Recommended by Abraham Johnson

Deliciously theatrical, whip-smart, and SO SO FUNNY (!!!), I'm obsessed with this script's ability to blend the surprising, gorgeously-big-swing plot moments that are both spectacular and totally grounded in the world Maddie has created??? Vanessa is an instant icon! A joy of a read, I was grinning from the first to last page. Thrilled, too, at the theatrical forms here-- the voice overs, the stage magic, the projections and "Lizzie Maguire Movie" style vespas through Italy? Total bliss!

Is there anyone writing like Valles right now? The answer is no! This play is a visceral, tender, twisted love letter to the strange rituals of 9th grade boys and the things they consume. Valles' attention to detail is surgical-- clearly a teacher at heart, but thrillingly unafraid to mine the dark underbellies of 9th-grade boyhood. A wildfire play with totally singular relationships at the front and center. This play gave me goosebumps, broke my heart, and made me a little queasy. Produce this!

I had goosebumps reading this from the first page to the last. A singular play. A ferocious, precise, richly layered satire that has a finger firmly pressed on every theatrical pressure-point. I'm thrilled at the kaleidoscope of forms being played with— part documentary, part Plantation historical reenactment, part rapture-story, (part Beyonce concert!?! Part Andy Cohen roast!?!)-- not to mention the pinpointed joke placements and a history that still finds a way to haunt every word. Young builds a world that is so expansive and supernatural, with tension and atmosphere ramping into that incredible retina-burn ending. Sprawling!!! Brilliant!!! Firestorm talent!!!

A gymnastic, verbose, thorough dissection of the boundary between gay intimacy/sex, I'm floored at how vivid and wide-reaching this one-person play is. Rodgers and Hammerstein one moment, then Rumi, then spinning into autobiography and love letters to the moon??? Go off! Berry captures the (frightening, almost violent) rituals of gay rejections based on inhuman body standards, then twists the bitterness with an eye towards the transcendental self. A pastiche of gay mythology and theology-- Whitman and Tim Miller and those horny holiday chain texts all rolled into one. To summarize is to reduce, but gorgeously structured and wildly impressive.

I ADORE this 2009-time-capsule, wonderfully packed with references to "Lovegame" by Lady Gaga, iPhone 3 hijinks, and AIM My Chemical Romance chatrooms, just to name a few. Expert in its balance of laugh-a-second jokes and rug-pulling realities, Matthews beautifully rides the line of humor and heart as we meet these girls at the precipice of teen-hood. A hilarious play with a precise ear towards the duality of these girls' church community-- a vital safe space within each other, but definite vultures circling overhead. So smart. These threads gorgeously weave together in the final scene-- Expansive! Funny! Retina burn! Produce this!

A wildly queer firestorm of a play that hums with rich dramaturgy, spooky trans excellence, and a thrillingly theatrical deconstruction of Reagan's apocalyptic capitalism. Gwynn is a rip-roaring, fearless voice for our moment. There are so many lines in this play that genuinely made me gasp in their brave, full-throated rage at the 2024 America we all live in. Twisted in the best possible way. Not to mention the campy, glittery, survivalist climax? A gorgeous play to produce in the drag-club-post-capitalist-bunkers we could be living in soon

Tender and funny and wholly captivating, I adore this masterful 10-minute script. Mabey captures the rough edges of loss with wit and charm, not to mention the sniper-to-the-heart cicada ending? Oof! Electric and brilliant and expansive. I’ll be thinking about that 5th grade science report for a while. A gorgeous two-hander certain to steal the spotlight in any 10-minute play festival.

Surgically precise in its craft, decadent in its sensuality, and fascinating in how expansive alberdi can craft a world in just four characters, this is a powerhouse of a play that captures loneliness and connection and sky-watching with truly flooring attention. Oofta. So smart and hot and wounded all at once, I'm obsessed with how theatrically inventive this play is, blending form and poetry and novelty with an expert's eye. I couldn't stop reading from the first page to the last. A twisted, lonely joy of a read that I would kill to see onstage.

A gorgeous howl of a play-- not to mention the craft it takes to sustain the journey of this one-person show?? This script is so rich and imaginative, with dramaturgy expertly balanced between its protagonist and the immediate history that haunts them. I'm blown away at the razor-sharp process of unpeeling Georgia's history of slavery and hotspot ICE detention centers-- never didactic, deeply rooted in the humanity of The Writer and his wry, refreshing, clear-eyed experience chasing this thread across the Georgia landscape. And funny? And wrenching? Gorgeous script!

This play is so haunting in the loss that hums underneath the central friendship of Gabriel and Ana Teresa-- even in its lighter moments, the hunger for community and language, and the "should I root for this friendship?" tension hangs over everything. And what a meal for these actors! Gabriel and Ana Teresa are tense and open-hearted and growing up all at once, and it would be a joy to see the transformations onstage as they portray these different ages. Quinn's attention to these characters' interior worlds is flooring and nuanced-- and that last scene!!! Oof. Masterful. Produce it!