Recommended by Daniel Prillaman

You can call it whatever you want. It takes many forms. Stress. Anxiety. Paranoia. Trauma. We don't ever get a solid, concrete reason explaining Clay's fear, and we don't need it, because whether it's founded or not (is it?), it's real to him. And it is DESTABILIZING. To say more about the contents of this play would be to ruin its magic (another reason I so adore Gatton's work), but rest assured you are in the best of hands. A delightful, horror-filled exploration of the havoc our minds can wreak.

Delightfully creepy, full of dread, and entrenched in good, old small town secrets, McClain's riff on Bierce's short story is fantastic. This script is filled with moment after escalating moment of "something is wrong," and I want nothing more than to see it live. The mysteries at hand loom over every scene, and the sound/set design would be such FUN to figure out and nail together. If you're looking to give more horror scripts a chance, it would be unwise to neglect this one.

I don't like this play. It is very good. It's excellent. But it makes me uncomfortable and is almost too real. In lesser hands than Cathro's, it would maybe be exploitative. Instead, it is a brutal reminder of how innocently and calmly the internet/social media can bring out the worst in us. And not only bring it out, but give it even more power to wreak its havoc. Beware.

A fabulous, theatrical spectacle of a play that I want to experience over and over. Marchant has built a slice-of-life epic, set somewhere in a slowly dying, but clinging to life strip mall. The characters kill time with conversations through themselves, their phones, singing to almost no one, messing with displays, and more, but the pacing at hand is so masterful that every silence is just endlessly charged. A delicious commentary and exploration of retail life and the work struggle. Highly recommend.

Powerful, fantastical, and brilliantly theatrical, this play is just everything. Vondy's epic is subtle and devilishly clever, beginning in the realm of historical fiction that you think will just scratch your true crime itch, but it becomes so much more vast and intimate, filling our heads with wonderous questions and commentary on sexism, identity, legacy, and everything in between. The wordplay and stage imagery in here is endlessly delightful, and I cannot recommend it enough. Read it. Produce it. Now. Forever.

To be a little more colloquial than Sickles' beautiful play, I cannot overstate that it gives me ALL THE FEELS. I have ADHD, but deal with RSD less than Dal, and the play movingly and poetically transports us inside his unique blend of chemical miswiring. Everyone's brain (and everyone's demons) is different, and the only way to win is with help from others. A transcendent little reminder of the strength of human connection, companionship, and kindness.

On the surface, comedy. Underneath, the eternal conflict between generations. Richter does so much here with so little, and it's a hoot.

A tender, deeply felt, and astonishingly beautiful scene. Bivens builds an expansive history through Greg's monologue, and lets us feel his internal struggle through every word, said and unsaid. Masterfully done in every way.

The only thing harder than writing a novel that you can't figure out where it's going (or when you have an idea, it strikes at the WORST possible time) is writing a novel your mother doesn't approve of. Well...that and if your fictional characters also literally step out of your brain to fight you. Strayer's play is a thrilling, pulsating, and poignant clash of swords and hearts. Above all, it's a delicious and layered character study of self-discovery and living up (or not) to our parents' expectations. Fantastic work with some great opportunities for stellar fight choreo.

There is nothing more magical than a play that is unafraid of silence. Karuc's little slice-of-life first date is not only fearless, but it is tremendously beautiful. The characters and atmosphere leap off the page, and we are left with a complex combination of hope and worry for the budding relationship. A surefire hit for any short festival.