Recommended by John Bavoso

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!

Rinkel captures so much longing, desperation, melancholy, and beauty in just a minute’s time in this piece. He takes what could easily be viewed as a violation—a creeper-shot snapped without the subject’s consent on public transit—and humanizes it, complete with the thrill of the illicit. It’s beautiful, straightforward writing, but it’s what goes left unsaid that makes this brief piece truly memorable.

One of the many things I love about Britt’s work is their ability to turn abstract or internal feelings into striking theatrical images, and this play is a master class in that. This script will speak to anyone who’s ever felt at odds with their own body, had a complex relationship with their family, or just generally struggles to avoid the messy parts of life rather than confront them head on (so, everyone, basically) — which makes it both deeply personal and also marvelously universal. I can’t wait to see this one produced!

I fucking love this play. It’s an epic, poetic, highly theatrical, cinematic (in the best way) exploration of Queer-with-a-capital-Q love, complete with mythical figures, camp humor, and a deep exploration of how past trauma can affect our current relationships. I listened to the reading on The Parsnip Ship podcast, which I highly recommend for the chance to hear it come alive. A really fun challenge for a game cast, director, and team of designers that I hope to see fully produced one day. Highly recommenced!

The best comedies have something deeply serious at their core, and Stephen Kaplan’s TRACY JONES is a fine example of that. The cringe-comedy is masterfully done, but it’s the universal themes of loneliness and desire to be someone else that gives this play its heft. A great showcase for some talented actors with range, I imagine this is a piece that audiences will be thinking and talking about long after they’ve left the theater. Well done!