Recommended by Heather Helinsky

What begins as a sharp, cutting, scheming revenge play, which is fun to start, then takes the audience on a switchback mountain road. Enjoyed the journey of this satire and the imagery of the Frida Kahlo-inspired portrait.

This piece caught my attention for many reasons. First of all, it's always great to have another strong piece about women in science out there. Beyond that, I enjoyed the thematic idea of two different versions of the same woman, in parallel universes, and living completely different lives. "What if I had?" is a question explored in depth in a way that audiences would find relatable, as well as other important existential questions. This is a high stakes piece to discover the mysteries of the universe before the clock runs out. And lyrical too.

After reading Craigslisted, I'm eager to read more from Sharai. I'm excited by the spirit of her characters and their tenacity in fighting through circumstances. This play takes some theatrical risks that pay off and take a strong, opinionated stance on the economic issues of the play. This play will definitely resonate with its audience, and shows promise.

Clever, well-paced piece about microaggressions in the rehearsal room. Of course, these aggressions build dramatically as the play unwinds into a comic mayhem train wreck! Plays referenced certainly make good digs at the culture of community theatre, what gets chosen to be performed, and what doesn't.

This play explores the difficult life question: "should we have known from the beginning it was a mistake?" Plays about road trips are full of metaphors about America, especially this particular piece that journeys the wide, open road stretching from Montana to Texas. Witty, full of dark humor, and strong characters for older actors.

I first encountered this play through the Kennedy Center's Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop. This piece uses Sam Shepard realism to explore Japanese-American family life behind closed doors. A strength of this script is how the family relates to Felix, the older brother with autism. Keep your eyes on this emerging writer!

I'm grateful I got to know Matthew's voice and passions as a writer so early in his career. I encountered Matthew's play through the Kennedy Center's Undergraduate Playwrights Workshop. It was a standout. When you read his play, you'll see he'll be part of the next generation influenced by Branden Jacob-Jenkins, Annie Baker, and Young Jean Lee. Educators should definitely take a look at this piece and consider its value for having open talkback sessions about prejudice in our education system.

Inventive. Physical explorations through playful games about the difficulties & challenges to connect---whether the literal eye contact, physical contact, or emotional contact---something all of us can understand.

I love that this play that explored what a male writer distilled to a sentence, Eugenie has exploded that sentence idea and showed us what's on the other side of the fun-house mirror: two women bonding. At GPTC, the audience loved the script's twists and turns; who we're siding with at any moment can change. These characters are aspiring to better themselves but more importantly, searching to fill this horrible empty feeling of being incomplete. A great piece for an intimate cast & on a practical level, works well in any space. Actors will love you, designers too.

Yes! I'm on the side of the aliens, that speaking human is an ugly language. This play is flippant, spirited, spunky, self-aware, playful, and full of irony. I would also love someone with the vision to produce this play in a planetarium as teenage Arugula and her father Nancy try their best to fit in. Full of twists and turns, I love the journey.