Recommended by Stephanie Alison Walker

How does one's trauma get passed down through generations even when actively guarded against such a thing? Similarly, how does resilience born of trauma get handed down subconsciously? Is it possible to move forward without ever looking back? These are the questions that Maisel asks in her stunning play, Eight Nights. This play is brilliantly constructed, effortlessly engaging (thanks to Maisel's wonderful character work and poetry,) and heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Timely. Yes. So timely. World premiere this beauty now.

Teach is an utterly fascinating and fresh take on teacher-student sexual harassment and power dynamics in the classroom and the world of academia. Hoke kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the play and I found my opinion on the characters and situation shifting again and again. The gender fluid construct of the play is a stroke of genius and something I'm now dying to see on stage.

Deb Hiett has a gift for writing side-splitting humor that also finds a way to punch you in the gut. Her work is hilarious, imaginative, specific, truthful and complex. The Super Variety Match Bonus Round! represents all of that in one fantastic ride. I fell in love with these characters and didn't want to stop watching them. It's a beautiful piece about grief and much more and should be produced widely.

This two-hander is a beast that absolutely must be seen and performed all over this nation- especially in colleges. The subject is so important. I saw the first reading of it and was on the edge of my seat, barely breathing from start to end. It's intense and deftly written. I love Brandli's use of the Medusa myth and the brazen theatricality and the ferocity of the female character. I don't want to give too much away. This play breathes fire.

This is a beautiful and important play. I was immediately drawn in by the characters and premise and as it went on, my heart got pulled in more and more until it broke at the end. Carryl has a gift for blending the naturalistic and the theatrical. I appreciated the depth the moments of magical realism add to the play and would love to see it fully-realized in a production.

I had the pleasure of seeing Hazardous Materials at the Ashland New Play Festival in 2016. It has everything going for it- expert storytelling, fully-realized characters who you just want to keep watching on stage, an incredibly fascinating premise with characters not often seen on stage, mystery, history, suspense and deep, haunting emotion that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the end. I can't say enough about this beautiful play. And as a woman, I especially appreciate the dynamic female characters.

Here's the thing about Trina Kakacek's "Adventures of Skater Girl," there is no other play like it. None that I've experienced. It's incredibly imaginative and full of delicious language, imagery and heart. Somebody please produce it so I can see it come alive.

From the very beginning, BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) has me leaning in and excited for the story Jami has to tell. These women are so compelling and delicious to watch. What I most appreciate that is on full display here is Jami's talent to mine the common tragedy for humor. It's such a powerful take on the women experience and though it is set in the sixties, it is tragically relatable today.

Raw and unsettling in the very best way. This play is deeply effecting and incredibly powerful. In The Gun Show, Ellen bravely shares five true gun stories from her life as a way to reclaim the conversation about guns that has been hijacked by the extremes. This piece is fierce and human and punctuated with Ellen's humor… it should be produced everywhere. Not only is it an incredible vehicle for a strong actor, our country needs it.

Henry and the Hippocampus is a play that stimulates the mind and squeezes the heart. Polak takes us inside Henry's brain in an attempt to experience what it's like to be incapable of creating new memories and the result is heartbreaking. I so appreciate the beauty of the language and the rich characterization of these people who end up caught in and around Henry's mind. The play illuminates the intense power and importance that memory plays in our lives and the ache that arises in its absence.