NPX Recommend-a-thon: March 2024

On March 21, 2024 a group of LMDA members met for the third quarterly NPX Recommend-a-Thon. Attendees included organizers Karen Jean Martinson and Dan Smith, along with Martha Wade Steketee, Giuliana Marchese, Rory Willats, Claire Dettloff, Dane Futrell, James Noonan, and a few others.

After brief introductions, each participant stated an intention for the working session. Martha Steketee was able to write up recommendations based on her readings for the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), while Dan Smith offered some tips he had heard about readings that occurred at the recent Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC). Two participants chose to read plays from the featured list on the NPX landing page. Two others searched for new plays to read, with one person specifically looking for comedies.

During the event, numerous recommendations for plays were published, and other plays were informally recommended. Here are some of those titles:

• Kari Bentley-Quinn, The Ocean Thought Nothing
• Jennifer Blackmer, I Carry Your Heart with Me
• Jennifer Blackmer, Predictor
• Jillian Blevins, Mere Waters
• Brennen Edwards, COYOTES
• Kareem Fahmy, American Fast
• Bailey Jordan Garcia, What to Expect When You’re Expecting Our Lord and Savior
• Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin, Tiger Beat
• Leroy Hood, I, Sick
• Melissa Leilani Larson, Gin Mummy
• Mildred Inez Lewis, /kom'plisit/
• Giulianna Marchese, The Central Registry
• Lenelle Moise, K-I-S-S-I-N-G
• Greg Romero, Jean Yeets Her Hawaiian Shirt into the Ocean
• Collin Smith, Haunt
• Stephanie Alison Walker, MELT
• Tuckie White, Motherhouse

In addition, Giulianna Marchese shared information about an exciting ongoing project that will be of interest to LMDA members who appreciate working with NPX. Chicago based company Red Theater offers a monthly Script Club in which interested artists gather to discuss a play that all have read beforehand. After the discussion, each participant is invited to write a recommendation for the play on NPX! If you are interested in joining Red Theater’s script club (on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM Central), you can sign up here to receive updates: https://redtheater.org/scriptclub

The June Recommend-a-thon will be held on site at the LMDA Conference in Kansas City. If technology permits, we will offer a Zoom option for participants who are unable to make it to this year’s conference. Stay tuned for more information as the conference nears!