Recommended by Maria I. Arreola

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    Lekven expertly writes nuanced, complex teen characters. As a former teenage track star, this was the play I never knew I needed!

    Lekven expertly writes nuanced, complex teen characters. As a former teenage track star, this was the play I never knew I needed!

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    A coming-of-age story that explores a turning point in these characters' relationship to God, at their March For Life Trip of all places. As these teenagers grapple with God, religion, and adult expectations, God's struggling with her own issues. Primarily that God is a people pleaser, trying to conform to everyone's ideas of them. Ultimately, all of this contributes to maximum teen chaos, featuring betrayal, friendship breakups, a straightener-induced fire, and so much more. Highly recommend reading!

    A coming-of-age story that explores a turning point in these characters' relationship to God, at their March For Life Trip of all places. As these teenagers grapple with God, religion, and adult expectations, God's struggling with her own issues. Primarily that God is a people pleaser, trying to conform to everyone's ideas of them. Ultimately, all of this contributes to maximum teen chaos, featuring betrayal, friendship breakups, a straightener-induced fire, and so much more. Highly recommend reading!

  • Rust

    by Nancy García Loza

    I was so lucky to get to see "Rust" back in 2021. In "Rust," we follow Güera (both a younger and older version) as she navigates generational trauma and familial constraints & expectations.  Through Güera, we get to see in action what it means to critically analyze the statement 'My parents did the best they could' whilst in the process of healing."Rust" is such a beautifully written play that has been on my mind ever since seeing it years ago. 

    I was so lucky to get to see "Rust" back in 2021. In "Rust," we follow Güera (both a younger and older version) as she navigates generational trauma and familial constraints & expectations.  Through Güera, we get to see in action what it means to critically analyze the statement 'My parents did the best they could' whilst in the process of healing."Rust" is such a beautifully written play that has been on my mind ever since seeing it years ago. 

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    Such a fun, laugh-inducing play with a premise unlike any other. It begins with Penelope, Bobbi, and Evelyn getting a call letting them know that their husbands (the ones that disappeared forty years ago) are alive and well and also still very much the age they were when they disappeared. And these men have returned with a certain elixir and a proposal.

    I was so invested in what Penelope, Bobbi, and Evelyn would decide to do. The choice they made, it felt just right.

    Such a fun, laugh-inducing play with a premise unlike any other. It begins with Penelope, Bobbi, and Evelyn getting a call letting them know that their husbands (the ones that disappeared forty years ago) are alive and well and also still very much the age they were when they disappeared. And these men have returned with a certain elixir and a proposal.

    I was so invested in what Penelope, Bobbi, and Evelyn would decide to do. The choice they made, it felt just right.

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    It’s natural for artists to want to keep certain parts of themselves off the stage, off the page. But Franky D. Gonzalez does not hold back. His mental health struggles, his trials and tribulations, are all laid bare on these pages. In Heart Stop or, The Obesity Play Franky generously shares so much of himself.

    It’s natural for artists to want to keep certain parts of themselves off the stage, off the page. But Franky D. Gonzalez does not hold back. His mental health struggles, his trials and tribulations, are all laid bare on these pages. In Heart Stop or, The Obesity Play Franky generously shares so much of himself.

  • Maria I. Arreola: Tiger Beat by Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin
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    Boy bands are so yesterday, y’all need to meet Girls Next Door!

    This play is laugh-out-loud funny… and a deep dive into the exploitative, oppressive nature of the music industry …. and an ode to early 2000s pop music. There is romance, there is drama (both organic and fabricated), and there are complicated familial relationships. This play has it all!

    Boy bands are so yesterday, y’all need to meet Girls Next Door!

    This play is laugh-out-loud funny… and a deep dive into the exploitative, oppressive nature of the music industry …. and an ode to early 2000s pop music. There is romance, there is drama (both organic and fabricated), and there are complicated familial relationships. This play has it all!

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  • Maria I. Arreola: Spicy White by Quinn Xavier Hernandez
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    I recently zoomed in to a reading of Spicy White hosted by WTP. At its core, this is a story about a familial friendship. Gabriel and Ana Teresa meet in elementary school, lose touch in middle school/high school, and end up crossing paths once more as adults.

    What's most heartbreaking is that I can empathize with Gabriel and understand why he chooses to do what he does (over and over again). Yet, it still feels like betrayal. That’s the beauty of the ending in particular, it invokes so many emotions. One can feel personally implicated, betrayed, or both.

    I recently zoomed in to a reading of Spicy White hosted by WTP. At its core, this is a story about a familial friendship. Gabriel and Ana Teresa meet in elementary school, lose touch in middle school/high school, and end up crossing paths once more as adults.

    What's most heartbreaking is that I can empathize with Gabriel and understand why he chooses to do what he does (over and over again). Yet, it still feels like betrayal. That’s the beauty of the ending in particular, it invokes so many emotions. One can feel personally implicated, betrayed, or both.

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  • Maria I. Arreola: (Sisterhood) In the Time of the Apocalypse - Full Length by Kendra Augustin
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    I don't quite have the language to describe Kendra Augustin’s wonderful worldbuilding in “Sisterhood in the Time of the Apocalypse.” Through her writing, I’m instantly transported into a world that feels slightly off-kilter, but not all that dissimilar to our own, creating a certain delicious tension.

    Having the circus operate as the setting piqued my curiosity as circuses have come to represent a space for the outcast in the media, but simultaneously have a dark history. Ultimately, I cannot see his family saga taking place anywhere else.

    I don't quite have the language to describe Kendra Augustin’s wonderful worldbuilding in “Sisterhood in the Time of the Apocalypse.” Through her writing, I’m instantly transported into a world that feels slightly off-kilter, but not all that dissimilar to our own, creating a certain delicious tension.

    Having the circus operate as the setting piqued my curiosity as circuses have come to represent a space for the outcast in the media, but simultaneously have a dark history. Ultimately, I cannot see his family saga taking place anywhere else.

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  • Maria I. Arreola: Holy Virgins by kathryn de la rosa
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    While there are a number of lines that I can’t stop thinking of, one in particular remains, “Names are only names, you see.” What a line that is! And that final scene. It was everything I could've asked for and more. (I cannot go into greater detail or else I’ll spoil it, but it all comes together so beautifully)!

    While there are a number of lines that I can’t stop thinking of, one in particular remains, “Names are only names, you see.” What a line that is! And that final scene. It was everything I could've asked for and more. (I cannot go into greater detail or else I’ll spoil it, but it all comes together so beautifully)!

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  • Maria I. Arreola: Take the Stress by Liz Haas
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    Take the Stress by Liz Haas highlights friendship in times of isolation. While this particular play is a work of science fiction, the parallels between the events within it and our current circumstances are starkly evident. This play is deeply relatable and any reader will resonate with these characters. All in all, it’s a beautiful story!

    Take the Stress by Liz Haas highlights friendship in times of isolation. While this particular play is a work of science fiction, the parallels between the events within it and our current circumstances are starkly evident. This play is deeply relatable and any reader will resonate with these characters. All in all, it’s a beautiful story!

    ”