Recommended by Toby Malone

A charming, funny piece that starts from a humorous tableau of a pair of handcuffed men covered in cake frosting and then proceeds to show us how they got there. A nice glimpse into small-town life and the connections we make.

A master-class in raising tension in a short, humorous, chilling piece that never over-explains but keeps the reader always searching for clues. Vivid, relatable characters with strong voices, living heartbreaking truths about the world we live in. This one will stay with me.

A charming, surprising speculative fiction short, where the innocence of discovery yields hope for a ravaged future.

Having already enjoyed the full-length 'SEEING EYE', I was happy to see that this scenario exists in another format, in this beautifully self-contained short. This ten-minute play does what all great short plays should do: draws us in quickly, sets up the scenario, and leaves us wanting to hear more. While this does resolve in 'SEEING EYE', it also stands nicely on its own, with its tone of hope, good humor, and familiarity setting Jason and Robbie up as a wonderfully human pair. Read it, then read 'SEEING EYE'!

In a historical moment where the past politics of those who have erected statues comes to the fore, Espinoza is prescient in her approach to university bureaucracy and racial bias. The playwright compellingly explores the act of translating and the challenges adding to a Homeric canon through the lens of the black student's place in the racially-charged environments of higher education. Strong work.

What happens when you break up but you can't move out? TJ Young gives us a typically human take on a lived experience of having to pretend you're a couple for the sake of appearances while nursing the wounds of what they've been through. A quick, fun, vibrant read from a playwright you're all going to know a lot more of in the coming years.

Ordinarily, you see a one-act play with up to thirty characters, set in a hospital, and one character plays a vending machine, you expect to pass swiftly by. Emily Hageman, however, works with good humor, grace, and sensitivity in crafting a story that is both irreverent and touching, where the crowded ensemble work serves to exacerbate the way Jude is isolated in the world until she finds Brian. Lovely stuff.

Historical drama can often fall into a turgid pit of exposition and pointed touchstone gesturing, but Tyler Joseph Rossi shows us an exciting glimpse of how form can enliven stories well known to most students of history. Rossi brings versions of some of the great women of the Elizabethan era alive in an intertwined, never-dull format, teasing timelines, aging, and achievement within the lives of Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Grace O'Malley. I will watch out for further drafts.

An affecting, intimate, vibrant play about layers of trauma and how we manage to go forward. Jason is a character we want so badly to make a breakthrough, and it's not until late that it's clear that Jason doesn't need our pity, our support, our accommodations: he carries a strength borne from trauma that Robbie struggles to understand. Malakhow's exploration of a simple premise - which could be as simple as 'how do gay men who are blind manage to date' but is more complex than that - is impactful and true. Thanks forthe recommendation, NPX Featured List!

'The Unnamed Baby Play' is a work that in less skilled hands would turn into a kitschy, broad, gag-fest sitcom. Thank God TJ Young is the one taking on the challenge: the story of a lesbian couple attempting to conceive a child with a gay couple they met on Craigslist is one rife with pitfalls and challenges, but Young handles them with aplomb, bringing humanity, charm, and impeccable structural talent to the fore. Layered, complex, heartfelt, but always beautifully real, 'The Unnamed Baby Play' is one you're going to see a lot of in the coming years.