Recommended by Carl(os) Roa

I really want to teach this play to my students as an example of "plays as atmosphere." I read this script during the Sewanee Writers Conference and it was one of my favorites. It's a very mysterious play that never reveals itself to the reader and it thrives off of its own ambiguity. I love reading scripts that don't have a clear cause-and-effect narrative, and it can best be described as more of an experience. I would love to design this play, and I hope to see a production one day!

We workshopped this script during the Sewanee Writers Conference and it was one of the most beautifully written plays in our cohort! It tackles the subject of our impending apocalypse with a grace and sensitivity that you don't often see in dystopian stories. What role does love play in a dying world? Brandon explores this question in Ginkgo Express, and it was one of my favorites at the conference. Please produce this play - it's a timely and heartwarming tale.

Matt workshopped this play during Sewanee Writers Conference and it was easily one of my favorites. He does a great job of capturing the congested, suffocating feeling of our current existence. The future is now, and somehow, an android understands what it means to be human better than we do. This is a script that layers multiple themes, including (but not limited to): late-stage capitalism, the ethics of AI, misogyny, and orientalism. Give this script a read, it'll be worth your time!

Something I’ve always appreciated about Eppchez’s writing style is that ey’re able to portray complex emotional states in an effective way. All the characters in this world show the oxymorons, unspeakable thoughts, and difficult-to-communicate ideas that we all carry in our minds, but don’t know how to express. The love story in this play isn’t a simple one, and every moment between Woolen and Vera feels rooted in a compelling and satisfying mystery.

After reading this play, I was really impressed by Megan's ability to cover so much terrain in a one-act. It also reminded me of the many hurdles with voter suppression and how they persist even today. In order to understand the present we must look at the past, and Lowndes does a great job of depicting that past.

This play makes me yearn so much for romance! Whirlpool never reaches melodramatic heights, instead opting for the heat and tension we can find in everyday interactions. Jonathan's play shows the intimacy that's possible in queer love stories, while never denying the complexity that such a relationship deserves. A great choice for producers that embrace the romance, coming-of-age, or drama genre.

I’ve known Julie’s writing for some time and I think of this play as her best work! The conversations between the two main characters reveals a lot of shocking details about their dynamic, in a way that I haven’t seen in an adoptee/birth mother relationship. This is not a story that pulls any punches with an audience that anticipates a Hallmark ending, and Julie does excellent work in making us feel uncomfortable with our expectations.

Keep Me Posted plays with tone and mood in a way that is unexpected, weaving seamlessly between satire and trauma on the drop of a hat. After watching a reading of this piece hosted by Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, I was very impressed by the way Walters was able to communicate the duality of a vapid and transactional dating scene next to the desire for safety against an unknown predator. Stephanie Kyung-Sun Walters has a writing style that allows an audience to feel pulled by the same forces of nature she describes in her poetry.