Recommended by Nick Malakhow

A spectacular piece that's propelled forward by beautifully-observed, human, naturalistic dialogue, as well as profound truths captured in spare, lyrical phrasing. I was thoroughly engaged in this piece throughout and appreciated the way that it took such heavy subject matter and eschewed contrived or sentimental theatrics in favor of small, seismic, and incredibly nuanced character shifts. The moments and decision-making around Luna's invitation to Aaron for her presentation were touching, wrenching, real. This play is intimate and producible, and I hope it has a long life on the stage!

Using wonderfully-rendered, unique characters, Williams illustrates the ways we keep one another at a distance through our use of technology. The digital detox retreat at which every character is there with their own ulterior motive of sorts is a perfect location for this funny and quirky piece. The haunting and theatrical elements occur at well-timed intervals, and the piece ends with a great deal of hope and an eye towards living balanced and connected lives with folks in the flesh as well as online.

A wrenching and beautifully structured choreopoem that really captures the ways that sexual violence shatters and lingers and then infects one's mental health irrevocably for the rest of their life. I also appreciated the focus on hope and healing. Pearson tells this story with beautiful, spare, complex, and yet accessible poetry--it reads so well, and I can only imagine how much more amazing it would be to see this fully realized onstage with movement and dance. The particular and specific emphases on self harm and body image as part of Ava's journey was deftly and amazingly handled as well.

This funny, highly theatrical piece combines adventure, satire, farce, the absurd, and queer coming-of-age in a chaotically cohesive aesthetic whole! Emma Goldman-Sherman examines the ways the patriarchy attempts to shape and control women and femme identifying folks using classical allusion and pop culture in a savvy and subversive manner. The exploration of the roots of violence against and hatred towards women and towards the self for women is comprehensive and engaging for teen and adult audiences alike; I loved how this piece managed to capture the gravity of these issues while leaving us with hope and humor.

A gorgeous, haunting play about relationships, depression, and the complex and perpetual process of taking care of one's mental health in adulthood. The relationship between Martha and Damon is rendered with such fine and nuanced brushstrokes, and the theatricalization of Martha's demons is unique, supremely effective, and gives so much for a production team to work with from all angles--actors, directors, designers. This play manages to plumb the scary depths of depression and to end on a hopeful note that doesn't sugarcoat or idealize recovery. Beautiful!

An exquisite piece that balances the feel of a heightened, theatrical fable with a gorgeous naturalism in the characters' interactions. Guest both tells a compelling story of these specific humans while also making larger and significant points about masculinity and queer Black male identity and its relationship to whiteness and to a society that worships and idolizes certain aesthetic and desirability norms. Z's lyrical, complex monologue towards the end of the piece so poignantly deconstructs the fear, desire, shame, self-effacement, and anger of being a queer man of color defining himself in relation to whiteness. Haunting, theatrical, hopeful.

A spectacular piece about friendship, coming of age, and identity that demands to be explored, read, and performed by teens! Mohlman not only creates a real sense of place in this ice cream shop (anyone who's had a summer service job as a teen can relate), but also populates it with a well-rendered, eclectic ensemble. Reading the gloriously naturalistic dialogue both gives me the sense of just hanging out and spending time with these yearning, aching characters, while also honing in on small seismic shifts that create a subtle but distinct arc. Use of music is superb!

A deeply upsetting, beautifully structured, and wonderfully rich play! The theatrical world that Coble creates here is so fully realized. I'm amazed at how deftly rendered this dystopian world is with just the words of a few well-chosen characters with no clunky exposition. Each part is a compelling theatrical unit on its own and, stitched together, they create a powerful parable about social upheaval, loyalty, government distrust, political discord, violence, authoritarianism, and anti-intellectualism. This would be a meaty play for actors to sink their teeth into, and designers/directors would no doubt love to create this moody, atmospheric reality.

An awesomely theatrical and intimate piece that both feels like a small character-driven drama, and a larger statement about assimilation, the multitudes of Latine/x identity, and tensions that emerge between loyalty to family and loyalty to new relationships. The conversations that Mateo and Faith have are painful and real--in particular, their discussion in the wake of Grace's departure lays bare in a clear and naturalistic way the complexities of each of their intersectional identities and the irreconcilable tensions within all of these relationships. The haunting Dirt Road is a well used character and theatrical device. Beautiful!

This has the feel of an extraordinary parable that explores so much--the warp speed and continuing gentrification of the Bay Area, intersectional identity and its overlap with voice and agency, fear, and much more. As with Baisch's other work, "import speech_memory" is densely lyrical but always readable, and plays fast and loose with chronology and reality. I'd love to see a production team tackle this piece--from actors to directors to designers, this would be a unique challenge that begs to be realized in the realm of the theatrical.