Recommended by Andrew Martineau

Being able to sustain a metaphor through an entire monologue is no easy feat, but Nora Louise Syran does just that by comparing speed dating to a horse race. It’s so well written because Syran shows us the uncertainty of engaging an audience with an intention of finding a mate in five minutes in even less time to express it. This would be a great audition monologue because the conflict is strong and the humor is sublime. Well done!

Having grown up in the Deep South, I can attest to the fact that these characters are real and the dialogue is only slightly exaggerated for full comic effect. I wasn’t prepared for the twist at the end, but it still made me hopeful that these sisters would get their dreamboats after all. I would love to watch this all unfold with a laughing audience. Hilarious from start to finish!

There is beauty, wonder and sadness in this remarkable play about two ex-partners with seemingly insurmountable phobias just trying to make their way through breakfast, concerned that they might be venturing into brunch, which is actually “waffles and time.” These are great roles for actors to explore. This play really made me think about my own relationship with food and how eating with others can create a whole new precarious dynamic. Fascinating work, with exceptional imagery.

There is a fascinating shift in this incredibly nuanced comedy about an immigration interview that reveals a power play, moving from facts about American history to micro aggressions that are intended to humiliate Sunita. However, Sunita leaves with her pride intact. Maximillian Gill has written a timely play that is both funny and thought provoking.

I love dialogue that is unexpected yet believable, and Cameron has turned your typical father-son breakfast conversation on its head in a totally loopy and captivating way. The dad questions everything from why we are the same person throughout our entire lives to whether a Santa mug should be relegated to the back of the cupboard for most of the year. The son’s nonchalant reactions to his old man make for an engaging conflict. I enjoyed this play.

Sunsets can be bittersweet, especially when an aging mother and her somewhat resentful daughter reflect on past missed opportunities to bond that seem to border on neglect. So much is revealed in this brief play about choices they made and how they remember them, such as the mother’s shame in giving her daughter a badge maker that she won and didn’t pay for. There is so much rich subtext here that is revealed layer by layer. Wonderful work!

What is so surprisingly creative and thought-provoking about this brief comic play is that Danielle Wirsansky makes the audience think about how their own sense of humor might make them uncomfortable in a play about how words can hurt when they invoke laughter. By making us laugh, especially when others are in the room laughing with us, Wirsansky expertly reveals that laughter can be complex and reflexive, even when it can hurt. Fantastic writing!

I was intrigued first by the setting of this play, having been in Union Station many times, admiring the incredible beauty of the place and wondering where everyone is going in such a hurry. Elisabeth Giffin Speckman reveals two characters who may have hidden agendas and motives that don’t need to be revealed, and perhaps shouldn’t be revealed, but what is fascinating here is the game being played in the waiting. When does the game become a threat, or does it? Are we complicit in our eavesdropping? So compelling on many levels.

What a fantastic comic set-up! The juxtaposition of dialogue that purposefully beats around the bush and physical comedy that represents the audience’s frustration with a character who won’t just “spit out” how he really feels is so intriguing and very funny. There is also some very smart discussion of happiness, art and privilege, all within a ten minute play. Very well done!

This highly clever and very funny play about the delicate balance of highlighting Christmas cultural traditions with secular commercialism in advertising is the perfect antidote for those of us who want something a little more original in holiday messaging. I could hear Lucy in my head stressing the importance of buying the shiniest aluminum tree before her little brother gets to the heart of the matter. “The fish will come to the bait” in this hilarious play by Philip Middleton Williams.