Recommended by John Bavoso

Natalie demonstrates her incredible versatility as a writer with Pillowtalk, gliding through a series of vignettes ranging from funny to tender to cringe-worthy to unsettling, all taking place in and around a single bed. I was lucky enough to catch the workshop production last year, and hope to see a full production soon. Highly recommended!

This is a really cute play for young audiences about getting along and making yourself open to new people, which will also have resonance with our current world for older audience members. Cleverly done, and I think this is a show kids could really have fun with!

With GODDESS OF THE HUNT, DeVita has created a delightfully over-the-top, campy, farce with touches of real queer life, including the stereotypical straight woman who collects gay men like Pokémon and young gay men hunting for rich daddies. While there’s a lot of fun to be had in matching up elements of the story to the their mythological counterparts, Classical knowledge isn’t at all a prerequisite to enjoying this darkly comic romp about the dangers of not truly knowing who your “friends” on social media are.

This, like all of John’s work, is a queer love letter to a specific genre—in this case, the Victorian detective story. Suffused with wit and the supernatural, this play manages to raise serious issues of repression and self-loathing all within the context of a delightful comedy and while winking knowingly to the audience. A great addition to any queer, genre, or Halloween short play festival!

Phew. With Click. Dark., Grant MacDermott has created a study in tension. As I was reading, I imagined sitting in the audience, watching the power dynamics on stage switch back and forth, feeling my sympathy and allegiance follow suit, not knowing what’s coming next... and just holding my breath the entire time. This piece is also cleverly put together, including a fun twist... and don’t skip the stage directions! A bleak tale of feeling trapped—in a town, in a marriage, in a scandal, online, and by our appetites—this is a delightfully dark read.

EMERGENCY CONTACT starts out as a comedic, cringe-inducing random hookup play and transforms into something much more serious and thoughtful. Malakhow examines issues like intimacy, body image, race, and mental health, but always through the lens of three complex, flawed, and utter human gay men. The dialog flows naturally, and there are some really striking images throughout as well as three great roles for queer actors. Highly recommended!

The theatricality of this piece is incredible. Filled with raw anger, throbbing pain, and acerbic wit, this play has a lot to say about comedy, rape culture, intersectionality, white feminism, queerness, and more, all at a blazing-fast clip. I kept thinking about how deeply uncomfortable (in the best, most challenging way) it would be to be a member of the audience watching this story unfold. Reminiscent of “Rape Joke” by Patricia Lockwood, this is a play that should be read and produced widely.

I absolutely love the evocative lyricism of this piece. Svich has managed to beautifully capture the joy and pain of youth, growing up, small town life, and change while creating so many striking images. This play has such a strong point of view, yet also is a bit of a blank canvas onto which the playwright invites actors, directors, and designers to unleash their imaginations. If you’re looking for a bittersweet hit of nostalgia and poetry, give RED BIKE a read!

This is exactly the kind of escapist silliness I needed today! Hayet constructs an A Doll’s, Part 2-esque premise and then delivers on it with hilarious dialogue and references to other properties. It’s so much fun to revisit these characters 15 years later and see how their experiences have changed them. If you’re craving a bit of levity these days, read (and produce) this winningly whimsical play!

A laugh-out-loud comedy that also has a lot to say about friendship, community, and how difficult it can be to connect with others. As someone who also lives in an apartment building in which I have astutely managed to meet no one for years, reading this play almost actually made me rethink that—but only if my neighbors turn out to be as witty and idiosyncratic as R. Eric Thomas characters. I can’t wait to see this script come to life on stage!