Recommended by Rachael Carnes

I was super jealous of everyone who got to hear a reading of this remarkable play at the New Dramatists in NYC, so thanks to the magic of NPX, I caught up with this electrifying world, built with equal parts structure and savvy by Stolowitz. This play is ferociously smart, funny, spot-on, a realization of academia's entrenched inequities and foibles, with a cast of deeply drawn characters bashing around the ivory tower. Reading this, I wonder if Stolowitz and I share the same alma mater?? Go, Oregon playwright, Go! Read and produce this play. It's insanely good.

Smart, sharply-drawn characters careen around emotionally in a well-appointed if fading condo, as the sleepy ski resort outside melts, in this compelling family drama. DeLauder explores adoption, geography, expectation, class, the barriers towards inclusion that are delineated as internalized forces and societal norms. There's a lot to unpack, yet the container remains resolutely approachable and organic. The kind of play that would be a slow burn for an audience, leaving everyone in conversation. Great work.

Two Hollywood icons come into crystal clear focus, in Hoke's imagining of their last time together. For fans of Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, the play will shed insight on their tumultuous personal and incandescent public lives. And for readers or audience who might not know their work, there's this incredible relationship, to explore. Hoke draws these two together through humor and human moments, culminating in a slice of creative and cultural history that feels fresh and contemporary.

A sad and powerful reminder that the victims of gun violence aren't just those hurt in these all-too common massacres, but the bystanders to horror: Our children, and their teachers. A generation is growing up under the threat of armed assailants in their places of learning, and Kaplan's beautiful short play expresses a teacher's grief, for his students' innocence, and our collective humanity.

Hahahahaha this is delightful! A profane bedroom romp and ode to Kafka, all in one! I chortled my way through it and would LOVE to see it on stage. So glad the writer left the casting wide open, it's awesome to imagine any actors tackling this ripping good time. Damn fine dialogue. Sharp, smart, wicked fun.

In my life as a freelance journalist, I once interviewed a theater luminary, who's words kept cropping up as I turned the pages of this prescient, thrilling new play. That performer said that the first theatre was the stories we told around the first fires - and there's something in this incredible world that harkens to the kernel of humanness that can still be found, even in the most brutal of spaces. Gill's dystopian world-building, cracking dialogue and layered subtext make this play a page-turner. Is this a reimagined America, or a country revealing what it's always been? Just: Wow.

Bwahahahaha! There are few things guaranteed to make me smile more than a Scott Sickles play bringing the silly. I love the set up with HUDSON and ARTHUR, and then we discover - no spoilers, just read it - and I am so glad that I'm not the only one clearly traumatized by the 1977 animated feature "The Rescuers"! That whole thing was *messed up*. SHUDDER. Anyway, this play's a hoot, and would be a delight for any team to produce.

Wow! A dynamite exchange - cracking dialogue and characterization that is palpably real, in just a few pages. This piece would offer a creative team wonderful dynamic possibilities as Derrik and Idella battle it out, over a seemingly innocuous movie, that of course is anything but. Redman's work here is sharp, funny, relatable and relevant, to so many conversations. Would love to see this in production!

This smart, lively new lens on a classic, Frandsen's 'Wolves of Sherwood' features warm, inventive dialogue - a wonderful blend of historical and colloquial - that would be so much fun for any team to tackle. The story's refreshing, and the thing I love most, is the strong, central roles for women. It's swashbuckling fun, full of feats of derring-do. The large cast is perfect for so many theatrical settings, from High Schools, to college or summer stock. Think of the possibilities of the outdoor setting! Seriously, check this play out. It's fun for all.

I love Marge!! And the constellation of friends and family that are attempting to help Marge get through the day. This play is so lifelike and relatable - The exquisite blend of funny and tragic. Yenser's setting, this space, feels like its own character, and the story that spills out all over it, is just magnetic.