Recommended by Andrew Martineau

This play more or less forces its audience to think about how someone from a different culture from their own might be subjected to inane questions when they just want to grill for the holiday. When the other ”other” in the store line is a ghost, we might just have to examine our biases about how we think ghosts are supposed to behave. Such an awesome short play. Well done, Austin!

This is a extra-special Christmas play that works on multiple levels. It tells a Biblical story without oversimplification, and it tells the story of a boy who has challenges that not everyone understands but who goes all out, and I mean, ALL out, and makes me really, really want to see this live. We need more Christmas stories like this one!

The finality of a delete action feels devastating when it’s our written work, but how do we reconcile a hasty choice that has fatal consequences? Jacqueline Floyd-Priskorn has written an amazing short play that addresses mortality, tragic choices, and the ignorance of what those choices can mean when we don’t understand the effects of an erratic, emotional response that cannot be reversed. This is unsettling in the best possible way.

The idea of just starting civilization over again seems encouraging in these troubling times, but Eden 2 offers a grim reminder that human beings can be selfish and myopic. Morey Norkin gives his audience a cautionary tale that ends with the realization that evil might prevail even when we are given a stark message of how we got here in the first place. Wonderful!

This is a five minute play that packs a punch! Charming is so clueless, and yet the audience knows his charm is razor thin and he doesn’t really want to be in love as much as adored. Princess is beautifully self-actualized. Great short play for teens and young audiences, and even older people who grew up on these misguided fairy tales!

I love funny monologues that give an actor a chance to really show off their comic chops by acting out the hilarious words of a playwright who knows how to tell a funny story without resorting to one-liners. I would love to see an actor explain how to come to terms with a supposed soulmate who won’t travel to New Jersey from NYC despite the relatively short commute. I really enjoyed this monologue!

A meditation on the unspoken love, presumably, from a father who seemed to work hard for his son and had trouble expressing it in words. While this is a familiar scenario for many, sadly, Peercy injects this short play with some intrigue about what to do with a box that is found after the father’s death. What is unique about this brief drama is how the son reacts to the discovery and the mixed feelings that come with it. Heartbreakingly realistic.

In a culture that places questionable value on the concept of measurable success and value to society, Jonathan Cook’s premise of replaceable persons is fascinating and a little terrifying. The Frankenstein story has been taken to the next level here, and it begs the question: how do love and commitment factor into what ultimately can give a person their value? I was so enthralled because it made me question my own choices and feelings of regret. Amazing idea and perfect for the ten minute format!

I never could have imagined a restaurant scene involving a recycling of gourmet food and a second date causing so much distress, but this play is fresh, funny and loaded with social commentary. It made me think about the whole “farm to table” trend in a different light and consider what might be going overboard on how we consume new (or perhaps old) food while paying exorbitant prices for the experience. I give this the highest ranking—three stars!

I just saw a production of this play at the Studio Theatre in DC, and couldn’t believe a play that centers on a high school textual analysis of a classic play could be so riveting and thought-provoking. It was also funny, touching and exuberant. I hope Belflower’s play is read and seen as a companion piece to the classic around the country, at least on the college level. It is truly spellbinding.