Recommended by Alexander Perez

Cook crams crazy amounts of story into this bite-sized offering. Straddling the line between sci-fi and fantasy we're treated to a tale that is tender and heartbreaking yet still finds the space to give us hope in our fellow man. A solemn reminder that there is dignity in death even if it must be unearthed.

Vermillion pulls off a hire wire act few even dare attempt. He Misses weaponizes the grotesquely absurd and wields it like a samurai warrior. The truth isn't pretty and it's wet.

Funny, weird, and raw. A sweetly twisted and surprisingly heartfelt story about mass-shooting survivors and the emotional load they carry with them long afterwards. IT reminds us that despite shared origins we all deal with trauma in different ways.

An unlikely take on an old myth. Bavoso takes us on a humble but potent journey which zeroes in on how frightening change can be, even if that change means personal freedom. And what luck, we get to laugh along the way!

Rinkel gives us an excruciatingly human look at those of us who have dedicated our lives to a dying art form and are finding it difficult to reconcile integrity with accessibility. The characters are all musos in their own right but the piece showcases the subtle but vast gradients of personality that run deep in even the most niche of circles. Is avant-garde art a self-congratulatory venture? Or is society at large just refusing to eat its vegetables? The answer lies in finding the middle ground, but who among us are willing to take the first step towards compromise?

A classic western with modern values. Diaz-Marcano weaves an electrifying web set in a lawless town founded on forgotten land. A search for freedom, identity, and a sense of belonging that reminds us no one is unworthy of redemption and that chosen bonds are thicker than blood.

What starts off as an intriguing metaphysical drama blossoms into a harrowing tale about the choices we make and the lessons we must learn from our past before it swallows us whole. Time is fickle, memory is a stranger, and the only thing we can do is our best while it all slips through our fingers.

Haunting, beautiful, and true.

Smith takes us on a harrowing, heartbreaking, and hilarious journey that is riddled with moments of sheer joy and poetry. Mental hygiene is a contact sport; wear a helmet.

Ms. O'Neill-Butler's dialogue is simple yet devastating and reminds us strangers are people too. A slow burn that takes the time it needs to unwrap the vulnerabilities of it's characters leading to a wholesome payoff.

This play is ridiculous in all the best ways possible. From the Steinbeck callback to the Gundam bursting through the wall, I was smiling ear to ear the entire time I spent reading this. If you read this in a public space be warned you will laugh loudly.