Recommended by Nick Malakhow

This is an amazing first draft, and I can't wait to see where this play heads! It is incredibly affirming to see plays reflect the Latinx experience in such a multitude of complicated and nuanced ways in one piece. Diaz-Marcano explores colorism, ancestral pride/grief/trauma, internalized homophobia/misogyny, and the unique ways that the intersectional identities of Latinx people inform our complex and beautiful lives. The theatrical world here with elements of fantasy/the supernatural/sci-fi amplifies this exploration. What a rare treat to read something that lays bare painful truths alongside hope and promise for the future.

I loved this microscopically-focused-yet-universally-relevant play! Mika and Jake are awesome roles for actors. Gabridge gives performers lots of leeway to play with them, while still making them truly specific and acknowledging the intersectional aspects of their identities that inform their realities. The concept and setup of this play is plausible, wholly original, and highly entertaining. The little seismic shifts in Mika and Jake's relationship are well mapped out and Gabridge eschews contrived theatrics to illustrate how their relationship evolves. A subtle and very producible piece with a poignant story and hopeful ending.

I love the parable-like theatrical world Diaz-Marcano creates here! The structural trajectory of the play is also exciting--we begin with funny and sharp barb-trading, segue into a paradigm-shifting conversation between two women, and then finish with a freight-train finale that is tense and satisfying. Diaz-Marcano's eye towards the intersectionality of the characters provides a nuanced and complex exploration of what happens when comfort and prejudices get between two forces that should be allies. Rather than wallowing in tragedy, the play shows up a model of what happens when the privileged majority takes a stand against a toxic-but-devil-you-know enemy.

A beautiful piece in its dual simplicity and profundity. What begins as a clash between "ostensible friends" with grave fundamental ideological differences becomes a poignant and terrifying parable about the dangers of fundamentalist thought. The increasingly ominous atmosphere heightens the stakes and that tension is made more effective by the fact that there aren't histrionics or huge emotional fireworks on display--just little seismic ripples that reveal each characters' truths beneath everyday pleasantries and coworker relations. Each character here is beautifully realized and voiced. I would love to see this onstage to even just view its amazing final scene alone!

Weird, unsettling, hilarious--HUNGRY is a genre-defying play that still manages to live in a cohesive and exciting theatrical world. There was so much I loved about this piece. The absence of human male characters, despite the harmful roles that those boys and men played in these women's lives; connected to that, the menacing id-like presence of the Minotaur being, oh-so-appropriately male. I found myself considering of the ways all women are pushed in society to take all of their discomfort, anger, fear, and sadness, and suppress it. The beastly metaphor in HUNGRY illustrates the awful toll of that.

A complex piece with a shocking turn of events! It definitely surprised me and, yet, I feel I should have seen it coming. In that way, Sickles puts the viewer into Harry's shoes, highlighting his vulnerability, desire to be wanted, and carelessness. Both Jim and Harry are complex individuals and are rendered in realistic and nuanced ways. By the end of the piece, a reader or audience member does feel as if they've seen a potent love story on the one hand, but also finds themselves reevaluating the power dynamics and confusing push-pull that they've just witnessed.

Never have I seen the taboo relationship portrayed here rendered so tenderly and in the context of genuine identity formation. Sickles establishes two distinct characters, each grappling with their emerging identities in their own ways. The sensual Food Network narration is priceless, and the timing of two hilarious interruptions shows Sickles' great attention to comedic rhythms. At the end, I asked...wait...was that sweet or a little distressing or just a great combination of both? A dynamic short piece.

This piece has meaty, complex roles for teens. They speak with the realistic brazenness/insecurity of adolescence in brief and well-chosen scenes. Romeo examines rape culture, friendship, betrayal, and guilt with incredible nuance. The fracturing of Kate and Jenna's relationship, and their subsequent individuals arcs are heartbreaking in their perplexity and complexity, and realistic. Romeo renders Derek with care and tenderness, even as she refuses to let him off the hook. She critiques him without demonizing. His explanation of the drunken mindset the assault came out of is troubling and sad. Benny's guilt is poignant and affecting. Great work!

Having read several of Lia Romeo's plays, I know I can count on them to be fast-paced, uniquely offbeat, supremely human, and to explore some big ideas in understated ways. Here, Romeo uses THE AGENCY to examine loneliness, connection, loss, and the devastation left in the wake of souring, torn apart, or dysfunctional relationships. That she does this while also making some excellent points about the lives of actors and other artists, the commodification of friendship, love, and sex, and celebrity shows her uncanny ability to juggle so much within a potent, intimate, one-of-a-kind story. Excellent!

This piece is absolutely fantastic! Cato renders a richly nuanced and complex collection of characters with a fine brushstroke. She explores, illuminates, and dissects gentrification and inequality so completely and profoundly by merely putting it on display to speak for itself in a masterful example of "showing vs. telling." The shifts in time are poignant and propel the play forward even as we were going back in time. The doubling of Amanda/Bridgit is also brilliant--illustrative of how circumstance and social forces dictate a person's life. This intersectionally rich and insightful play must be seen/produced soon!