Recommended by Greg Burdick

A smart short examining power dynamics in the workplace, and the potential perils of challenging the status quo. Pickard uses an eerie presence in the morgue as Semmelweis’ muse that is both creepy and effective. Well paced, engaging, and theatrical.

Matthew Freeman has taken “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and reimagined it in a way that feels dangerously current and unsettling. His ministers of the press, the state, the treasury, and public safety, all bear the burden of enacting policy once spoken. Freeman raises the stakes for them, and for those who don’t see the magical threads, in a manner that oversteps comical and leaps right to chilling. Outstanding commentary on the startling power of suggestion over the plebes, and even those who attempt to sway them.

When children grow up, their fears of the boogeyman in the closet generally fade. But Jaymes Sanchez has found a terrifying loophole... we are always children in the eyes of our parents, no matter the age. And if we’re not good, what then? “The Cucuy Will Find You” craftily explores familial guilt and obligation, and what it means to be a good son or daughter. Loaded with humor that offsets the story’s darker themes, this play may make you reconsider your life choices, and put you on your best behavior. Tremendous opportunities for puppet/scenic designers.

In dark times demanding social activism, you can either endeavor to create or destroy to spread your message of change. In this chilling short play by Abigail Henkin, we see how the residue of hope can still linger after either of those efforts are suppressed. Compelling.

As an educator, I am required to present an anti-bullying lesson to all of my students at the beginning of each school year. It’s a district mandated 90-minute slideshow laden with statistics and information that is repeated annually, with the intention of giving students strategies for coping with, stopping, and preventing the behavior. In “Hunter, Hunted, and Those Who Watch,” Emily Hagemen crushes the same topic in a dazzling 10 minutes. And she does it better. It should be mandatory viewing in all schools. Produce it, and let it steal all the air in the room. Simply stunning.

The news business has become an enterprise specializing in holding our attention. Can we really call it "news" anymore? And in our current culture, outlets that deliver the news do so with a cut-throat mentality... even if the news delivered is not news... but rather, manufactured fiction... speculation... in desperate hope of holding our attention for their 24 hour cycle... so their very existence remains secure. Pauline David-Sax exemplifies the lows we've reached in her unsettling short play, "Frida Sofia Is Not Dead." It will make you mad as hell. Open the window. You know what to do next.

Roy has made a mess of things with his wife, Charlize. And despite her best efforts, cleaning things up in the wake left behind is a seemingly impossible task. Strayer gives us a taut interaction between a couple standing on the dangerous edge of a precipice... and her ending, while providing a surprising release from the tension, shows us that sometimes you just can’t scrub all the filth away.

Burlesque and The Food Network deliciously collide in this smart and sensual monologue by Rachel Bykowski. Lizzie proclaims her agency as she (nearly) reveals the secret to her grandmother’s culinary masterpiece. She recognizes the power she now wields, and won’t surrender it easily. A bold and satisfying piece of writing!

The imagery employed in Goldman-Sherman’s “wombshot” will crush you. This piece, depicting a young woman’s desperate choice in self-aborting a pregnancy, is an important and timely rallying cry for meaningful conversation about reproductive rights. Haunting visuals, thoughtful tempo in phrasing, and carefully chosen symbols, will linger long after reading.

Karen has painted herself into a corner in this excellent one-act by Bultrowicz. Her existential crisis will be all too familiar to anyone with artistic inclinations... the self-doubt, the crippling need to cling to the familiar, the fear of venturing out too far where the water’s too deep. Part monologue, part Jungian analysis, “Karen Paints Koi” soul searches for what motivates us, and what doesn’t. There’s a fantastic opportunity here for a costume designer to help realize Marlin, Karen’s koi fish co-star. Break the cycle of other plays you’ve been reading, and try this one.