Recommended by Aly Kantor

This short piece may be set in a distant, post-Earth future. Still, audiences will certainly be able to relate to the human service workers at the center of the narrative—sisters working in health and medicine forced to grapple with jargon-filled policies that make their lives harder and more complicated. The playwright never condescends, launching the reader directly into the high-tech, futuristic world of the play. I love the way foreign meets familiar in this sci-fi short!

This tense and intimate play is compelling from the first moments. The theatricality is sublime and consistently surprising. Genuine humor cuts through the heaviness of the content, showing genuine care for the audience. There isn't a single moment in this script that doesn't burn with urgency. Though the dialogue is gorgeous, this playwright knows when to embrace quiet and let bodies speak. I had to get up and pace a bit because I couldn't believe how smart this play is. Moving, beautiful work.

This play doesn't waste a moment before diving into the theatrical deep end, with characters who exist at many ages at once, inhabiting bodies that reflect their inner reality, not their outer one. As a result, every interaction in this fractured memory play works on multiple layers, revealing truths about the complicated humans at the center. It's a gorgeous exploration of the way we remember (or don't remember) and how even mundane moments can have profound importance from another point of view. What role do we play in constructing the mythology of our lives, and who gets to decide? Fantastic.

This is a deeply specific, moving, and heartbreaking monologue that illuminates more than just how much teachers do for students. With compassion and honesty, it also speaks to how difficult it can be to grow up and thrive in a system designed for the "average" learner. It feels like a time capsule about growing up in a very specific period of time, serving as documentation of the challenges of reaching adulthood while the world is—often literally—on fire. From the details to the wordplay, this memory monologue will move you.

Oh YES! This play had me from the first raunchy lines, in which a few of our favorite princesses are immediately given depth and desires and allowed to exist and persist beyond a "moral." However, the moral of THIS story is that your happy ending doesn't necessarily fit everyone's story, and imposing your will before someone is ready won't get anyone closer to 'happily ever after.' Ultimately, the play is charming, meta-theatrical, and downright silly! It doesn't slow down for a single second! And, yes, as a bonus, you won't have to strike the set for Steel Magnolias!

As someone who just spent most of a trip in a hotel because the AC was so fantastic, I can absolutely relate to this character's decision to spend the summer "chilling!" I also appreciated the element of complexity - how it's so difficult to choose your own comfort, knowing there is morality attached to everything that makes life bearable under late capitalism. Should being comfortable be a "guilty pleasure?" This monologue may be sweet and silly, but it will still leave you thinking!

The five sisters in this story could not be more distinctive or unique, with specific quirks and hangups that make them feel profoundly human and dimensional. The magic of this play, other than the structure (and the lemons!), is how much you come to care about and worry for these women. It's consistently funny, which helps make the emergent moments of gut-deep grief feel genuine. As in most of David Hilder's plays, the characters change and grow in the most subtle and sublime ways, always leaving readers with a powerful image. Seldom has catharsis felt both so hard-won and well-earned.

You've heard of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but have you heard of the Manic Pixie Small Eastern European Man? Not only does this charming, funny play turn a tired trope on its head, but it makes a case for choosing the challenging, inconvenient, far more scenic route to happiness - because, as this play so perceptively asks, what is the difference between living and waiting to die? It's fascinating to watch the protagonist self-actualize over the course of the play, and the depth of the message really sneaks up on you. What an easy, breezy, brilliant, heart-filled comedy!

Engaging with this play feels like an act of voyeurism—frequently dropping into scenes mid-conversation, relishing the incredibly natural dialogue, and trying to construct the truth of these characters. The fractured structure of the piece does a great job of putting the audience in the protagonist's disorganized headspace, forcing them to see as he sees. The depiction of mental illness is painful because it's so human and nuanced, which is a breath of fresh air - the pain here is well-earned. So much about this play is impossible, and artistic teams will relish bringing this agonizing, important story to life.

This short play is about as funny, charming, and entertaining as it is disarming. While I love a magic trick on stage (who doesn't?), when the magician in question is teaching unwanted object lessons via pickpocketing, you can't help but feel skeptical of his intentions. That brilliant framing helps those who may not have had Chris's experiences see a simple train ride through her eyes. Commuting is exhausting even without the constant vigilance! And then we see the best trick of all - genuine kindness and a well-earned relationship coming full circle in just 10 minutes. Magic!