Recommended by Ian August

This play has all the things--like, seriously, it has ALL the things! Cleverness and pathos, comedy and drama, assassins and lesbians and rock music and BIRDS! Mr. Hilder has created a whip-smart novelistic world in which five brilliant women wrestle with grief as they come to terms with their sisterhood. It is at one minute hilarious and the next devastating. Do this play! Your audiences will feel everything, too!

The truths of HYANNIS will live with you long after you put down this play. The aching hearts, the desperation, the terrible power of addiction. Ms. Bentley-Quinn has painted a masterful portrait of both the beauty and the tragedy of small-town New England. Sparks of color beneath a massive sky of gray. I can't wait to see this on it's feet. It is a stunning work.

RIVETING! Mr. Cameron leads us deep into the psyche of these two women who find themselves at odds over the truth; it's impossible not to feel everything for both of them. The dialogue crackles, the reversals are brilliantly achieved, the piece is structurally gorgeous. Congratulations to Mr. Cameron on TRUTH BE TOLD. This will be a play picked up by theaters around the country for years to come, I think.

Wow. Mr. Pine has written an intense, powerful examination of the damage of trauma. His characters are supremely flawed, but undeniably human. IMMORTALITY CRISIS is a compelling play--it will keep you on the edge of your seat--and it is enormously emotionally affecting. A difficult, challenging topic excellently rendered. WOW.

An emotionally rich portrait of three young people, desperate to hold onto their connections to each other while yearning for something more. This is a play that feels like it exists within the tonal palate of the setting--the coast along the Long Island Sound--sometimes awash with vibrant color, and sometimes trapped in muted grays. I had the privilege of working with a group of high school actors on this play, and the result was stunningly beautiful. Highly recommended.

IN THE END is a heart-breaking exploration of the tragedy of violence, one that stays with you long after you finish it. Ms. Bohannon has crafted a moving series of vignettes in which the victims of violence--recognizable and yet uniquely hers--are able to treasure the moments in their lives we only ever hear about in eulogies. The result is a play filled with hope and humor and comfort and beauty. I recommend this very highly.

THE WOLF YOU FEED is everything--mysterious and sexy and dangerous and life-affirming. Darcy Parker Bruce has always infused the mundane with magic, and this play is no different. A seedy motel gives way to the forest around it; a woman gives way to the wildness within her. I love how this play is a reverse Pygmalion--how it's about transitioning away from our humanity and embracing the animal within. And there's more than a little nod to Sendak in here to give me Easter Egg goosebumps. PRODUCE THIS PLAY!

A beautiful new play from Andrew Rosendorf--funny, romantic, honest, and heart-breaking. It calls into question everything we know about safe spaces, about the threats from without and how they find their way in. And it beautifully encapsulates a unique moment in queer history--a moment that forced us to recognize that visibility does not equal freedom. This play is going to win all the awards. Read it.

BEST LAID PLAN(t)S is a delightful romantic comedy that, while staying true to some traditional rom-com situations, still finds opportunities to surprise, infuriate, and excite. It's a thoughtful, subversive examination of the limits we put on our own sexuality. And it flies! Don't be put off by the page count--this was one of the most aerodynamic plays I've read in ages. Such a pleasure! I can't wait to see it brought to life on a stage!

With AT THE VERY BOTTOM, Mr. Benne reveals himself to be a stunningly gifted poet and a true romantic. The play is both powerful and ethereal, grounded in the recognizable but touched by magic. A beautiful and emotionally moving expressionistic piece. Lovely.