Recommended by David Templeton

This is a tight, fast-paced little gem of a play. Brutally realistic, it downloads facts and context so expertly, through a conversation fueled by a rapidly escalating tension, we barely know we’re learning something along the way. Fantastic last second twist. I loved this.

Deceptively and cleverly written to seem like a fairly simple story of two strangers forming a bond (of sorts) under difficult circumstances, only to reveal itself as something deeper and more complex.
This one could stick with you, like the echoes of all the bombs (literal and metaphorical) that fall throughout this play.

There are some HUGE laughs in "The Final Scene," a highly entertaining blend of slapstick and character-driven comedy. I've seen this play on stage, and it is a true crowd-leaser, a loving and funny examination of more than just the day-to-day ins-and-outs of shooting a soap opera, but a tribute to the way different people can evolve into meaningful, if wildly dysfunctional, families.

"The Book of Matthew," a skillful blend of rising drama and effective comedic one-liners, is an emotionally rich delight, lovely and affecting. I have seen two live productions, and in addition to the cleverness of the writing, it offers several opportunities for actors to really shine. The central character of Matthew is a star-making role for the right actor. I highly recommend checking this play out.

I started grinning immediately as I started reading “Biscuits & Bones,” and never stopped. Short, sweet and actually kind of sexy, this offbeat two-hander is wonderfully weird. Whether you are into dogs or playfully twisty comedy, or both, this one will really get your tail wagging.

I read this play a couple of years ago, and continue to think about it. Especially when I see anything about sharks. Of course, it's not really about sharks so much as it's about the way one broken family functions, and its ideas have a true power to stick with you and linger long afterwards. But then ... sharks. This is a great play.

Upon finishing K.T. Peterson's '/genius,' I went back to the beginning to read this tricksy tangle of interwoven vignettes again. Once I saw what the playwright had been up to all along – and why there is that all-important forward slash in the title - I wanted to dip my brain back into Peterson's gorgeously human, entertainingly tragic dialogue and psyche-baring wordsmithery. The transitional musical elements could be a challenge for some theaters, but if pulled off, together with the disarmingly unpredictable storytelling, could make for a truly transcendent theatrical experience. I loved this.

A funny, engaging, alternately charming and challenging play (in the best sense of that word) about the pitfalls and rewards of communication, and the importance of seeing past surfaces to connect with our shared humanity. These characters have stayed alive for me ever since I read Ortiz's remarkable, deceptively non-complicated play (it's so much more complex that it at first appears), and I look forward to seeing them come alive sometime in a fully staged production.

One of those plays I read through in one sitting, then started over again to see how it reads once you know everything that's actually going on. And the second experience is as entertaining, intense and funny as the first. As a working journalist and a playwright myself, I can say that Yarchun's vision of the future, while layered with genuine affection and humor to soften (some of) the blows, is frighteningly spot-on, and often feels not-so-futuristic at all.

Mind-bending, challenging, thought-provoking and heart-breaking. I saw a workshop production and have literally not gone more than a couple of weeks without thinking about it since.