Recommended by Brian James Polak

I love this play about the changing world around us and how those changes are experienced by a person at the intersection of childhood and adulthood. Caridad is a stage poet and Red Bike has a huge amount of heart and plenty of humor. Just like life, it is full of races down steep hills, confusion, joy, and wonder.

What goes through your mind in the final moments of your life? Who do you want around as the world comes to an end? Minutes and Seconds takes us to an apocalyptic brink that is equal parts funny and bleak. I laughed a great deal... at moments because the writing was so on point, but also out of distress for thinking what I would say to the people I loved if I knew the end of the world was only moments away. Vanderark clearly has a knack for intertwining tension and humor in order to create this highly theatrical play.

Fun, funny, and head-spinning... this play has me considering the trajectory our culture is on with relationship to technology. Siri, Google, Alexa, etc. all aim to improve our lives in various ways, and this play explores what that might look like down the road. To me it's not that pretty (I mean the imagined future, not the play which is aesthetically brilliant). What this play dramatizes has me worried about humanity losing one thing that makes us human, which is the authentic interpersonal relationships with each other.

This play.... oh man. It is just so so good. I attended a reading of it and was unbelievably taken by its humor, heart, and humanity. This is a stunning play about art, vulnerability, and taking that first step toward healing wounds that seem as if they were destined to remain with us forever.

This is a rad play with rad songs. I love the excavation of the punk mentality from the late 1970s and extrapolating those ideals into the present day. This play portrays deep and complicated characters who are not like me, but are just like me. Life is hard, we all have dreams, some people achieve them, others get close, but in the end we are all confronted by mortality and the realization of what matters most in life.

Second Skin is dark and light and lyrical and raw. The dramaturgy, structure, and tone break the norms theater-goers tend to see, and they are three reasons why I love this play so much.

"dark play" was the first important play in my development as a writer. The story, which in some ways seems dated due to the rise of social media, is anything but dated as the concept of "catfishing" sadly catches on. This script intensely captures that need to be loved, to be touched... to feel something. It feels youthful, but these urges never leave us as we age.

One of the best plays of 2018. I felt so emotionally invested in this family, it was as if I was part of it. The play had me vicariously investigating the challenges of my family as I watched these characters navigate their complications all while one of them was stranded in a hospital bed. This play is hilarious, and sad, and wonderful. I think it's a masterpiece and want to see it again.

This is a funny and dramatic look at life in the crazed culture of 2018, but is (thankfully) not focused on the insanity of politics as much as it is about social media, the need for attention, and the slippery slope of online news. This multi-media driven piece is funny, thought-provoking, and could be a powerful production for an ensemble theater company.

A rich and layered drama/tragedy about family, attaining wealth, and the stranglehold opioids have on people. DERAILED is a time capsule for the culture we live in today.