Recommended by Bill Triplett

Caught this lovely and poignant piece at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, and was so taken by the simple set-up: a couple arguing about a Thanksgiving ham. Well, that's just where it starts, and where it goes is deep into enduring tensions between the two, leading to a pointed crescendo of a speech that blew me away more than a little. All ironically set against the idea of giving thanks. So well done, and ready for production!

Writers and their endless foibles don't always make for interesting subjects, but Kim Ruyle knows how to set these two into the right moment, loaded with the right ambition and jealousy, so that fireworks indeed go off. Funny, insightful, this is a va-va-valentine to the profession (obsession?) that consumes so many of us. So easy to stage, and two great roles for actors. Loved it at the Midwest Dramatists Conference, where I heard it read!

Loved the reading of this inventive, imaginative play at the 2025 Midwest Dramatists Conference. What seems like just a play about a third date between two men rapidly becomes an almost surreal experience as Gartner literally breaks time, advancing it forward for one character, reversing it for the other. And their relationship? Well, that's the thing: Love can be pulled in any direction, it seems, but it looks a little different at each location. Wrapping your mind around this is half the fun; the other half is watching the characters's emotions evolve--or devolve, maybe! So easy to stage and great roles!

Another hit at the 2025 Midwest Dramatists Conference. Peggy Powell has a gift for evoking atmosphere--especially of dread and horror--in a very short amount of time. Mom and her two kids go camping by the lake where they all used to go with the kids' dad, who has recently died. But has he? What's that thing that seems to possess one of the children? And what's that sound coming from the lake? Loved it. Very easy to produce and great roles for actors--especially teenage actors.

So much packed into a tight and taut 10 minutes! This is a portrait of what happens when two people marry and hope the lie between them will somehow disappear. But like any other lie, it festers--and is made worse by the oppressive atmosphere of where they live. Lives are destroyed, and the aftermath raises questions about how we live. A lovely piece!

Caught this little gem at the 2025 Midwest Dramatists Conference and was hooked from the start. If you know Scott Sickles's work, you know he has a wicked and warped sense of humor (the kind I love), and while that humor occasionally flashes here, this is a story of loss, regret, unrequited love, and longing among everyday people. The emotions are universal, the moments as often poignant as they are funny. So easy to produce, and great roles for actors. Do this play!

On the surface, a romantic yarn about good people trying to live right while the shadow of evil looms nearby. On a deeper level, the play is taking on the myth of justice in the American frontier of yore to ask enduring questions: Can people take justice into their own hands and remain just? Or are they lying to themselves? Ruyle skillfully integrates much into a galloping plot. Add in solid roles for actors, simple sets, and you've got a play that really is ready to be produced!

This play has so many nice surprises in it. While the setting is familiar enough -- a holiday gathering of family members who could not be more different, with all the hopes and disappointments you might expect -- the story quickly takes unexpected turns, laying bare more disappointment and hurt than some characters even knew they had. There are lots of laughs along the way, but they sharpen the poignance of what's happening. Great roles for actors, simple to produce, and deeply heartfelt -- a winning combination!

An ingenious piece, full of wit, heart, and more than a little poignance. How many plays have you read or seen that can be performed/read backward as well as forward -- and have an impact either way? But this is far more than just clever structuring. There's a story about real people and real hurts and joys, no matter what order you take it in. Simple to stage, packed with fat roles for actors, and a lot to think about after you reach either end. Quite an achievement!

A charming, whimsical, and very poignant two-hander here full of subtext about loneliness and disappointments of the heart. I found myself smiling at the repartee and the skewering of a manufactured holiday, but I also felt sympathy for the two nicely etched characters and their respective senses of isolation. This really should be part of any Valentine's Day themed festival, but it can also stand on its own as a story of two people looking for a connection. Well done!