Recommended by Brian Cern

Gartner's "Age of Chimes" finds beauty in the simplest of places. True companionship, the soul enriching kind, has the duality of envigorating you, and yet deapening as it progresses. This wonderful parable... I almost said fairy tale... exemplifies it perfectly. Well crafted and well done.

I mean, who HASN'T thought about celebrating the end of a relationship in a grand public display of space opera?
A fun, silly, and eminently relatable story of a man coping with his divorce, its dialogue wizzes and snaps like the clang of two laser swords bouncing off of each other. And, like all good sci-fi, the magic of it lies in its human-ness. In its ability to transend the fantastic, and reflect the mundane. It is a sweet story of a man with a broken heart, just trying to live again.

I hope to see this script staged many, many times. Kreilkamp's "The Pier" is a perfect example of the more specific the situation is, the more universal the response. In telling the story of a woman helping her sister move on with her life, Kreilkamp touches upon universal emotions, and in doing so, she casts a wide net of relateability and emotional resonance. Exceptionally well done,

Too often, we are told that theater but be about the conflict. However, it is a rare jewel when we are given a script about a moment. Character-based, much more of a character-driven drama, it warms the heart to see these two old friends reconnect in line. Both simple in its staging, but complex in its delivery, it takes a pair of very special actors to execute this. My personal favorite from the 2025 Midwest Dramatists Conference, I hope to have the opportunity to see this staged.

A big grin from ear to ear with this script. Clever, with snappy dialogue that any senior actor should love to sink their teeth into. The situation is relatable and the laughs authentic in this wonderful piece from Ruyle. Would love to see this staged!

With echoes of Stoppard's "True West," Johnson weaves a tale of family intrigue and secrets as its matriarch approaches the end of her life. Strongly drawn characters, with several amazing roles for women, the story unwraps and unfolds itself, slowly revealing the full story that lies just beneath the surface. Exceptionally well crafted and realized characters, this script begs to be fully staged.

An atmospheric hospital drama set at the close of WWI, Mighty Mac is a grand farewell to the moments we pass through, when we say goodbye to one chapter of our lives, and take a deep breath for the start of the next. Two soldiers, wounded and recovering in a field hospital, attempt to recover from both their wounds, but the emotional toil of the war. One will face unexpected results, while the other only adds to the emotional toll. A gritty and deeply atmospheric piece.

In another quick zinger from Brandon, a group of high schoolers is planning out their evening with the help of some outside... Influence.
A fun and twisty little tale about five friends planning their (short term) futures, and seeing what trouble they can get into. Well done!

The queen of the short zinger (and, dare I say, O. Henry ending), Julie Brandon continues her streak of quick jabs that entirely play with your expectations. Nothing is ever what it seems in a Julie Brandon play.

And her skills are only getting sharper.

Perfect in its delivery and execution. Busser's riff on technology's consistent failure to deliver on the promise of making our lives easier is taken to new heights, as the technology takes on a life of its own. Simultaneously a biting satire and eminently relatable... It is a laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly relatable.