Recommended by Alli Hartley-Kong

"She is not broken". This is an incredibly powerful and theatrical piece that explores how trauma can disrupt a family. I applaud this play for it's centering of the female characters and celebration of women's strength that centers healing rather than trauma. I hope to see this piece staged one day.

COIN PUSHER was a stunner at Baltimore Playwright's Brew in 2024- in just a few short pages, we realize what's lost with a gambling addiction. Marshall Logan Gibbs effectively captures the voices of different generations, and both the grandmother and the granddaughter communicate in distinct languages and poignant missed messages. This play is an aching short look into what's really important in life.

"A Perfect Map of Everything", winner of the Dominion Stages Playwriting Competition in Arlington, VA, is a delightful and fantastical insight into human relationships. On the surface, the play is a whimsical fable, but the deeper emotional core will resonate long after you finish reading this play. Hamlin and Hugo are heartbreaking and deceptively-complex characters that are thrills to explore. I look forward to reading more plays by the emerging talent Connor Geary.

I had the pleasure of seeing this play at Best Medicine Rep and look forward to reading more of Mr. Morogiello's work. The play had such gripping dialogue, a bold and rich female protagonist, and stakes that just kept getting higher. I was at the edge of my seat but also laughing uproariously. I look forward to seeing more of this playwright's work onstage.

“Couple on the Couch” is both deathly important in its reflections on how LGBTQ folks are viewed, and hilarious at the same time. There were some real gems in this play: “Marriage is shredded wheat”, table flipping, naked showers in the middle of the kitchen, Mollie in the car, “Radha is my air.” While the play appears at first to be a laugh-out-loud-comedy about a married couple on a reality show, the sinister intent of the therapist and the television show editing soon become apparent to the audience. It's a tight play that I hope gets produced widely!

I had the pleasure of hearing this play a few months ago and still laugh when I think about it. What's a holiday without some existential dread? It was a clever take on Godot, demonstrating a real understanding of teens, and hilarious absurdist.

Gatton captures the awkwardness of life as a teenager with perfect accuracy, capturing not only the language of teenagers but also the way teenagers cross boundaries they don't realize exist. I read this play months ago and the devastating reveal has stayed with me. It's an achingly beautiful play that all high schools should consider.

I really enjoyed this piece, especially the accessibility of it that Soucy built in to the script! This short play had a pleasant simplicity but with lots of layers built in a short time!

This is a play that ends with a bang-quite literally!- and every moment that takes us there is well-deserved. The first act felt like a true snap back to 2000--the dialogue and characters were perfectly in period. The play had some truly lovely monologues, and the music and ideas around punk really pushed the play forward. Kudos!

“It’s no one’s fault, I just am. Fucking finally, I am”

This play feels like a dystopian science-fiction, but it's a complex look into how modern politics has divided a family. It's tough to read due to the subject matter, but there are moments of humor. I hope to see this produced one day!