Recommended by Aly Kantor

This fierce, raw coming-of-age drama is what young audiences deserve—though theatre-goers of all ages will surely relate to this uber-honest depiction of teenage transformation (and the humiliating yearning to make one's strange and shameful internal world visible). I was particularly taken by the chatroom scenes, which add a unique sense of theatricality while perfectly encapsulating Cleo's internal struggles with queerness, gender, and the assorted struggles of puberty. The piece is succinct, and every player has at least one incredible moment to shine and show off their range. This is a wonderfully wild, delightfully specific, but broadly relatable play!

The thing that sings for me about this play is the authenticity—it is painfully genuine at times, depicting this trio of queer high schoolers in all their beautiful, cringeworthy glory. The result is a piece that's like a really beautiful trainwreck. You can see each character falling in love in tiny moments of bare naked honesty, and you must watch as the threads become tangled and complicated. It's just as inevitable as any Shakespearean tragedy, moving swiftly and efficiently toward the ending nobody wants. Still, I was so invested in these lives I couldn't look away. A fantastic play!

This romantic comedy managed to succinctly tell two stories at once - one live on stage and the other in the form of interstitial audio snippets, which provide just the context we need to understand the hilarious relationship hijinx on stage. As always, the dialogue is sharp, specific, and consistently hilarious. Plus, it doesn't get more relatable than a story about human relationships! Plus, it includes great, age-appropriate roles for college-aged actors!

When I win the lotto and produce this play, I intend to incorporate a live, on-stage children's choir... but sound designers will have a blast with this one!

"It’s a comfort to exist without being seen."

What a MOOD, especially in this social-media-saturated world! I am a HUGE fan of this feminist revision of not one but two Greek myths in which women are punished—one for wanting, the other for not wanting. The dialogue is sharp, funny, and full of lovely, relatable gems like the one quoted above. I love the blend of the contemporary and ancient language and syntax, which really differentiated the character voices and helped keep these women distinct. A gorgeous, atmospheric short with brilliant opportunities for theatricality and a lot to say!

Having a baby means inviting a stranger into your life. After an absurd IVF embryo swap mishap, liberal academics Madelyn and Keenan get to "practice" as they welcome the conservative, churchgoing, gun-toting Jim and Heather into their lives. This piece is a brilliant exploration of the ways we project identity and tell the world about ourselves and what a detriment it is to surround yourself only with those who think exactly like you do. The ethical quagmire is compelling, complex, high-stakes, executed fantastically, and consistently SO smart! It's filled with gorgeous theatrical stage pictures, too. A fantastic play!

This tight, tense, and addictively readable drama does something incredible - it manages to illustrate how impossible it is to thrive as a woman under the patriarchy. Amazingly, it accomplishes this while maintaining a strikingly close point-of-view on a handful of very flawed, incredibly broken characters. The play is simultaneously heightened and believable, and the characters could easily be people you know. It is carefully crafted and enticingly structured so that everything falls into place like in the best Greek tragedies. The threads effortlessly come together, forming a chilling but illuminating story about cycles of violence and the monstrous feminine.

This play is a surprisingly wholesome gut-punch - a funny, wistful tragedy full of red herrings and impossible moments of future-nostalgia. The magic of this play is the utter lack of magic... the magical thinking that reveals itself in the gorgeous, shocking moment of reversal. I am amazed by how much this piece has to say about the relationship between love and fear (and the ways it leads to regret, which is more haunting than any vampire). Plus, as a fan of vampire media, all of the references were a treat. I'll be thinking about this one for a WHILE!

What a delightful existential mindfuck from Daniel Prillaman, who, as always, asks the most fascinating questions and offers nothing remotely resembling a comforting answer! The situation is absurd—a group of captives living out their days in a pit in the ground. It's filled with brief, impactful scenes that stimulate the senses... in both good and utterly disturbing ways! The dialogue is snappy and hilarious, with plenty of (literal) riddles throughout. As for me, I couldn't help but ruminate on the bigger questions being asked here in re: comfort and complacency. An amusing, depressing, delightful, efficient, and unique play!

Heartrending and hilarious, this short play is not only an amusing romp through a demon-infested house, it's an actionable guide to persisting after loss. It's full of colorful, larger-than-life characters that would be a blast to design or inhabit! The dialogue is quick, witty, and consistently natural, and every time a gag is introduced, it pays off just a few pages later. Just when you think you have a handle on what's happening, the arrival of a new character casts light on this dark space and its quirky inhabitants, providing refreshing perspectives on grief. What a unique and lovely play!

The subtle intimacy in this play is DELICIOUS! I got so excited when I realized there was romantic subtext going on under the guise of this professional relationship! There is nothing mystical happening in the palmistry parlor - if anything, it's all science... chemistry! There are so many sweet and specific details throughout this funny, romantic meet cute. The characters may be overwhelmed by how much you can learn from someone's hands, but I'm left amazed by the rich characters in this very short play! A very sweet foundation in only ten minutes! I hope these two make it!