Recommended by Scott Sickles

Swenson tells this part of his harrowing, autobiographical tale of abuse from a unique perspective: that of the imaginary friend. Unfortunately, imaginary friends can only do so much, can only help so much, but what help they can provide is crucial. They are the key to survival, even though little Joey and the Friend themselves doesn't know it.

The literal-minded among us can view this as a fascinating portrayal of dissociation: the Friend representing what's going on in Joey's mind as his body is overrun by pain and terror. A remarkable work of real-life horror.

I have three hometowns. Three places I originate from. I just didn’t originate from them at the same time.

Martin captures this feeling with great lyricism and soul: the atavistic connection to where you began and the inescapable bond that fuses you to the place where you belong. These places, however far apart, are in your atoms.

BEREA is also a beautiful meditation on grief: how it invades is, secures us to a place, and spurs us to move on.

Audiences and performers will be touched by this piece, no matter how many hometowns they have.

As someone who feels that anyone who calls the police on a black person who is minding their own damn business should be charged with attempted murder because they’re trying to use the police as their own ethnic cleansing assassins, this monologue fills me with rage and fury!

The genius of it is: if you haven’t read the synopsis (I had), the reveal is a gut-punch, but if you know what’s coming, know it all along even, feel your blood becoming steam in your veins and cooking your heart, it’s somehow even more powerful!

Necessary work!

Absolutely harrowing. In dramatizing his own abduction at age 5, Swenson theatrically and strategically brings us into “Joey‘s“ circumstance in a way that allows us to stay and observe, almost as his guardians, even though it’s difficult to watch and impossible to intervene. The emotional and psychological manipulation his abductor uses to get the “right answers” and the boy’s subsequent reactions will freeze your blood while making it boil. Knowing that there are (to date) three companion plays depicting Joey’s life an an abductee over as many years makes this initial incident even more horrific.

There's got to be a morning after. Especially if there was a night before. Such mornings beg the questions: are you staying for breakfast and what are we having?

Weaver brings a mature twist on his older woman/younger man scenarios with a perfectly appropriate encounter made complicated by the (wonderfully complex and realistic) characters' tangential history with each other. The sex may be over but the sexiness proceeds apace. What some of us would give for a shirtless "future protagonist of a Raymond Carver short story" grill us up some afterglow grub. You'll wish you were one of them.

OH, DEAR GOD!!!

I have to admit, even though it was funny, I wasn't sure where it was going. And then... IT ARRIVED!!!

In a world... where government vigilance emphasizes identifying problems and restricting potentially hazardous behavior without facilitating solutions, how much is too far??? McGregor gives us a fast-paced thrill ride of bureaucratic and technological twists and turns fueled by personal privacy and the need to take charge! Just when you think it can't get odder or crazier... WATCH OUT! A delightful dystopia with belly laughs galore!

And indeed: coffee IS A GODSEND!

I have been in this student’s position. I came to class on the day of an exam with no idea it was happening even though it was IN THE SYLLABUS!!! I admitted to the prof that I hadn’t looked at the syllabus in months, but that was ON ME! I was accountable for my failure.

Personal responsibility is sadly lacking in our students and throughout our society. Being held accountable is no longer a shortcoming of the slacker but rather the tyranny of expectation!

SCREW THAT!!! READ THE FUCKING SYLLABUS!!!

As an accountability fetishist, I loved this play.

Sometimes getting an apology is like pulling teeth. And then there are times like this and people like Paul that make you nostalgic for the ease and effectiveness of dentistry inspired amends.

Miller upends a “tied”-and-true melodrama trope to illustrate a potent point about toxic masculinity, male fragility, and the general social stigma associated with admitting one is wrong. The piece is clever and funny, but sadly more relevant than ever because the Pauls of the world should know better, but no one has taught them to apologize.

A fun sixty seconds that will stay with you.

A good audition monologue leaves you wanting more, of both the actor and the story. This excerpt certainly evokes interest in Alex, the speaker. It provides a unique personal spin on recovery, lets us into the larger world of the character, and lands on a great tag line. There's no gender specification, so anyone can perform it. It should make a terrific impression.

Oh the burden! Of being the eldest child! Of being the baby! Of being the favorite! Of being the second favorite... of two. But the greatest burden, is the burden... of PROOF!!!

With siblings, the playing field is never really level. It's a lifelong competition, and when both parents are gone to whom go the spoils? The championship belt? The title???

Lawing’s buzzed brothers are so adorable, even in grief, one wants to be their unnoticed middle sibling just to witness their drama, depth, and humanity. This play is an “I love you, bro” to the audience.