Recommended by John Bavoso

HAIRDRESSER ON FIRE feels so deeply rooted in the time it was written, and yet has timeless things to say about love, friendship, codependency, and loneliness. Sickles’ signature wit sparkles on every page, and I loved reveling in the camp of it all. Best of all is the realistic depictions of the joys and frustrations of friendship.

Reading Front Porch Society truly feels like eavesdropping on a conversation between best friends and neighbors. Beaty beautifully shows the human scale of massive events like elections, war, and systemic racism and police brutality. At turns funny and harrowing, this is a moving play about hope and the ways the past is intertwined with the present and future. Highly recommended!

Despite being set in the early years of a different pandemic, there’s no doom and gloom to be found in HOT BEEF—just ribald, campy, romantic comedy! When an ad man for a gay porn magazine and closeted executive for a homophobic condom company meet in San Francisco in the ‘80s, hijinks ensue. Tim Bryant has created a play reminiscent of a slapstick black-and-white film or the gayest Hallmark movie imaginable (I mean that as a compliment). If you’re looking for a laugh and a happy ending (pun most definitely intended), give this play a read!

What begins as a meet-cute between an older white man and a younger Asian American one quickly becomes something much deeper—both in terms of the relationship and Pilapil’s thoughtful meditations on race, power, art, and what we give up to another person to be part of a couple. Sprinkled with quick wit and dazzling turns of phrase, the bottoming process is both entertaining and leaves you with a lot to think about. Would absolutely love to see this staged — highly recommended!

This script is such a wild, funny, harrowing, highly theatrical ride! Underneath the attention-grabbing conceit and text-speak/references to Charlie the Unicorn (a personal favorite) is a lurking dread and lots of weighty questions about identity, love, and capitalism, among other things. This play would be a joy for a creative, open-minded cast, designers, and director—and I hope to see it fully up on its feet one day!

THE CALL LIST is a beautifully understated play that tackles everything from mortality, family turmoil, and workplace stress in an astoundingly natural, and at times hilarious, way. Brian James Polak has crafted a solo show (timely, huh?) based on a familiar conceit (a one-sided phone call) that deftly avoids falling into cliches and too much exposition. A really lovely play about the sum of a life and what we leave behind... read it (and produce it!) for yourself!

Horrifying, compelling, and at times darkly funny, The Wild Boar of Chernobyl is a play that wasn’t written in 2020, but perfectly captures the politicization of public health and the tension between religion and science we’re currently immersed in even as the number of COVID infections continues to rise. Pazniokas has created a timeless fable that I imagine would be a joy for talented actors and designers to sink their teeth into (no pun intended). Highly recommended!

A taut, suspenseful script that tackles Internet culture, policing, and gun violence in bold ways, while more subtly touching on issues of race, privilege, and personal responsibility. A timely play that will leave audiences with lots to discuss long after they’ve left the (physical or virtual) theater!

This short play gets at a hard, shameful truth with lighthearted humor and crackling dialogue. What really elevates it, however, is the genuine, loving sibling relationship at the story’s heart. A terrific script that packs a lot of commentary into 10 short minutes, everyone should be reading—and producing!—this play.

This is such a fun, family-friendly Halloween play full of absurd twists and turn, right until the very last second! It would make a terrific addition to any all-ages seasonal short play festival.