Recommended by John Bavoso

Phillie’s Trilogy is an original take on friendship, love, family, memory, and the impact art can have on its subjects. At turns achingly tender and archly funny, DeVita’s play shows how relationships can grow, stretch, and disintegrate as the years go by. I’d love to see a production of this one day!

Shannon grapples with so many big tensions in this piece—rural vs. urban, Democrat vs. Republican, straight/cis vs. queer, inertia vs. change—but, as is always the case with his work, it’s really about the authentic characters at the center of it all. Everyone in this play is just doing what they think is best, which is the real source of the tragedy. This is such a timely play and I’m glad it’s getting produced now—if you’re near Minneapolis, please go see it! Or, better yet, produce it yourself!

“It’s a scary thing to be in the hands of an angry God.” In Tall Tales, Timms takes the very real fears about religion and small-town life that many LGBTQ+ people have and marries them theatrically with the familiar, unsettling beats of the horror genre. But at the heart of the play, underneath the monsters and ghosts, are the genuine relationships and feelings of being stuck—hating something, but also longing for the familiarity of it. I hope to see a production of this haunting play one day!

With this piece, Straton has created a harrowing snapshot of a man who’s lost and doesn’t even realize it. He also expertly captures the pain and frustration of those who try to help those who don’t believe they need help. That’s a lot to do in 10 minutes, but Straton pulls it off. A truly mature work from a young playwright, this is a short play you won’t soon forget.

I saw a reading of this play at the Midwest Dramatists Conference and was immediately sucked into the bleak dystopia of it all. Still, even amid big questions of freedom of speech and what artifacts of the past are worth holding onto, Dave has crafted uniquely defined and relatable characters. (It’s oddly reassuring that, even after the apocalypse, we’ll still be dealing with f*ckboys who won’t text us back.) I can’t wait see where Dave takes this pieces and these characters in the future!

I love a twist ending, and this short play has a great one! Each character has a point of view that feels authentic, even when it comes into conflict with another character’s. Richard has put an original spin on the “hospital bed play” genre, and it’s one that will stick with me for a long while.

Generally, my tear ducts are purely decorative, but after seeing a reading of this play at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, I was on the verge of blubbering. Webb has crafted a slice-of-end-of-life piece that’s heartbreakingly realistic. The sibling banter feels authentic, but it’s the deeper question of what happens to you when the person your identity has been built around your whole life is gone gives it a real resonance and heft. Beautifully done!

A perfect encapsulation of a little girl who knows who she is and what she wants, no matter how unconventional! This would be a really fun piece for a child actor and a welcome, family-friendly addition to any Halloween-themed night of shorts.

I love this play—the characters, language, theatricality, structure, even the font. There’s so much danger just beneath the surface—and the supernatural is just the tip of the iceberg. Walker has a way of dramatizing the pushing of sexual boundaries and toying with emotions that feels both true to teenage life and campily heightened at the same time. This whole fuckin’ play is a big mood—sexy, scary, sinister, silly, and smart. Read and produce this play right now, please! (P.S.: “A single Pomeranian barking” is the best stage direction ever.)

An eerie piece that builds in mystery and dread, Route 84 is a masterclass in distillation and economy of language. Salsbury wastes no time getting us into the story, and she trusts her audience to get on board or be left behind. Easy to produce and perfect for this time of year, this play would be a chilling addition to any horror play festival!