Recommended by Emma Bilderback

If you want narratives about breaking cyclical trauma with a touch of Alex Garland's "Ex Machina" but with a happier ending--Lyra has crafted an incredible narrative for you.

Urgent and Brechtian, Caridad has a magic touch of putting politics on stage while coupling it with joy. Chelsea & Ivanka had been on my list for quite a while--for the title alone. It's class, it's climate change, it's criticism of the most difficult problems and questions that face us in this moment. It's urgency cannot be overstated. Minimal stage and design directions make this an expansive playground for those brave enough to take it on.

Donna has created a world teeming with life (quite ironically). The relationships between the women are what makes the piece really sing--and none of it feels shoehorned or forced in any way. It stays true to its era while still being cognizant of modern sensibilities. It's also a fascinating look at historical parallels to our own contemporary collective traumas.

This piece is a heartfelt alternative canon to Sophocles and Aeschylus. It deals with modern themes of migration, xenophobia, and queerness in a way that feels organic within the world that has been created, while still being a recognizably ancient world.

What we can learn from past histories is as endless as time itself. There is so much fun to be had in a play that uses conventional storytelling to justify internal abstractions. The framework of a podcast (that maybe isn't just a podcast) is haunting and delightful.

This was a fun piece. I understands its source and subverts it nicely. The jokes are pithy and delightful, I can imagine how an audience would react. Sometimes it read like a Rick and Morty episode (I do not mean this pejoratively!). There is ample opportunity for playfulness and moments of sincerity.

With sweet language and vivid imagery, Svich has written a piece from myth that sees the source for is essence. Theater and poetry are sisters, and this play is a tribute to their Mother, memory and her favorite story of Odysseus and Penelope.

Wow. Rarely do I read something so intensely self-scrutinizing and self-aware. Even less common is when accompanied by scathing criticisms of the misogynist theater culture and the men it creates and uplifts. Rarely have I ever read something that I felt so desperately needed to be seen by as many people as possible. There is an urgency in this play that is contagious. An incredible piece.

This play is so fun, even despite the harder themes. I adore the narrative structure and all of the characters. I love how each scene/vignette centers on the flora, especially those that do so in unexpected ways. The range of characters makes this great for dynamic casts, especially regarding its centering of indigenous voices.

Amanda has constructed a thoughtful adaptation of Euripdes' ancient play that also opens up conversations of continued atrocities perpetrated by the United States government on minority groups. It was moving and exciting to read but also devastating. The importance of these oral traditions, not just the Filipino diaspora but theater itself as an oral tradition, is brought into the sun.