Recommended by Lainie Vansant

As colorful and fun as it is odd and morbid (which is very). This little play takes a big turn and offers a nice breather from holiday cheer.

This is a handy little monologue for the Christmas season, a nice piece of storytelling for a talented middle-aged lady - these opportunities don't come up as often as they should, so kudos to Guyton for giving us this gift!

Hageman's clever references are so cleverly interwoven that I found myself doing a double-take more than once, but it was so worth it! And just when you're wondering where the next clever line will come from, she shifts gears and gets you in the feels.

Delightfully meta and full of awkward pauses. This little play is sure to make you smile and wonder when Barbot's full-length Christmas play is going to hit NPX ;)

I love reading a play that makes me think - makes me wonder what side of the issue the playwright is on. Burdick has created just that. ACCOMMODATION incorporates characters with strong opposing viewpoints and pits them against each other without judging any of them. It'll make you think, make you question, and it might just lead to better conversations about what matters in education today.

A ghost story to be performed in flesh and blood, this play is eerie and haunting, Jackson Burns integrates world-building and memories throughout the piece effortlessly so that the reader/audience makes discoveries throughout the piece. Done well, this play is sure to feature in nightmares.

Gorgeously poetic, undeniably smart, and still story-driven, this mind-bending play showcases many of Sklenar's greatest strengths. It's beautiful, odd, and human, and it might just break your heart.

This play is tight and poetic. Hageman excites the imagination in such a way that this could be produced with gorgeous projections and smoke machines or with just actors and their bodies and either way it would be stunning. The stakes are high, and women are helping women - read it!

A lot of religious pieces try to give their audiences all the answers - this little monologue does just the opposite. Like most of us when it comes to faith, it asks more questions than it answers, which makes for compelling, actable theater that is sure to connect with and challenge its audience.

This play is full of sweet, natural scenes that embrace the odd messiness of real people's lives. Carter has a gift for dialogue that flows naturally, and she builds characters that you'll grow to care about despite all their flaws. This play is fearless and a treat to read.