Recommended by Claudia Haas

As a lover of history and a thirst for more “herstory,” I just gobbled up this play. I love the intellect at play with the four students and the debates that happen as they gather info on some of the great females minds in history. As the play delves into the challenges of the past for females, our modern students connect more and more with them. Syran succeeds in showing us that imagination creates thinkers. And the past should be explored because it is relevant and personal.

Talking to the chaperone, drinking too much oversweetened punch, finding a wall to hang on to - who doesn’t have those memories of a middle school dance? Syran’s play evokes so much emotion from those times. I love the dancer just dancing for personal enjoyment - why didn’t we all do that? And I love the beginnings of connections shyly made with care. A beautiful moment in time for young teens.

Preuss gives us so much wonder in this short. The wonder of dreams, of wishes, of nature, of friendship, and that most perplexing wonder of all - love. It’s gentle - from the heart and into the soul - and a soothing salve for these times. Let the world stop and take some time to visit Molinda Falls.

It is said that there are no original ideas anymore and Preuss backs this up with five writers squabbling down the Rabbit Hole of Creativity. There’s bounty to be had in stealing and if buried treasure isn’t readily available, ideas are ripe for the picking. You can’t copyright an idea, right? A fun scramble of writers and words and would-be works in progress. Highly theatrical. Highly recommended.

I dare you to not become ravenous while reading this play. Lucy Wang combines some of the best pleasures in life and dishes up a feast for the senses. A delectable rom-com served up with the perfect amount of spice. (Theatres, are you listening? Stage this.) Bon appetit!

Mullen gives us a play that melds time and the universe in the most heartfelt way. It’s one of the most poignant “ park bench” play that I have come across. If wishes were seeds, we’d wish for the world Mullen created and plant those seeds.

We live in an Instagram world where feeds are presented in the perfect light/perfect setting/perfect clothes, etc. In a sense, the Family Christmas Photo was the originator of that. As a mother tries to create the current “perfect” holiday photo, the teens go into action. The teens maybe become the parent trying to teach the mother. They may or may not be successful but Blevins shows us that, “the kids are all right.”

There’s so much humanity here. Connections made and lost. Love made and lost (humans and canines). Set in a lobby of mailboxes, the pull of connections resonates. McClain covers all the possibilities of trying to belong in a busy city: jobs, creativity, friendship, and hope. McClain smartly includes the junk mail in our lives so that when an actual letter arrives - the play pivots and you root for the best. Because you’ve fallen for her characters.

A play where what is left unsaid is as important as the spoken dialogue is rare and hard to do. Gatton crafts a beautiful tale of epiphanies, desire, and self-realization that stops your heart. The play’s power draws you in as you fully invest in the characters - so much so that by the end - you are wishing all good things for Dmitri. And you want to know what’s next. And you think about that for a long time.

This may be the most enchanting play about sports that I’ve ever read or seen. Tim has this gift of knowing himself that I wish could be spread around to all kids - like magic dust. In fact, this play has enough magic dust to give some to everyone. Read it. Produce it and catch the magic.