Recommended by John Mabey

RECOVER by Helen T. Mariam is a powerful play exploring intersections of gender, race, mental health, and college football. The characters are layered and dynamic in culturally specific ways that make the story feel deeply grounded and dynamic. And from a mental health background both counselor and client perspectives throughout felt honest and earned in their complexities. This play is also incredibly timely in today's culture of sports/celebrity/personal branding on social media.

There’s so much to enjoy about LAST GASP by David Beardsley. The sci-fi is both comedic and thrilling as it all feels just within reach. As tension builds throughout, Beardsley constantly raises the stakes through to the surprising and unexpected conclusion. A great addition to any festival that will definitely have the audience talking afterward.

Complicated grief takes many forms, especially when mourning after a tragedy. And in IVY: A MONOLOGUE, by Asher Wyndham, we meet a character who has such urgent needs and struggles to process them. As the safe space she’s created inside no longer feels secure, the threats outside start to intrude as a metaphor for the conflict within. And the ending delivers such a pivotal moment that both concludes the monologue while continuing the story of this character in our minds.

In Weekend at Herbie's by Randy Hunt there’s high laughs from start to finish as a group of friends experience the consequences of having more fun than expected. Hunt gives the perfect amount of story to let the comedy shine from start to finish, escalating the laughs through to the final moments. I saw this play on stage at a theatre festival and the raucous laughter and loud applause were well deserved.

Robert J. LeBlanc is a dynamic and powerful storyteller, and in The Angel we meet 2 characters with great depth and even deeper secrets. The pacing moves perfectly from moment to moment until the thrilling conclusion. I saw this production onstage at a theatre festival and it started the night off so strong with a bang.

TTC AND ALL THE OTHER ACRONYMS IDK by Lauren Davenport is complex, poignant, raw, and honest. It holds unique emotional truths about pregnancy and body autonomy while honoring the messiness of its characters. There's also a magical point in the play where we're brought to the time of Mary Tudor, making the themes of the play even sharper in a historical context. The exploration of different types of friendship between these characters was also exciting with each voice truly unique.

Sometimes a little playful deception is the key to uncover truths. And Debra A. Cole demonstrates this wonderfully in DUCKS IN A ROW. This romantic comedy with hints of mystery includes vibrant characters that performers will love to play and would make a perfect choice for festivals, too!

All marriages require work and maintenance, but sometimes a literal representation is the perfect answer. And in BACKYARD STONEHENGE by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn, the couple in question is reeling from addiction and legal issues that has cracked their very foundation. But stone by stone, they build something new in this play that gives hope for their future with humor and heart.

In AUTISTIC DOULA, H. Avery shines brilliant light on ableism, disability, and autism in the medical world and beyond. This is a monologue that has a unique power to both entertain and inform with an infusion of theatricality that's meant for the stage.

GOLDEN, by Andrew Lee Creech, is a play fueled by complex characters and powerful emotional truths. From the start, I fell in love with the characters reclaiming the past and fighting for the future while trying to survive the present. I saw reflections of myself in each one because of how deeply Creech understands and contrasts their journeys. And the broader world of the play deftly explores how a recession and Black urban history combine to propel each character's choices throughout. This is a play that truly comes alive, right off the page, and can't wait to see it staged.