Recommended by Peter Fenton

Horror is such a hard genre to tackle on stage, but Jillian Blevins never backs down from a challenge! Postpartum is a brilliant 15-minute piece bringing to life every parent’s primal fear—something is wrong with that baby.

I had the pleasure of seeing this piece performed in its rolling world premiere at NJ Rep this past weekend! Inda Craig-Galván has written four well-rounded, nuanced characters colliding in an often funny, hard-hitting skewering of how classism and racism manifest within factions of the African-American community. This piece's strength is in its dialogue, and Patricia serves as an exceptionally human antagonist. I have no doubt this piece will become a standard in black box theaters across the country and world, deservedly so!

"That’s what we do here. Bury it deep inside and have another drink." I've read a few of Philip Middleton Williams' plays at this point and I would dare to say COOLER NEAR THE LAKE is Philip Middleton Williams at the height of his power as a storyteller. COOLER NEAR THE LAKE serves up a snapshot into the complex relationships of both a close-knit lake community in the American Midwest and the strange relational dynamics of living and navigating life, love, and family as a gay man. CNTL is both a personal and theatrical triumph in every dimension!

"As long as you can forget the actual reason for the holiday, you can sell anything!"

Philip Middleton Williams has crafted a funny, cynical peek inside the heads of ad executives planning the Christmas season. Williams is especially gifted at creating a fully lived-in scene in his plays of any length or genre, and Christmas Commercial Conspiracy is exactly that. Great work!

I’m obsessed with the concept for this screenplay idea that’s the discussion point in this play—someone who’s a werewolf 24/7 because they’re in space! That’s badass! This is a very fun two-hander showing the kind of wacky slice-of-life conversation two friends can have right before a movie starts.

As a producer I’ve literally had this nightmare before! You know things have gotten bad when the stage manager has to step out on stage. David’s charming comedic 1-2 minute play, THE 8TH SWING, would make for an excellent amuse bouche-type opening for a production of the play in question.

This is an incredibly vulnerable piece. Thank you, Christopher, for inviting the community into such a raw and honest confrontation of the uninvited guest. A powerful, versatile monologue any actor could pick up and give a strong performance—the emotion comes pouring out of the words.

The mugger definitely made off with something in this quick, delightfully funny 5-minute piece! I always love when a piece can essentially hit the pause button a high-stress situation and cut through to something raw and vulnerable. Rachel manages to do this in a black comedy sort of way. Worth it? I say yes!

Sam Heyman has opened some incredibly intriguing philosophical discussions about the nature of writing, ownership, and power—SECOND BOOK SYNDROME is truly a play for writers. It's a little bit "Stranger Than Fiction" (which is meant entirely as a compliment!), but what I especially admire about this piece is how questions are raised to both the author and the agent, serving as commentary on both the writing process and the publishing process. A fun, thought-provoking read!

In 10 pages, Daniel Prillaman has, in fact, rationalized my fear of geese and for that, I am eternally grateful. A darkly funny 10-minute piece that would be incredible to see live, played with the full-energy dead-serious performances a comedy like this deserves!