Recommended by Peter Fenton

Writer’s block is hell. This quick-witted ten-minute meta comedy really captured for me what it must be like on “the other side” of our imagination as playwrights—and how it must feel to be pushed to the side as a ”supporting character” and much more unsettlingly, how it feels to wonder if and when you, too, will become a cliche

Dana Hall's Refracted Light is a poignant slice-of-life coming-of-age drama sort of in the vein of a LADY BIRD, but the coming-of-age arc that really pulled me in was the mother's. Hall has a wonderful way of illustrating the very real, incredibly primal fears we have of abandonment through the role of Lucy. I also especially love the intimate scene-by-scene way this play is presented, melancholy with a twinge of comedy—true to life itself. Highly recommend! (P.S. the Act I finale exchange between Becky and Penny is worth the entire read. We could all use an Aunt Becky!)

Melissa Milich has written a deliciously dark screwball comedy with HUMAN REMAINS! All three actors in this piece have such a fun responsibility to play out an emotional roller coaster of greed, death, and absurdity. This one will be a lot of fun for each actor, the director, and the audience alike. Well done!

I want the teacher from the beginning of this play to give every pre-show speech at every show! Today’s America is an intriguing, poignant 10-minute drama portraying two well-rounded characters in conflict—what more could you ask for? I appreciate that this sort of play can appeal to just about anyone along the gun control ideological continuum. Well done!

In UNMARRIED MAN, Emmy Kuperschmid offers a scathing parody of shows like The Bachelor, going after it with all her refined darkly comedic chops that hit the reader in all the right places. While the comedy is largely absurdist (a breadstick ceremony for a show sponsored by The Olive Garden, the titular Unmarried Man bringing the phrase "my dead fiance" in almost every one of his interactions, among other bits), the commentary on women's place in reality tv is pitch-perfect and all these weirdos are lovable in their own ways. Highly recommended!

Richard Thompson has done something incredible with this piece... he made Dickens feel fresh! I came away from this retelling of a lesser-known work from "the inventor of Christmas" with an appreciation for both Thompson's dialogue (and form!) as well as the themes of the piece: we can only truly love when we make ourselves vulnerable. A great alternative if you want to stage a new but familiar-feeling Christmas piece with a wonderful redemption arc. A Yuletide triumph!

I love the range in this collection from Donald E. Baker. Something very important about telling the stories of queer people—or people of any marginalized group, for that matter—is that we hold a range of experiences and stories. We are not a monolith, and neither is the Baker's Dozen. Baker displays quite a range of his own writing ability pulling together this collection of well-realized short plays and monologues, illustrating it all: some romantic, some tragic—all authentic. I'd love to see these pieces performed one after the other for a complete night of theater. Well done!

A father willing to try to understand us—isn't that what we all dream of? So many queer stories are centered on replicating tragedy—by contrast, Paul Donnelly has written a ray of hope. A lovely and timely ten-minute piece modeling how the coming out conversation should go despite how hard Billie's life has been so far. I have in mind a few people who need to see this play and recognize trans people are people. Thank you, Paul, for modeling love and acceptance with this piece.

Butterfly Anchor is a hard-hitting character drama about making peace with your past and present. Friedman has created a play with wonderful backstory and an intriguing plot with a few breathtaking monologues from leads Brian and Angela. A reminder of both the brevity of life and to tend to the people who matter to us, whether our business with them be unfinished or not.

On first glance of the plot arc, Cabana Boy is a heartbreaking, weighty story, but it never felt that way reading Williams' words. It's always interesting to consider "the product" vs "the person" when living as a public figure--I loved seeing how this play examined this internal dilemma for both Alex and Miriam. This play was genuinely funny and full of literary references from top to bottom and ended with a complex, melancholy but hopeful outcome. I'd be very excited to see a reading or production of this play... and I'd very much want to play Mitch!