Recommended by Andrew Martineau

I am very sure that just about everyone can relate to this play personifying worry and doubt rolled up into one agonizing bout of insomnia, but It all resonates for me with intense clarity. The good thing about Jackie Martin’s brief play is that it is very funny and quite original. While you would think that a play about nagging thoughts keeping us awake would just add to our nocturnal anxiety, we can view this as a way to connect communally with this common problem and just laugh about it. Who could ask for more than that?

I was very intrigued by the synopsis and was not disappointed at all with this short, well-constructed, very funny play. There is nothing like a misunderstanding to get the comic action rolling, and a pet psychic being confused with a regular people psychic is comedy gold! There is also a poignancy to the play, as well. I am sure actors would love to play these parts. This should be a great addition to any ten-minute play festival.

I love how this play deals with a couple on the precipice of social and political change, and how marriage equality is framed within the lens of two men in love going through the turbulence of what every couple goes through on some level. The fragility and care of a ficus plant takes center stage here with sober relevance and a welcome dose of good humor. This is a brief, nuanced play told by a master dramatist.

There is much to love here—the craft menagerie of named animal critters, the contempt for the phonies who pretend to want them, and best of all, the genuine love that this husband shows for his crafty, highly sensitive wife. Art and commerce can be like oil and water sometimes, but the play has a wonderful message about embracing creativity, even when some people will reject what they cannot appreciate due its inherent uniqueness.

DON is sharp, witty and insightful—the writing, that is, not the character. I love the King Lear parallels and the way in which the “fool” character can be honest yet not exactly complimentary. This kind of contemporary satire is a challenge to pull off, but Smith manages to make his subject appropriately absurd without being a caricature. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The power of this play is amplified in my mind right now as we face classrooms of students with uncertainties about a polarizing reaction to a highly dangerous virus. The danger that looms large in this play reminds us that teachers are human and flawed and genuinely heroic. The beauty of Kaplan’s poem in the play exemplifies how much a ten-year-old knows already and how much they are eager and willing to soak up knowledge from a caring mentor. A beautiful, haunting play.

It is amazing how topical this play is and how it most certainly will resonate with an audience in 2021, even though it is set almost a hundred years ago. Professional actors will clearly understand the conflict and subtext here, but Cooper has created a dramatic play that a broad audience will connect to. It is from another era, though, and fortunately Cooper’s dialogue perfectly captures the time and culture of the 1930s. I thoroughly enjoyed this play!

While the story of a middle-aged businessman in a bar being tempted by an attractive woman in a red dress is a familiar one, Plumridge puts a unique twist on the tale of “what might have been” vs. “what did I do”! Michael’s musings show a sophistication of language and offer a compelling blend of desire and melancholy. Very well done!

This play is parenthood at its most frightening, chaotic, and hilarious best! What parent hasn’t argued with the other parent about how to get the baby to sleep? I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of physical comedy in this, which is both absurd and believable at the same time. This was a blast to read. I would love to see it on action.

FORGOTTEN is so relatable to me as a playwright, but its rapid succession of clever, witty lines is sure to appeal to a general audience ready for a good laugh. I love the resistance of the characters to help the writer succeed, which smartly demonstrates the insecurities playwrights tend to have when creating a new first draft. I am sure actors would love to bring these characters to life. Best of all, this play is very funny. It makes me want to start a new play now!