Recommended by Amanda L. Andrei

A beautiful prayer/ritual, an invitation, an interactive delight that touches on apocalypse and the future over popcorn and lemonade. Big Taurus energy!

Sy vibrantly captures the tension between a Filipina American mother and daughter during the early months of COVID -- the suffocation, vulnerability, anger, and liminality that exists between displaced generations of diasporic Filipina Americans, both within the Fil-Am community and in relation to other marginalized groups and oppressive structures. This play is raw Pinay poetics. #BAPF2021

Houston’s fantasy drama delves deep into a world beyond fairytales, straight into the subconscious, oppression, and underworld. Emphasizing both movement and hypnotic poetry, the flight—and plight—of twin princesses Emina and Zubaida is reminiscent of 1001 Arabian Nights, a world both grotesque and colorful, sensual and harsh. Within this world, the princesses use their skills of logic and meaning to strike out against The Dark One’s curse, thus regaining their identities and family connections beyond death. In a moment of desperate courage, a twin reminds us, “Defy what they try to make of you.”

The “ambitious card” is a trick in which a card from the middle of a deck reappears at the top—an essential routine that student magicians learn and customize to make their own. Langley’s supernatural dramedy does precisely that, customizing the journey of a young illusionist determined to become the first female magician with an American TV special. But little does she know that her heritage of magic goes beyond illusion and straight into the paranormal. Epic in scope, Ambitious Card blurs lines of performance and examines female relationships while playing with anxiety, pride, and our true callings.