Recommended by Elizabeth A. M. Keel

This taut play explores bullying and abduction with such honest realism. There are no didactic, after-school-special vibes here. Instead, Back When We Felt Clean provides seven compelling roles for young actors (and a bouquet of strong monologues for young females!) This would be a great piece for an advanced high school program or a daring young production company.

This play shimmers with intelligence and a passion for the magic of the ancient world. Aglaonike (and her Tiger) deftly dance their way through the art of loving science. As others have noted, this will be quite the feast for the ensemble, director, and designers to realize as a team.

It's not easy to put the sea on stage! The playwright has done a shanty-worthy job of imbuing these historical characters with vibrant immediacy. Although heartbreaking, the relationships are compelling, subtle, and oh-so-human. Thank you for sharing!

Bread and stories? Don’t tempt me with a good time! This piece showcases the author's love of the kitchen as a place of theatre, storytelling, and community. I love the ongoing ripple effect of the interactions as well, as participants will go home with dough and family still on their minds.

Splendidly savage. The playwright has written an incredible visceral and taut pair of sisters, and their inevitable confrontation of the truth does not disappoint. (Terrific title too!)

A potent, high-stakes exploration of feminism that spans space and time. Ray and Margo are perfect foils who bring out the best in each other, and their epic experience is a truly impressive use of the stage. This is deep and unforgettable magic.

Delicious, wise, and self-possessed. The Problem With Magic, Is: offers a rich and nuanced mystery, complete with all the chills of a good ghost story and the warmth of a real family.

This play, y'all. It voices so many of the little fears and microaggressions spurred on by the encroaching technology in our lives. (The homage to Gas Light in the form of a smart lightbulb is stunning.) And amidst the terrifying automation is a streak of delightful theatricality, with quick changes between VR and real life, animal transformations, and the puppetry behind the bionic arms. A definite conversation starter! This is vivid sci-fi.

There’s an inherent nostalgia to watching teens mix tequila shots with gin. These young fools… simultaneously worried about the industrial prison complex and the likeliness of a kiss. The playwright does a terrific job laying out clear stakes for each party goer, as well as the pecking order. I also really enjoyed the surreal use of the Texas Hill Country - and nature, like the night sky, trees, and water - infiltrating the undefined space and serving as an anchor point to the various events in time and space. The fluidity of the space serves Sam’s fluidity brilliantly.

I appreciated the play's comfortability in being sexy: the men share moments of real, raw intimacy. I also admired Matthew's journey in loosening up romantically: he actively discovers the courage in real time. It's a great arc for the actor to explore! Although we know from the prologue that the nervous Boston liberal and the Ugandan heartthrob are doomed, the play lets us find out how and why for ourselves, without broadcasting too much too soon. An excellent use of the stage to raise awareness for civil rights in Uganda.