Recommended by Daniel Smith

This is a thoughtful and engaging play that meditates on moral and ethical questions, particularly what it means to be "an objectively good person." I saw the student production at Michigan State and was impressed with the variety of roles allowing for actors to explore characters with strong (passionate and misguided) objectives. Design elements can be handled with simplicity. Most vignettes feature 2-4 characters, allowing for an efficient rehearsal process. It would be great to see this produced by other college theatre programs!

I saw this play in previews at Jungle Theater in Minneapolis and thoroughly enjoyed it as a complex emotional and intellectual experience. The production was funny, moving, surprising, and thought-provoking. In reading the script, I especially appreciated the supernatural world-building of the stage directions and the aesthetic background of the recommended music selections. Depicting the co-owners of a convenience store as they struggle with gentrification amid signs of the apocalypse, the play uses a small-scale setting to grapple with large-scale questions. What do we do in the face of the inevitable?

A beautiful and horrifying play that tells a story of bullying and scapegoating, eventually offering the scapegoat a voice and a redemptive opportunity for self-actualization by departing the community that attempts to destroy her. Heaps's translation deploys simple yet poetic language, using rhythm and repetition very effectively. This would be a great piece for directors interested in stylized movement/choreography and stage violence.

"See You in a Minute" represents a significant artistic achievement, combining the theatricality and political stakes of the playwright’s early work with a dramatic structure that deftly responds to concerns of past, present, and future. It will be tempting for critics to call it a “quiet masterpiece” full of “emotional truth,” phrases used by characters in the play to describe Thornton Wilder’s "Our Town." The play asks its audience to think about individual choices in situations where structural issues make ethical decisions all but impossible.

A thoughtful and engaging interactive hypertext/choose-your-own-adventure TYA play framed as a video game. The audience initially chooses which of two actors will play protagonist Sam and sidekick Pig, then makes various other decisions throughout the play. Pig supports Sam through anxiety about being a hero and going on an adventure, either to Mount Doom or to Whisperrun Ghost Town. The dialogue is humorous, moving, and educational. I would be excited to see a production of this!

This is a brilliant and innovative adaptation of Austen's novel that highlights change over time by casting a Young Anne and Young Frederick to stage memories of the central romance between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth. The final scene juxtaposing the younger couple with the more mature couple is just gorgeous. The cast size and literary quality of this script makes it a great choice for colleges and universities.

I recently saw a beautiful production of this play featuring MFA acting students at Michigan State University! A wonderful, imaginative slice of LGBTQ theatre history featuring dramatically and sexually charged conversations between a buttoned-up (Apollonian?) William Inge and a larger-than-life (Dionysian?) Tennessee Williams. References to the characters' work abound, with Williams narrating in the style of Tom from "The Glass Menagerie" throughout and playing a version of Brick from "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in Act II.

A compelling piece combining comedy and horror, this short play offers a wide range of possibilities for actors, designers, and directors. The malfunctioning robot is equal parts funny and sinister, as is the characters' comfort with climate crisis/disdain for the distant history of cooler temperatures and snow.

A funny and inspiring manifesto on theatre and capitalism, reflecting on the human impulse for storytelling. The script offers much scope for the imaginations of directors and designers. Know Theatre's production effectively incorporated digital animation and dance interludes.

A funny and thought-provoking two-hander that reflects on dreams, with a combination of philosophy and pop culture. I recently saw a successful production by Ixion Ensemble in Lansing, Michigan.