Recommended by Miranda Jonté

A poignant and bleakly prophetic piece- do we ever consider the life of the thing *after* it’s served its purpose for us? Credit to Gill for infusing everyday objects and elements with heart - I’m sitting in the lobby of the tire place, my stomach aching at the beauty of this bottle’s journey. Beautiful.

An absolutely lovely play. Unexpected, whimsical, tender and oh so achingly, perfectly accurate. It rides the waves of discontent, grief, reckoning and a warm hope. Two Socks Discuss Loss is the simplest elegiac love story and I loved it.

A very sad, very simple story of poor judgement and decisions resulting in ripple effect of devastation. When done well, I so enjoy piecemeal storytelling- and Blink of an Eye hits the mark dead center.
Great monologue material here and an opportunity for some stellar ensemble work.

Whimsical, dry, silly. Good clean fun. Bring on the mustard!

This piece opens with a fire; anyone passionate about acting and teaching it feels that great WHOOMPH while reading these opening lines; Adler's admonishing a student within the first paragraph is spot on and conveys who what and why she is. Very glad Miller opted to pay homage to this titan by talking not *about* her, but *from her.*
Yes!

ADORED this- I want more of Stella and Stellan which is a sign of the writer's strength in ability to so wholly create characters in a very short amount of time. I knew exactly who Stella was within her first line. A beautiful short piece illustrating disconnect, obliviousness and self-centeredness (see first adjective) when the world is, quite literally, ending. And it is this sheer accuracy which creates the flabbergast- fueled comedy of Stella and Stellan.
(Personally, I wouldn't mind a good cup of coffee for company when the world ends)

This piece is gorgeous in its simplicity- and disordered eating itself is so incredibly complicated. 38 Cookies beautifully illustrates what it is like to live in this world: using oneself as a target- a scoreboard that no one knows about but you- with food as a weapon . Terry's existence is lonely and hellish and I personally can attest that Martin's piece hits the bullseye with the personal hell this can be. I am so gratified this realm is presented so honestly and without flair or theatricality.
A stunning piece for an actor.

Fabulous piece for an actor. Told from the point of view of the handgun, this piece is a both coiled and writhing snake, ready to- chomping at the bit to- strike.
Seductive and pulsing.
And dangerous.

A fully drawn portrait of a woman relegated to staffing the guest book table at the wedding of her no longer 'close-as-sisters' cousin. In two gorgeous pages colored with the dulcet tones of the South - & its beneath-the-surface slicing & dicing (a feared and admired art form of those southern women)- we see the hurt, jealousy &loneliness of Merelynne Hopkins. Lawing's writing is glorious and funny. Merelynne would be mortified & devastated that her ache is carefully revealed because according to her, her cousin got all uppity when she up & broadened her world- leaving Merelynne behind.
Gorgeous.

Sickles again presents dialogue and relationship that are real, wonderful, yearning and heartbreaking. ALL IS CALM is a perfect example of how beautifully he captures ache and to my utter dismay as a reader, restraint. This dismay illustrates how easily invested I become in his characters and their gorgeous inner monologues. <Look at Sickles' BULLETPROOF LOVE for more of this sublime sublimation and concealment> His characters' fear or simple inability to express their oceans' worth of feelings is a thing of beauty. I rooted for Garrett and Doug's discovery. Sometimes a gift of cocoa is more than just cocoa.