Recommended by Daniel Olivas

I had the great pleasure of watching a streamed reading of Yussef El Guindi's 'Refugee Rhapsody' which was featured in The Road Theatre's Summer Playwrights Festival. This play is a brooding, brilliant, complex examination of race and class that are the underpinnings for various forms of physical and psychological violence. Theatre craves work such as this. It is my sincere hope that this play makes it to the stage.

This short play by Ciarlene Coleman has sharp, funny dialogue that points to an important truth about non-BIPOC people who try to fit in with BIPOC friends in an inappropriate manner. Friends can educate each other about such issues and continue with their friendship. This play would be perfect for a high school or college performance as a way to begin a discussion on cultural appropriation, bigotry, and similar topics.

I watched a virtual table reading of this riveting, potent play by June Carryl as part of the Playwrights' Arena's Summer Reading Series 2020. With sardonic humor and vivid characters, Carryl brings nuance and light to the horrors of genocide. I wait in great anticipation to see a fully realized production for the stage.

I had the opportunity to watch a virtual table reading of "Kate, Untamed" as part of the Playwrights' Arena's Summer Reading Series 2020 (I am one of the ten playwrights whose work was chosen for this series). Sean Abley's play is a genre-bending, rapid-fire, hilarious dissection of the Bard's problematic (i.e., sexist) "The Taming of the Shrew." Abley's mastery of language--both contemporary and Shakespearean--is sharp and revealing. The actors were brilliant as they played several different characters, changing voices and demeanor at breakneck speed. I can't wait to see a full production of the terrific play.

This short play is a one-two punch that comes at you with such speed that you don't know what hit you. Who--or what--is the real threat to our communities? ICE? Bigotry? A virus? This play will leave the audience thinking long after the dialogue is over.

I had the opportunity to see Evelina Fernández's The Mother of Henry at the Latino Theater Company's world premiere earlier this year. For those of us who grew up during the Vietnam war and saw its horrendous impact on the Latinx community, this play perfectly captured the trauma and absurdity of the era. Fernández blends magical realism and great humor into her narrative to wonderful effect. This play is as important as it is entertaining. Highly recommended.

I recently saw the Road Theatre Company's production of The Spanish Prayer Book and was deeply moved by it. Ms. Davis's play not only explores the ethical questions of religious and cultural ownership, but also the often competing values across generations, countries, and religions. Though the subject matter includes the Holocaust as the backdrop, Ms. Davis imbues the narrative with gentle humor as her characters struggle with trying to do the right thing. I highly recommend this play.