Recommended by Rachel Luann Strayer

A compelling and poignant family drama that wrestles with abuse and the culpability of those who knew and did nothing. The more I got to know this family, the more I felt like I knew them already. I hope it's staged soon and often.

The burden of being sexually abused, assaulted, or raped at a young age is not easily understood by people who haven't experienced it. Duane cuts deep with her criticism of the way we treat abuse victims and shines a fractured light on way that the people who were supposed to take care of us can instead turn our tragedies into their own. Restoration Parts is an important story filtered through a lens that is surreal, even at times absurd, but an stronger story because of the way it is told. An excellent, disturbing play.

Femia's voice is bold and vulnerable as she explores the depths of her past in an effort to save valuable pieces of herself that she feared might be lost forever. A powerful odyssey of healing.

It's amazing how quickly Goldman-Sherman is able to create doubt in the mind of her audience when a date goes wrong in a very public way. A scathing critique of our hesitance to believe women who've suffered assault, even when it happens right in front of our eyes.

Visceral, real, and relevant. This monologue captures not just a personal moment for the teller, but a universal moment for many of the women in our country. I hope, after January 20th of this year, that Femia has the opportunity to write a follow-up that brims with victory and healing and hope. For now, this brilliant and painful piece has left me gutted.

Witty and dark, NO BIKINI makes me want to cheer and scream at the same time. Jess is everything I want in a friend, but the battle she has to wage in order to protect herself and her friend is hellish and all too real. I wish I could buy a "No" bikini for every college girl who wants one...and get them a couple of bodyguards too.

MIRRORS is a poetic gut punch that juxtaposes sweet, nostalgic images with the brutal horror of remembered rape. Adding to its sharpness is the cruel reality that those who struggle to believe us are often the ones who have the greatest reason to, because once upon a time they lived the same thing and were silenced.

Sharp and shocking, KINDERGARDEN is a darkly comic piece revolving around the sick reality of familial abuse. As uncomfortable as it may seem, we need more plays like this to be produced because we need more discussions on this topic to be had. Goldman-Sherman pierces right to the heart of this matter: abuse doesn't have to be normal in order for it to be common.

A clever, biting critique of the way our system treats victims of sexual assault.

A fascinating play about relationships and recovery, rebuilding lives along with trust, and how following our dreams can either imprison us or set us free.