Recommended by Daniel Prillaman

With the disclaimer that I am 100% in the target audience for this play (like, really…), let me say that nothing delights me more than some mixture of blood, horrific cults, and surprisingly intense etymological debate. Look, when you’re making a sacrifice, semantics is actually very important. I will say nothing more, suffice it to say that if you only read one short play today, make it this. Pitch-perfect horror-comedy. You won’t find better than this.

“Hero Dogberry” is a goddamned delight. It is also a genuine masterpiece. Not only is it a genius companion piece to its source material, but it truly stands on its own as a tremendous tale of mischief, trust, deceit, masking, and how they all intertwine in the development of love and marriage. Amid the countless winks to classic Bard bits and sequences, Cross shines spotlights on what hasn’t aged as well, and examines it playfully and with great nuance. Every role here would be so much fun to bring to life, for actors and designers alike. Highly recommend.

“Shared Credit” is filled with the quick patter and brisk characterization of old Hollywood. The partnership of Joe and Ben flies off the page, crafting chummy and witty exchanges of dialogue with a knowing grin towards the former’s “writing juice.” And then the grin turns into a frown. Alcoholism is so often played for laughs. Not here. Lockhart shows it for the disease it is. And what those who enable it and why must confront within themselves. Some excellent roles for three actors here.

Every scene in this powerhouse of a short two-hander is visceral and caustic, poetic and moving. The language and imagery are an incredible tag-team here. Above them both, a heart-wrenching dread permeates every single second. It all makes for a show that any audience is sure to walk away contemplating long after the performance. I look forward to one day being part of one.

Is it possible to rule over others and not abuse your power? Perhaps, but a fool tormented by countless torture and insults and terrors probably doesn’t stand the best chance at being the exception. In a short capsule of what appears an endless cycle of immortal tragedy, Bolduc’s titular Fool does his job dutifully. That is, until he decides to change his job. There’s a vacancy, after all. Absolutely nightmarish and a fun treat for a small troupe.

Everybody has something they wish they stuck with longer, don't they? "Rubato" is a moving (and musical, both literally and lyrically) scene on regret, consequences, love, and so much more. This is a succinct script and deft examination of how the choices we make as children on what passions to pursue reverberate through the rest of our lives. Just as much, how those choices are affected by the people in our lives, our parents, our teachers. Further just as much, if we regret those choices, it will one day be too late to address changing them if we wish. Beautiful.

There's little I latch onto more than the fusing of the real and fantastical, and "Beekeeper" delivers in spades. Vargas' play is not only an astounding story and script of familial grief and hereditary drama, but it is as layered and complex as an actual hive. The multiple languages will thrill actors, the multiple rooms and sounds and costumes will thrill designers, and every aspect will thrill audiences. I would LOVE to see this staged and experience how a production brings these elements to life.

O.O

It’s rare when any play makes me literally sit up/need to put down my device/step away for a moment. The moment in question here…goddamn. I mean, O.O! I can’t be more clear.

Or, if you need more, this is a scary (with just the right pinch of funny) short about fear of commitment, nervousness, and the nagging thought: “what if we don’t know our partners as well as we think we do?” Terrifying. I would run straight out of the bed, then the house. And I sleep in the nude.

Surely, a gifted enough talker can talk their way out of any fate? Right? Soltero-Brown's two-hander is a witty (constantly), poetic (at times), and tense (almost unforgivingly so) collision of a scene. Money is what brings these two characters together, but what’s more important is how. And how is the resolution going to come about? The answer to that is about much much more than money, digging into the darkest corners of gender politics, social constructs, and vile misogyny. This is some ruthless and fiery dialogue, and a feast of a play for the right actors.

Jackson's brain is remarkable. It is also a jungle. No matter our flavor of brain or where we are on the spectrum, no matter how much time we might spend in our heads or within ourselves, Heyman’s protagonist is one we can all relate to. Amidst any battle with grief, any face-to-face with demons, one thing is constant, and that’s that while searching inward may one day bring clarity, it’s a lonely road. One we can’t invite others on. And that’s why love, family, and friendships mean everything. Beautiful.