Recommended by Aly Kantor

I am here for the sublime theatricality of any play in which a character makes an entrance from a chest freezer! Meanwhile, something subtler is going on as, following a supernatural encounter, a tired man at a crossroads grapples with the facets of his identity and his call to responsibility in a modern world. I love how the playwright took an ancient story and simultaneously demonstrated its classic and timeless appeal while rejecting its simplicity. This play is a projection designer's dream!

Deep specificity is key to horror, and the rich sensory details in this chilling monologue create a fleshed-out world in only moments. It has such a strong sense of both the foreign and the familiar, evoking those moments when you're SURE you're losing your mind (and, truly, little is scarier than doubting the irrefutable laws of your reality). The sound effects hit at just the right moments, adding the perfect punctuation to a nightmare scenario, with pacing that makes it effortlessly creepy!

There is genuine horror at the heart of this play—not because of a lurking monster or bloody gore—but because of the universal nature of the story, and the ways, as a reader, I could see myself reflected in the protagonist. The language is lyrical and lovely, with several turns of phrase that I found absolutely arresting in their effectiveness. This piece reveals why bullying is effective, teaching a strong (but never explicitly didactic) lesson about humanity's propensity for darkness.

I have NO IDEA how designers could accomplish the feats necessary to pull off a production of this deceptively simple horror play... but I have NEVER been more excited to find out! Even before that fantastic reversal, the language in the play is specific and visceral, allowing the theatre of the mind to bring the events outside of this classroom to life. It's tense, the stakes are high, and we immediately have a sense that things aren't what they seem, but the journey is gruesome fun! Love it!

As an unashamed teratophile, I loved everything about this unconventional horror short and its enlightening central metaphor about what we consider monstrosity. The reversal was exciting, and the conclusion couldn't be more satisfying! It's packed with palpable tension from the very first image, with so many tiny details to track - keys and wallets and suitcases and more! There wasn't a moment when I wasn't engaged in actively putting the pieces together!

Goofy wordplay abounds in this utterly silly satanic comedy, loaded with laugh after laugh and a ridiculous conceit that never gets old! The play is fast-moving and as delightful as it is frustrating... as so much great comedy should be... with plenty of silly sight gags (at one point, someone pops out from behind a bed, and when I tell you the sound I made...!!) and even better opportunities for designers to play. Something this wonderfully chaotic could only come from a brilliant comedic mind!

I am here for any play with a load-bearing tampon! The conceit is simultaneously absolutely brilliant and completely bonkers, but I was on board from page one! The stakes are consistently high, the characters' objectives are crystal clear, and the story moves swiftly and hilariously from beginning to end! This is a fantastic new entry in the "came back wrong" genre, loaded with opportunities for theatrical physicality, all without the need for extensive props or sets. Horrific & hilarious!

I LOVE the eerie atmosphere of this horror short, in which two "boys being boys" get their just deserts! From the near-deserted (and awesomely named) bar to the staticky radio, all of the small details had me on the edge of my seat. The storytelling will keep audiences in a state of watchful suspense until they understand what's REALLY going on... and then things speed up from there until the very satisfying conclusion! It's genuinely creepy in more ways than one!

I love a play that feels absolutely steeped in lore, and the world of this play is rich and lived in, with history that seems to expand far beyond the margins. The characters each come with deep specificity, from their backgrounds (exposition makes sense coming from a curator) to their stench (which I won't spoil). There is a genuine sense of stakes, and a compelling setting that FEELS impossible...but I'm sure a team will adore the opportunity to design it one day! A nautical, eldritch triumph!

Bloody Mary is a massive figure in Girl Culture™. We love her, we fear her, we want to be her. In this play, she's a larger-than-life universal bestie (a role I am sure women will be fighting each other to play), shelling out the sagest of advice in the grodiest bathroom: a setting that will be SO MUCH FUN to design! This play takes a potentially horrifying figure and places her at the heart of a tender scene, giving a reticent Oxfordian (Oxonian?) the courage she needs to act. Hilarious!