Recommended by Jordan Bird

Such an awesome riff on a classic horror trope, THE LOST GIRLS was so much fun to read. If Lovecraft and Scooby Doo had a child, this would be it. While the plot is fun and engaging, it's the deep, rich characters that really propel this play forward and make it such a joy to experience. I would love to see a production of this play.

This play was a pure delight. It's funny, sad, heartwarming and heartbreaking -- the end left me wanting more in the very best possible way. The dialogue is tight, the characters are perfectly developed, and the situation is taut and thrumming with energy. THE SHARK PLAY stole my heart.

Gill starts out with a strange and wonderful concept -- a woman, Renee, who has an imagined disability -- and builds a world around her dysfunctional relationship with her brother, Davey. Their shared childhood trauma, which Davey can barely remember, creates a strong bond between them, but Davey struggles to let Renee in. LEGS is a funny and sad look at the way trauma affects vital relationships.

God, I love Asher's monologues; this one may be my favorite. While Megan is a hilarious, uproarious character, she has some important things to say about internalized self-hatred; she is furious and a force to be reckoned with. And her RAGE: wow. Wyndham has a true gift at finding the humanity and depth of a person through a single monologue. I love this piece.

ARCHIPELAGO is a poem to love, loss, and connection -- B and H are lost and found by each other again and again across a landscape of war and politics. Svich crafts words with such deftness and lightness; the world she has created in this play is both stark and warm, colorful and bleak. I would love to see this play in production.

This play is such fun. Goldman-Sherman brings a levity and brightness to everything she writes, and TOILET PAPER is no exception. This would be a super fun project to be a part of.

Gorgeous and heartbreaking, ARCHITECTURE OF RAIN is a stunning piece of theatre. I love the lyrical dialogue, the way time bends and contracts, and the image of a home being dismantled and rebuilt. This play would be a dream to direct, design, perform, and witness.

This play begs us not to turn away from the horror that happens around the world from acts of violence. These stories are hard to absorb but vital to our humanity, and Carnes once again wraps her arms around the deep humanity, the human cost of these violent acts.

Chilling, overwhelming, intense, and utterly heartbreaking, EXIT 27 truly shook me. Merilo is a master of nuance, subtlety, and slow progression. I fell in love with these lost boys and became so invested in their well-being, in their salvation, and in their desire to be "good" again. Merilo strikes at the heart of what it means to belong and to be on the outside. One of my favorite playwrights of all time -- I truly hope to see a performance of this masterful play some day.

This is an excellent little play full of humor, conflict, and terrific interactions between two very different female characters. Hageman nails personification and infuses so much drama and heart into such a small space. Hageman is a playwright to watch!