Recommended by Rachael Carnes

"What have you done to our home?" — Yes, this question reverberates across American history, and echoes in the recesses of this compelling one-act, set in a pivotal transition, a shifting balance of power and threading of geography and cultures, in the Great Plains. Robert creates a terrific sense of locality, a dusty, windy enterprise, populated with miscreants and heroes, kind of like where you live. In this short piece, the writer shows us that the age-old tug between what's right, and what's profitable.

A monologue with the perfect blend of lyric and rhythm, an ode to a person, and a place. Plummer's craft is exhibited here in her poetry and in the soothing comfort of what's not said, underneath.

In this intensely believable fantasia, a young girl returns from the dead to reconnect with the person that accidentally shot her. It's a supernatural set-up that's fueled by all-too familiar scenarios. Young Cera's a spunky 12-year-old, wise and funny, which makes her lot all the more heartbreaking. Centering, as it does, on the inherent loving wisdom of children, children who are at the mercy of gun violence every day, this play would be an emotional heart in any short play festival, training hearts and minds on the grayest areas, and finding light.

This delightful piece explores the very real possibility that our faded relationships live among each other in an assisted living center... in Canada. Makes sense to me! Bavoso packs this scene with farcical architecture, coaxing the audience not only to accept this wacky new world, but to move forward with the hilarious and harrowing concept that our minds are populated with characters that *spoiler alert* we've put there. Lovely possibilities here for two comedic actors.

Gonzalez captures the heightened realism of the tension that grows, creeping into a relationship like a miasma, engulfing the space, using up all available oxygen. There's a brittle, tense battle going on here, and with each page, the stakes go higher. It's the perfect blend of inanity and combat. This piece would give any two actors an incredible arsenal and would be thrilling onstage. And since Gonzalez is such a uniquely capable writer, simmering below the explosions are deep commentary about so many current questions. This piece will stay with me for a long time.

What do we bring with us, and what do we leave behind? How do we divide our memories and store them for the future? Do we stuff our experiences into boxes with labels or do we live with uncertainty and a willingness to hope? Middleton invites us to find ourselves in this seemingly innocuous moment, a moment of heightened discovery and truth.

Haven't we all been there? Turning yourself inside out to try to respond to the increasingly tense and probing questions in an interview? Middleton does a phenomenal job capturing the desperation of the would-be employee and the cringe-worthy and hilarious boss. This gem was a hit at the 2018 Midwest Dramatists Center Conference.

Aaaaaaaa gothic horror! This play's a creepy delight. I love how Gordon sets us up with high-production values, oui - 18th-century France! - carriages, big wigs, crazy dresses, all of this froth only stirs our imagination - because it's in the characters and their tense dialogue that we understand the brittle, dangerous, confusing world these post-revolutionary French folx occupied. If you know the Washington Irving story, you'll enjoy how it unfolds, and if you don't, well, you're in for a treat. Set centuries ago, this play reflects on today just beautifully.

Salsbury's work in this play is so taut, so economizing. One thing I notice throughout her plays, is this incredibly well-developed sense of place. We are right there, though we might not want to be. This is the kind of play that cages the audience. Brings you in close, and holds you tight. Now that I'm done reading, I might start breathing again.

This is awesome. Takes us right to a unique place and time, gives us enough of the world to make things seem possible and then the play just explodes with exciting pressure, playing in the waves between mythology and sitcom. I am a huge fan of Koivisto's writing style. Her brain clearly whirring at a high velocity, her creativity just uncharted. I am so happy that she's uploaded a bunch of new plays. This writer has such a clear voice and versatility. Can't wait to read more!