Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

This is a disturbing play, as well it should be. Olivia Haller uses tragedy to go beyond grief, loss, and recrimination. What could easily be little more than a public service announcement takes on depth and real meaning as seen through the eyes of the lost and the left behind. I admire the way it is presented: trading reality for theatricality at its best and most hard-hitting.

I've seen this play twice: first this summer at the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference, and again at Midwest Dramatists, and it's a keeper in every way. Paul Braverman has created a world where processed meat wonders about life, the universe, and is there life after lunch? It is both hilarious and deep, and proves that the most profound questions we can ask can be served up well and well-done. Bravo, Paul, and pass the mustard!

A wry and witty look at the dangers of blind faith and followers who have no problem going along. Bill Lynch exposes the treacly hypocrisy of a pastor who would exploit the foolish and weak until he's hoisted on his own podium. Another fine entry at the 2019 Midwest Dramatists Conference.

We all know what happens with the best-laid plans, don't we? "Inevitable" shows what happens when logic and certainty are applied to matters of the heart, and the outcome is anything but predictable. What a great piece for exploring the one element that makes us human.

A play about a playwright who goes wrong: what more can you ask for? Kevin King has a perfect ear for the foibles of writing a play in the modern age and doesn't miss a beat in showing us that being thin-skinned and thick-headed make for great satire. Heard at the 2019 Midwest Dramatists Conference, it should be seen at conferences and festivals everywhere.

This has all the elements of a 1930's screwball comedy on a micro level. It's funny, daft, deft, and with a twist that might seem out of the norm for this kind of comedy. The stakes are high for Hedda, a rabbit whose future is uncertain until an unlikely savior comes along. No spoilers here, but be prepared to laugh and cringe in the best possible way.

Valerie is a force of nature in a cosplay world and in real life. This powerful monologue has all the elements that make the audience listen and cheer along with her as she takes on the culture, the prejudices, and the oppression in the world in and out of costume. An amazing piece and worthy of performance: it should be required.

The strongest connections we have are those with own memories of the past and present, especially as we go through the grieving process. It can be a burden, but in this moving and gently written moment, the good memories and the reckoning with the loss are done with such craft that you leave it feeling uplifted.

Dave Osmundsen has done two great things with this play: he has given us a fully-developed story of Henry as he makes his way in the world, and given us insight into the challenges and victories that are a part of being both gay and with Asperger's Syndrome. More than anything, you find yourself relating to him on a level that so far has escaped many other writers. This is a story and a life that must be shared; the light it sheds is brilliant.

This is a wry look at family values, told with understated and steely directness. Heard at the 2019 Midwest Dramatists Conference, Richard Lyons Conlon gives us a family that has an interesting look at the priorities when a not-so-loved one is on his way to a dirt nap. You can't help but relate to each of these characters as they work to reset their moral compass.