Recommended by Claudia Haas

A play that fully captures the pressures of teens (especially senior high school students) where everything depends on their grades and/or sports accomplishments. Female-centric, focusing on a basketball team, the play beautifully shows us their individual needs versus their collective needs. All of the five characters have something critical at stake. While the play focuses on Bobbie and her grief, we find that all of the characters have huge challenges as well as baggage and basketball could be the brass ring. Brutal realities are exposed. Poetic and raw, it’s a beauty for female actresses.

This is one smartly written play for young audiences. I love the whole lot of science with sprinkles of interstellar magic and sic fi combination. It made me want to perch myself in Strawberry, KS and watch the Perseids meteor shower. The relationship between Annie and her father - the complications, the silliness and then the poignancy - beautiful captured the delicate nature of a challenging relationship. All of the characters are rich and all a wee bit touched with magic and sweet madness. Would love to see this produced (Children's Theatre, Mpls, please?).

Cheeseburgers and brownies speak to ten-year old Anna in this sweet play that hits a lot of food-truisms without hammering a message. Anna is on track to be a chef until she discovers her Mom's magazines and photos of skinny, unsmiling women who are the "beauty norms of the day." Anna's relationship with food becomes complicated. This play is a charmer and addresses food and how we deal with it in a way that is accessible and humorous for young audiences. A perfect play for touring and discussions.

You have to love a play where the football players are the victims and the cheerleaders are their saviors. There's a lot of silliness combined with teen-speak, snarky dialogue that perfectly captures the teen spirit. I loved the constant element of surprise that awaited me with every page turn. Bublitz deftly steers away from the jock/mean girl stereotype that often peppers these plays and offers us some real teens: warts and all. The play is a wonderful tin-foil romp through the stars. Teen performers and young audiences will love this.

As we increasingly live in a world where truth and satire are blurred, Sapio offers up the perfect play for these times. Nothing is sacred. Families (and their values), the media (of course), privilege, education and even heritage are skewered in this rich, dark comedy. While the play is satiric in nature, we get welcome glimpses of the early realities of the characters that have brought them to the brink. The roles are rich and well-defined. I see a lot of healthy discussion generated through development and productions of this play.

This is a smartly written play for teen actors. The theme of racial identity is thoughtful and written with care. I invested in all three characters even when they behaved badly. The plot twists and turns kept me thoroughly engaged from page one to the end. The punk rock suggested throughout the play is a wonderful enhancement and provides a framework for understanding the characters. I would so like to see this play on its feet.

Future, Here is a terse thriller - right from the beginning. Five students enter and look at a clock and it's ticking down. They've been sequestered together for twelve years and when the clock ticks down to zero - they will be separated. Every teen fear is eloquently stated as the students figure out how they will find their way in the world without each other. It's an excellent choice for teen actors where everyone shines and the ending stops your breath.

Crystal Springs resonates on many levels. Cyber-bullying is on the rise and not likely to go away anytime soon. We know the outcome at the beginning and the play goes back in time to decisions made that could have prevented tragedy. All the characters save one are culpable. Most disturbing are the three adults who participated either by overprotection, insecurities, or simply wanting to be liked/popular. This play inspires discussion and schools would do well to produce this.

Every shorewalker needs to see this play. What starts out as a quirky, physical comedy between sea creatures becomes very high stakes as the tide rolls in. A beautiful piece for young audiences about the care of our planet. It manages to show us the results of our actions without one word of preaching.

Faith, loss, friendship and faith are just a few of the huge themes woven into this beautifully realized coming-of-age play. White taps into both the insecurities and the strong ties between close friends. As they deal with a loss, there are revelations that jar all of them. Funny, irreverent and achingly poignant, I clued into to each of the characters and wanted to continue with them on their journey after the play. The play contains beautifully realized characters for teens to play. Highly recommended.