Recommended by Noah Tibbetts

EXQUISITE CORPSE is an exploration of creative energy—how it makes us tick, how it clashes with others, etc.— that is contained within a girls prep school but reaches beyond the classroom to comment on art-making as a whole. As a sometimes-poet myself, I was charmed by the poems written by the play's characters, as I recognized them as ones I have written at some point in my life—haven't we all written poems about almonds or wisdom teeth? To that end, the young women of the play further distinguish themselves through idiosyncrasies both eccentric and human. A memorable read!

A smart, witty, and charming exploration of two people who were in love but now are not but still might be... which ultimately leads one to ask what love really is—a feeling, an action, an object, a contract, a set of words, etc.—then makes you rethink your answer in the final minutes of the play. Ripe with two, three, and four person scenes, each sharply constructed, that feature rich and engrossing (and oh so funny) characters. THE SIEGEL wedges itself between the heartfelt and the heartbroken and does so with great entertainment for all.

I had the privilege of experiencing the Rivendell Theatre Ensemble production earlier this year, and it is no wonder that a theatre centered on the lives and stories of women like Rivendell would pick de Asua's play up. A poignant take on a not often explored kind of female friendship—the multi-decade long friendship—WIPEOUT grabs your attention from the beginning and holds you till the bittersweet end. The three women each possess distinct personalities that make for deep character studies. I know this play has a much greater future ahead of what it has already achieved!