Recommended by Matthew Weaver

"A dark comedy about the Black Death." I once had the pleasure of exchanging 10-page play with Foster for Trade a Play Tuesday. She again demonstrates a delightfully wicked wit, as her characters shift alliances and lay waste to the truth more easily than they breathe. Like the riddle about the man crossing the river in a rowboat with a wolf, cabbage and a goat - the characters rarely have all the pieces they need when they need them. A marvelous script, deserving a much longer production history. Foster is a master; read everything she writes. I certainly intend to.

A GREAT play for energetic young performers, in which Louisa May Alcott's classic is viewed through a modern prism and, at first, found wanting. Fortunately, Ms. Cott the teacher is there to guide and lead our heroes into greater understanding of the book and themselves. If your festival is about girl power, this is a shoo-in for inclusion. (And if it's not about girl power, I think you need to rethink your priorities!) All of Goldman-Sherman's unique storytelling powers (so good in such plays as FUKT and WHORTICULTURE) are on full display here. She's a force you absolutely must produce.

I had the pleasure of seeing a production of this in 2016 at the Spokane Civic Theatre. Nelson offers a lively workplace comedy-cautionary tale without ever veering into serious terrain. I am particularly partial to Emily Two's attraction to co-worker Tyler in hallucinogen-inspired penguin mode and the use of the PC as a living, breathing character, who goes into sleep mode sometime. (Directors can have an enormous amount of fun with this detail!) Nelson brings it all together with a killer final moment. Zany, wry, sly fun.

So, so real and so, so timely. Jess (and Goldman-Sherman) aren't messing around when dealing with toxic masculinity, rape culture and the party scene. This is a play that should be shown in schools and at festivals until guys get it into their thick skulls - c'mon, dudes - while girls sadly nod their heads knowingly. That a play like this needs to exist in the first place is pathetic; Goldman-Sherman handles the subject matter with her signature excellence. Play it at your festivals, and then sit back to watch the conversations it's sure to spark catch fire.

A master work. Diaz-Marcano shows us a family on the verge of exploding, and then goes and shows us why for each of them, with tremendous empathy and heart. I appreciate the window into this world that he provides so compellingly. From moment to moment, it's fun, it's funny, it's tense, it's heartbreaking, and Diaz-Marcano keeps each emotion in mind, so that all are in play at any given time. A master class in context, subtext, identity and family drama. I keep using words like "masterful," and I mean every one. Simply beautiful. Grateful that Nelson shares it with us.

Don't be lulled by Hageman's sweeter plays. She has an uncanny knack for writing deeply disturbing material as the same time that can so unnerve an audience - not just because her creepy good plays are CREEPY GOOD plays, but because she asks us hard questions about ourselves. (One of her many gifts.) Here, she casts an audience in the role of a caste of bots marked for elimination if they show emotion - a stunning display of craft that breaks down the barrier between play and viewer. Infinitely clever and bold as hell.

Hageman takes a sobering look at society's response to those who perform a heroic deed in the midst of unspeakable, unconscionable circumstances, and our tendency to try to make them into heroes, after we have already burdened them in our failure to act on their behalf. She uses her piercing, discerning eye and bids us to turn a similar inward gaze; the answers are unsettling. Her title is a challenge: Who are the heroes in this story? Why do we ask it of our children and not ourselves? A better advocate for youth you will not find. Starkly powerful.

Hageman takes beloved fairy tale characters and turns our knowledge of them inside out, often with ironic foreshadowing. (And, she gives us the gift that is Bob.) If you have a big group of younger performers and you're looking for a play that's raucous and family-friendly all in the same breath, Hageman should be your go-to playwright. Families will laugh, but best of all, the kids will take her words and more than make them their own and pour their hearts and souls into these characters. Warm, hilarious and dangerous to be drinking something while you read/watch the play.

Hageman breaks all the rules with this quirky, macabre offering, and the world is better for it.All of her strengths are on display here, but twisted into something dark and joyous all at once. As good as every single offering of hers on NPX is, it's thrilling to see her write without a net, offering a dark and fun tale that's weird just for the sheer pleasure of it. Would provide a moment of sinful pleasure, and pure WTFery to any festival. Find the anarchists/artists in your troupe, give them these pages and turn them loose to play.

Irresistible! I'm already a Pynn fan, and this is an excellent addition to her oeuvre. Absurdism at its best. "Any other stories about whales?" "I feel like we're missing an obvious one." A fun wink at literary-minded audiences. This would be a fascinating thing to watch unfold on stage; I was enthralled as I read it on the page. And then things get even stranger, and more fun and chilling. Reminds me - and I mean this very much as a compliment - of the works of Donald Antrim, particularly THE VERIFICATIONIST. Bold and weird and a sheer pleasure.