Recommended by Rachael Carnes

Such a beautiful sense of family-is-as-family-does pervades the undercurrent of this funny, engaging play. Speckman darts masterfully through a range of emotions, hitting clear, compelling notes and leaving plenty of room for a team to explore.

Grief's never really gone. This lovely play explores the loft we might still discover, even when darkness fall. Warm, funny, theatrical: It's a hug. We need those right now.

An all-women cast, a clever setting and a dynamite idea - You had me at hello! I didn't know what to expect with this play, but I'm here for the magical world-building of it all, imaginative and visually and aurally nuanced, like an old radio serial drama. Also: Big Bonus is women fighting! Not cat fights, actually throwing kicks and punches. Skip WW84 and read this vehicle for stage combat for women instead!

A short play spanning decades, and getting at the heart of a conversation that's never really changed. Cokinos' play offers richly-developed roles for two women, and the chance to ponder where we've been, and how far we have to go on the journey.

Chemistry abounds in this delightful history play imagining Shakespeare alone in the room with his... muse? Rinkel's coloratura with language creates terrific diversionary dynamics, but underneath is a conversation about something rare and human, the desire to be wanted, to be loved, as an artist? By posterity, perhaps? As a person: Yes, please. But who is this figure "Shakespeare" - and what will his poems teach us? A brave, bold new work, reframing one of the world's greatest writers in a brilliant new light.

Oooooo isn't this a darkly fun play! Levine's sharp dialogue cages the listener, and the potboiler plot holds complete attention. This would be a delight to produce, and even more fun to see performed onstage!

A deeply-felt slice of life for one character, that provides a clear window into her whole small world. Regrets, concern, seeking - Are balanced with gorgeous imagery in this evocative monologue.

What fun! Polner's dialogue crackles in this madcap comedy. How does one even write something this sustainably funny? Polner's done it! And part of the magic is how physical the piece is - I found myself guffawing to the delightful descriptions of broad, physical humor - So welcome in these dark days. And I'm not ashamed to admit it: I kinda adore how miserable everyone is, especially our dowdy hero, Denny. His is a zany adventure, and so worth the journey.

A perfect encapsulation of the razors edge we've all walked at "work" this year, between crushing banality and morbid dread. What does it mean when we actually start to miss offices? Zaffarano populates this early-pandemic farce with delightful characters, finding humor in human foibles and trapping in amber the fleeting weirdness of it all. I hope it's something we'll look back on one day? Maybe sooner than later? Asking for a friend... A wry piece of Zoom theatre or an in-person slice of history, when theatres reopen.

A deeply-felt monologue from the point of view of an orca. For Zoom! With that creative conceit, Richter finds richly humane emotion, and a calling for us to care and connect, to think and feel, for the natural world. This interchange - between an an animal living and aquatic life and a videoconference platform - distills the separation between us and our environment. A mournful piece, and a call to action.