Recommended by Mak Shealy

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    Alien Girls brought me two of my new favorite characters. Tiff and Care are both endlessly relatable in their love for each other and in their pursuit of excellence as writers. The fantasy and meta-theatrical devices deepen our understanding of how this friendship functions and struggles to function. This play serves as a perfect vehicle for exploring jealousy in creative friendships, grief, comparison and how huge life changes impact can have a meteor-crash impact on other people in our lives. Berryman knows just when to undercut humor for a deft emotional wallop. I can't wait to see this...

    Alien Girls brought me two of my new favorite characters. Tiff and Care are both endlessly relatable in their love for each other and in their pursuit of excellence as writers. The fantasy and meta-theatrical devices deepen our understanding of how this friendship functions and struggles to function. This play serves as a perfect vehicle for exploring jealousy in creative friendships, grief, comparison and how huge life changes impact can have a meteor-crash impact on other people in our lives. Berryman knows just when to undercut humor for a deft emotional wallop. I can't wait to see this play produced!

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  • A highly ambitious play that expertly weaves comedy with deep-seated trauma. I’ll be thinking about Maxwell’s journey from survivor to the director of his own narrative for years to come. The precision with which Clark has sculpted these lives, complete with pain and potential for hope is masterful. Each twist is expertly layered, while still maintaining tension and suspense. I can't wait to see this performed!

    A highly ambitious play that expertly weaves comedy with deep-seated trauma. I’ll be thinking about Maxwell’s journey from survivor to the director of his own narrative for years to come. The precision with which Clark has sculpted these lives, complete with pain and potential for hope is masterful. Each twist is expertly layered, while still maintaining tension and suspense. I can't wait to see this performed!

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    Pluck is an exceptional exploration of the messiness and stark clarity of burgeoning teen identity. Cleo's journal entries are heartbreaking and beautiful and the depiction of the chatroom scenes perfectly encapsulates the particular loneliness and questioning Cleo is experiencing. There is a feeling of myth, of lore and of unsettling loss in this play. Like all of Rosenberg's work, I'm chomping at the bit to see this onstage!

    Pluck is an exceptional exploration of the messiness and stark clarity of burgeoning teen identity. Cleo's journal entries are heartbreaking and beautiful and the depiction of the chatroom scenes perfectly encapsulates the particular loneliness and questioning Cleo is experiencing. There is a feeling of myth, of lore and of unsettling loss in this play. Like all of Rosenberg's work, I'm chomping at the bit to see this onstage!

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    Amputations is a visceral, sharp and gut-wrenching play. Each character is an absolute meal for an actor. Past hurt and present pain collide throughout this piece and Rosenberg's dialogue expertly turns dark-comedy into earnest vulnerability on a dime. I cannot wait to see this onstage! Exceptional parts for queer, non-binary and trans artists! Rosenberg is a writer who constantly surprises and inspires me and I'm excited for more to come!

    Amputations is a visceral, sharp and gut-wrenching play. Each character is an absolute meal for an actor. Past hurt and present pain collide throughout this piece and Rosenberg's dialogue expertly turns dark-comedy into earnest vulnerability on a dime. I cannot wait to see this onstage! Exceptional parts for queer, non-binary and trans artists! Rosenberg is a writer who constantly surprises and inspires me and I'm excited for more to come!

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    Berryman's writing is sharp, filled with unexpected twists and turns and each character's humanity shimmers throughout the play. With every nuanced complication and conflict that arises, we're asked to journey deeper into questions of purpose, hope and futility. This is one of the most spectacular sci-fi plays I've read and I can't wait to see it produced and adapted!

    Berryman's writing is sharp, filled with unexpected twists and turns and each character's humanity shimmers throughout the play. With every nuanced complication and conflict that arises, we're asked to journey deeper into questions of purpose, hope and futility. This is one of the most spectacular sci-fi plays I've read and I can't wait to see it produced and adapted!

  • Mak Shealy: backstroke boys by Xavier Clark
    “

    One of my favorite plays to date! The characters are razor sharp and full of complicated humanity. The poetic exploration of identity that Clark has infused into this story is both a sucker punch and a salve. I can't wait to see this play onstage! Highly recommend!

    One of my favorite plays to date! The characters are razor sharp and full of complicated humanity. The poetic exploration of identity that Clark has infused into this story is both a sucker punch and a salve. I can't wait to see this play onstage! Highly recommend!

    ”
  • Mak Shealy: ICONS by Xavier Clark
    “

    ICONS is a poetic revelation of a play. An argument for rest, for resilience and for peace in the pursuit of "excellence." The lyricism of Clark's writing shines in every syllable. I saw this read aloud to a sold out crowd and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. I can't recommend this play highly enough!

    ICONS is a poetic revelation of a play. An argument for rest, for resilience and for peace in the pursuit of "excellence." The lyricism of Clark's writing shines in every syllable. I saw this read aloud to a sold out crowd and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. I can't recommend this play highly enough!

    ”
  • Mak Shealy: Memory of Winter by Tira Palmquist
    “

    This play is a spectacular example of theatre being a space for dialogue that is driving toward change, both in the space of (local and collective) climate activism and in the small moments where human understanding is built, between people who might not have expected to see eye to eye. Palmquist effortlessly and expertly draws a parallel between the murky depths of Lake Superior and the secrets she holds with the equally rough relationship between a well-meaning journalist and a burnt-out scientist. This play is vital and I can't wait to see a full production very soon!

    This play is a spectacular example of theatre being a space for dialogue that is driving toward change, both in the space of (local and collective) climate activism and in the small moments where human understanding is built, between people who might not have expected to see eye to eye. Palmquist effortlessly and expertly draws a parallel between the murky depths of Lake Superior and the secrets she holds with the equally rough relationship between a well-meaning journalist and a burnt-out scientist. This play is vital and I can't wait to see a full production very soon!

    ”
  • Mak Shealy: if all that You take from this is courage, then I've no regrets by Nicholas Pilapil
    “

    A dynamically sonic play packing a serious emotional punch. The familial relationships are powerfully evocative -- we feel dropped into the boiling water throughout this script and Pilapil doesn't let up for a moment. I can't wait to see this onstage one day!

    A dynamically sonic play packing a serious emotional punch. The familial relationships are powerfully evocative -- we feel dropped into the boiling water throughout this script and Pilapil doesn't let up for a moment. I can't wait to see this onstage one day!

    ”
  • Mak Shealy: GUSHER! by Jan Rosenberg
    “

    This is not a play you'll ever forget reading or seeing performed. It's a dream world for actors to dip into and the care taken with which each character's humanity makes this play truly stand out in the horror genre. The comedy is precise and whip-smart and the tender moments confronting shame and rebelling against it are so successful. Jan knows how to make a world full of expansive rules and break them all in the same breath.

    This is not a play you'll ever forget reading or seeing performed. It's a dream world for actors to dip into and the care taken with which each character's humanity makes this play truly stand out in the horror genre. The comedy is precise and whip-smart and the tender moments confronting shame and rebelling against it are so successful. Jan knows how to make a world full of expansive rules and break them all in the same breath.

    ”