd love to see this on its feet!

This is such a lovely, intimate triplet of a play that delicately explores the intersection of coming of age, queerness, and social expectations. The way the relationships between all three characters evolve slowly but surely feels organic keeps you reading with little moments of suspense and with their poignantly blossoming social and love connections. These characters speak with the "inelegance meets profundity" of real teens--Gina captures the impulsivity and deep yearning and thoughtfulness of the high school years. I'd so love to see this performed!

A complex and thorny play that looks at the terrifying intersection of capitalism, assisted suicide, and mental health. I really enjoyed the use of simultaneous scenes, which helped illuminate character and plot shifts in one another in a clever and suspenseful fashion. I also really appreciated the subtle and clear world building that slowly but surely paints a portrait of a dreadful, dystopian world ravaged by even harsher economic disparities than our own. I'm eager to follow this play's development trajectory and would love to see it on its feet!

An unsettling and tautly written exploration of a cult, and the multitudinous factors (desire to belong, ostracization, falling out of the bounds of "normal" society, and more) that might spur one to be vulnerable to manipulation. Structurally effective with enough surprising reveals to keep the audience on their toes even while giving them big, ponderous questions to think and talk about for many days. I'm excited to see how this piece develops!

I loved the malleability of space and time in this piece and the ways Jeoly's and Zora's stories echo one another and intertwine in subtle and palpable ways. There is text that moves at a brisk and natural pace as well as words that lean into lyricism and some of the profound inner workings of these characters' minds. While the play deals with the traumas connected to being confronted with and having to confront white supremacy, it is all done in a gentle and intentional manner that honors but never exploits the pain of Zora, Nanay, Jeoly, or Judy.

An intimate, compelling, and compassionately written two hander that looks at the ways people expand and contract in relationships and how those changes disrupt careful equilibria and unearth fissures that people desperately try to seal. Samira and Jason are both multi-dimensional, flawed, funny, loving humans and to see them struggle through this moment in their lives is, at turns, poignant, painful, and humorous. Some deep universal truths about love and partnership are shared here, but they are rendered with such a powerful and distinct eye for the characters' intersectional identities. I'd love to see a production of this!

Sharply satirical piece that explores the multitudes within the Latinidad, the complexity of identity and ownership over it, thorny and often painful family conversations about love, self-worth, and beauty, and a lot more! Lana and Susi's parallel journeys are compelling to watch, from Susi grappling with the family inheritance that she believes will betray her health early to Lana's often amusing reunions with half-siblings and poignant reflections on the ways her own sense of self worth and success have been wrapped up in her perceived and then newly revealed heritage. I'd love to see a production of this soon!