Recommended by Jordan Elizabeth

Once again, Wyndham walks a balance beam of intense comedy and real, horrifying truth -- and once again, his risk pays off. This quick, witty, thoughtful piece starts off with a temper tantrum eerily similar to my own 13-year-old diatribes and ends with a profound call to authenticity and safety.

I first encountered this play a month ago and was grateful to include it in a reading of gun reform plays I produced. I can only imagine the impact this heart-wrenching monologue play would have with a full production. A snapshot, one facet of the impact of gun violence. It has stayed with me since the moment I read it; it will stay with you, too.

What can you say about a play like this? It's so real it hurts -- I'm crying after two pages. Partain has gotten to the vital, trembling heart of the issue here in a profound, disquieting way. Here is a moment that puts everything into sharp focus; here is what has been stolen from children. WHEN I WAS A CHILD should be included in every single production of plays about gun reform.

Wow. Absolutely stunning. TAKE FLIGHT explores universal themes in a very, very specific way: communication, community, family, freedom. Daley-Sharif has so much control over cadence and language. A gorgeous monologue for a hearing-impaired or deaf actor.

I love Alexa Derman's plays, and GIRLISH is another gem. This play perfectly embodies all of the feelings of anxiety, danger, and sexiness of being a fifteen-year-old girl. Marti's clutch on the comforts of her past mixed with her desperate fear of being left behind felt so real it hurt; and Windy's leaps toward -experience- are so real, normal, and frightening. GIRLISH is really funny, really sad, really spooky, and really honest. Derman is making very exciting, utterly unique theatre.

Beautiful, and horrible, and tragic, and empowering, and gorgeous. I love her. I love Driver. I love Bed ("Is this what it means to be soft?" is a line that will stay with me for a long, long time). SLUT is full of tension and conflict, both in the action of the story and the affect it had on me: I didn't want this play to be over, but its pace is flawless; it has left me feeling devastated yet empowered. Everyone, everywhere: please produce this play.

A wonderfully strange concept with two terrific female characters, THE BRIGHT SIDE OF KEURIG is a fun read for anyone, especially anyone who's worked in an office burning the midnight oil. This little play would be a great addition to an evening of short comedies.

Gonzalez guides us through twists and turns in this short gem of a play that has nuance, depth of character, and a haunting quietness. I love the way form parallels theme here: the characters deceiving the audience at the top; the deceptions of the unseen spouses; the way the Man and Woman deceive themselves and each other. Perhaps my favorite part is the magical thinking these characters participate in: conversations they wish they were having with someone else; a romance between them that remains perfect because it is never fully-realized. There's so much to consider in this short play.

I have a personal rule to steer clear of religiously-themed Christmas plays; I make an exception here with Weaver's FLIES AT THE NATIVITY. He's got an exceptionally weird mind, and I love where he takes these characters. The elephant trumpeting at the end is super funny. Fun from start to finish (unless you've got a queasy stomach).

Femia crafts deep characters with quick brushstrokes -- like looking at a rich painting that you want to figure out. Her work is an invitation to slow down and look closer. Froggie and North are perfect foils for one another, a classic conflict between magical thinking and realism. The conversation about the sinking of the Titanic grounds this short play, moving us fluidly from the emotional distance of colossal loss to the immediate, specific, hard reality of losing someone who you thought you understood. Truly moving and lovely.