Recommended by Susan Middaugh

A play for Veterans' Day to remind us of all the sadness and regret families can have over the loss of a son or brother. Also the healing that can come from a chance encounter with a stranger.

James Binz turns the nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty on its head in this short play about his heroine, Dee Dee who likes to sit on a wall in an English garden. When an accident happens and Dee Dee falls to the other side, Oli says, "I"m concerned," but does nothing but blather with friend Aldi about societal expectations of women and their need to keep up appearances. Well done, James.

Gary Garrison's play is a great example of playwriting. Conflict from page on3. The drama escalates with Chicky's reading of each letter. Of course, Gary won awards and had productions.

Andrew's play kept me turning pages wanting to know more about these characters and what will happen to them. Part of a puzzle that reveals itself at the end. Sad and realistic. The title suggests one thing and is turned on its head.

Learned something new, ventriloquists are called vents, by people in the know. Benjy learns not to move his lips while in training -- until he gets kissed by a girl in the carnival. Then he goes full tilt boogie with her. Young love, memorable and unique. Arianna is always good with words.

This short play is a revelation, especially to a grandmother of bi-racial granddaughters. I liked the line suggesting ranch dressing is "colonization!" And particularly this one: "White people don't think about it (what to put on an application identifying their ethnicity) this hard. They just live their lives." Good one.

Although they start out rocky, Jim and Mandy manage to connect in of all places, the laundromat. Mandy proves to be a better counterpart to Jim than his fiancée, Betsy, who lives in Alaska and appears to be a bit of a gold-digger. In keeping with the locale, they both spin a few yarns, especially Mandy, but there's humor. She tells him he has "nice ears." She on the other hand was voted "Most Likely to Make All of her Own Clothes." Fun.

An opportunity for redemption for Thomas who's very knowledgeable about the mines, what to do and what not to do in comparison to Carl. I"m rooting for the two of them to get saved. Hats off to Arthur M. Jolly for this taut play.

Succinct and effective play that uses repetition and spare language to remind us of how inseparable these twins were -- before Kaylee was killed at school during yet another gun violence affecting schoolchildren. Well done but wish it were unnecessary.

Charming and clever rewrite of the fairy tale to appeal to a Japanese audience or any audience really, this time involving a Flower that has toes, a confused Wolf who's lost and an off-key impertinent Bird. And as with most fairy tales, a lesson for children. Good job, Morey!