Recommended by Collin Smith

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    This play reminded me of a quote from Katie Gavin: "if the world is gonna change in the way that it needs to, it's very important for our revolution to be based on joy, and what brings us joy, and chasing after that." This play allows space for the insecurity and difficulty which comes from being queer and trans, yet ultimately focuses on the beauty of the moment. The play is made ever sweeter by the character working through insecurity. Just heartwarming and affirming in the best way.

    This play reminded me of a quote from Katie Gavin: "if the world is gonna change in the way that it needs to, it's very important for our revolution to be based on joy, and what brings us joy, and chasing after that." This play allows space for the insecurity and difficulty which comes from being queer and trans, yet ultimately focuses on the beauty of the moment. The play is made ever sweeter by the character working through insecurity. Just heartwarming and affirming in the best way.

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    A fun and witty reflection on AI, taking the concept of chatbots, generative AI, and CAPTCHA tests to its natural conclusion. This scene reminds me of the Voight-Kampff tests from the Blade Runner franchise, but with a looser and more conversational tone. Busser balances deftly humor with some insightful questions on what makes people different than machines.

    A fun and witty reflection on AI, taking the concept of chatbots, generative AI, and CAPTCHA tests to its natural conclusion. This scene reminds me of the Voight-Kampff tests from the Blade Runner franchise, but with a looser and more conversational tone. Busser balances deftly humor with some insightful questions on what makes people different than machines.

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    The premise sounds like a comedy: two drunk college aged men return to their room and push their bed together. But this play is much more, showing the tender, the intimate, the awkward, the genuine. Most of all, this play is earnest. Kieran allows these characters to struggle in connecting, facing barrier after barrier, until finally breaking through with a moment of pure intimacy. This is the type of hope and warmth only young love can provide.

    The premise sounds like a comedy: two drunk college aged men return to their room and push their bed together. But this play is much more, showing the tender, the intimate, the awkward, the genuine. Most of all, this play is earnest. Kieran allows these characters to struggle in connecting, facing barrier after barrier, until finally breaking through with a moment of pure intimacy. This is the type of hope and warmth only young love can provide.

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    In the two works of Noah's I've read, they have such a knack for grounding extreme circumstances with genuine, often funny & relatable characters. In this play, the premise/circumstances are bizarre enough to carry the comedy, so Noah uses their understanding of the queer experience to add an emotional core. This allows the comedy to arise from these characters' honest reactions to the absurdity they find themselves in. Noah builds so well on such a fun premise, making this a blast to read.

    In the two works of Noah's I've read, they have such a knack for grounding extreme circumstances with genuine, often funny & relatable characters. In this play, the premise/circumstances are bizarre enough to carry the comedy, so Noah uses their understanding of the queer experience to add an emotional core. This allows the comedy to arise from these characters' honest reactions to the absurdity they find themselves in. Noah builds so well on such a fun premise, making this a blast to read.

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    Stunning, absolutely stunning. I'm especially impressed with the tasteful interweaving of Shakespeare's writing, which feels carefully selected and never overdone. This work is thematically rich, building on its subject matter to question gender, faith, love, performance. Yet this play never veers towards self-indulgence, centering the characters and trusting the story to reveal its themes. And these characters are all deep & complex: an absolute dream for an actor. This play is clearly so thoughtful, so lovingly crafted. It had me laughing then soon after moved to tears. Truly, astonishingly...

    Stunning, absolutely stunning. I'm especially impressed with the tasteful interweaving of Shakespeare's writing, which feels carefully selected and never overdone. This work is thematically rich, building on its subject matter to question gender, faith, love, performance. Yet this play never veers towards self-indulgence, centering the characters and trusting the story to reveal its themes. And these characters are all deep & complex: an absolute dream for an actor. This play is clearly so thoughtful, so lovingly crafted. It had me laughing then soon after moved to tears. Truly, astonishingly great.

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  • Collin Smith: Octavia by Daniel Prillaman
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    This play reminds me of a quote from Roddy Piper: "Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the question!" From the first moment, the answer to why these two characters are where they are evokes a sense of dread. Then, after the reveal of what happened, Prillaman utilizes his strong character writing to create authentic twists and turns. This feels like a lens into the immature and often cruel psyche of young adulthood. These characters are authentic and likable while still acting foul to each other. This scene will stick with me for a bit!

    This play reminds me of a quote from Roddy Piper: "Just when you think you have all the answers, I change the question!" From the first moment, the answer to why these two characters are where they are evokes a sense of dread. Then, after the reveal of what happened, Prillaman utilizes his strong character writing to create authentic twists and turns. This feels like a lens into the immature and often cruel psyche of young adulthood. These characters are authentic and likable while still acting foul to each other. This scene will stick with me for a bit!

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  • Collin Smith: Orange Peels by Emmet L.F. Cameron
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    A beautifully melancholic portrait of romance & mental illness. Cameron creates an all too real image of how having mental illness can make even the most banal things, like orange peels, feel insurmountable. It balances out to feel neither sentimental nor hopeless; rather, Orange Peels is an honest, raw, and moving story highlighting the difficulties of living day to day.

    A beautifully melancholic portrait of romance & mental illness. Cameron creates an all too real image of how having mental illness can make even the most banal things, like orange peels, feel insurmountable. It balances out to feel neither sentimental nor hopeless; rather, Orange Peels is an honest, raw, and moving story highlighting the difficulties of living day to day.

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  • Collin Smith: Appetizers, or "On an Island Somewhere" by Scott Sickles
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    This is a play that feels increasingly prescient as more LGBTQ+ hate permeates American culture. A gutting dystopian play with expert precision, "Appetizers" races toward tragedy. The expository information is communicated seamlessly, tying in effortlessly with the forward motion of the plot. These 4 characters all experience a relatable internal push and pull, as the mask of heteronormativity cracks under the pressure of its own falsehood. The internal struggle of all 4 characters speaks eloquently to the experience of being told an aspect of identity is "wrong." An excellent satire of modern...

    This is a play that feels increasingly prescient as more LGBTQ+ hate permeates American culture. A gutting dystopian play with expert precision, "Appetizers" races toward tragedy. The expository information is communicated seamlessly, tying in effortlessly with the forward motion of the plot. These 4 characters all experience a relatable internal push and pull, as the mask of heteronormativity cracks under the pressure of its own falsehood. The internal struggle of all 4 characters speaks eloquently to the experience of being told an aspect of identity is "wrong." An excellent satire of modern America.

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  • Collin Smith: The Tragic Ecstasy of Girlhood by Kira Rockwell
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    This is a play that helped get me into writing when I saw it at Boston Playwright's Theatre. I remember sitting with a class of college freshmen and my professor, and in a moment we began crying, profoundly moved.

    Reading it again years later, and I only enjoyed it more, once again nearly crying. This time at my front desk. The richness of the characters, the fluidity of the dialogue, and the rawness of emotion hit me all over again. Absolutely beautiful and gutwrenching.

    This is a play that helped get me into writing when I saw it at Boston Playwright's Theatre. I remember sitting with a class of college freshmen and my professor, and in a moment we began crying, profoundly moved.

    Reading it again years later, and I only enjoyed it more, once again nearly crying. This time at my front desk. The richness of the characters, the fluidity of the dialogue, and the rawness of emotion hit me all over again. Absolutely beautiful and gutwrenching.

    ”