Recommended by Rachael Carnes

One-minute plays are a fascinating form. Like music, or poetry, distilled, impatient, they could be sketches, but not so this play, that thunders in with structure and mood, clear characters and intentions. And since it's essentially two monologues set in dynamic opposition, Goscinski offers freedom to a creative team to envision action/reaction throughout.

This one takes me back. A hilarious skewering of the visual-and-performance art world, Rushing exploits the kooky possibilities for all they're worth, uncovering fallacies and foibles and creating great fun. As someone who used to wrangle performance artists for a living — I so enjoyed this brilliant little send up! I wish I could find the person who ripped a hole in our theatre's brand-new cyc by losing control on her unicycle while painted head to toe in blue body paint whilst otherwise naked, and make her read it. Well done!

Oh my goodness, what a lovely piece of theatre! Ellen has written such a perfect portrayal of the relationship between a person and their furry companion. This just has everything. The dialogue is easy and brisk, the physicality would be so much fun for actors to portray. It's a whole little world, and in this tiny frame, the writer opens up everything. I just adore it! This approaches life and death in a new, profound and utterly humane (or maybe canine?) way. Only one problem: I'm crying in public again, this time at a coffee shop on my lunch break.

This play continues to haunt me, ever since I read it nearly a year ago. Beautiful and lush, particular and universal. Antone nestles such dynamic emotion in these pages, a piece in response to gun violence that creates theatrical possibilities and wonder, even within the saddest subjects.

This play has so much inventory for a trio of actors to unpack - and would be thrilling onstage. Zaffarano's lively dialogue has a terrifically real quality, this seems like a family, but the setting, the situation, jumps off the page, and the reveals - no spoilers - carry a huge range of emotion, from confusion to anger to resilience. I admire this writer's penchant for well-crafted stories, saying so much in just a few pages. SHELLY offers a wonderful opportunity for an older actor to shine.

This powerful play plunges us right into the icy water, where we feel for the character, while we see our own foibles laid bare. It's a remarkable duality that in Matthews' capable hands, seems effortless. This play offers commentary, and genuine emotional resonance. It's not simply political or polemic, it's heartfelt, moving, distilling down to poetry. If I were a High School English teacher, or a College professor, I would use this play, reading it in class, to demonstrate that theatre, as an art form, is alive, and important.

This play artfully draws us into a simple, accessible activity - cooking - and within the kitchen, a wonderful world unfolds in the sparest words. It's loving and lovely, with delightful ideas and delicious smells and then -- Diamond connects us to loss, and real fear, asks us to slow down, and imagine. This beautiful piece would be a tremendous addition to a performance of gun-sense plays.

Tender in its depiction of life aching past loss, this lovely piece explores an unimaginable sorority between an officer, and the widow of a victim of gun violence. A play like Burdick's cuts through the fog of "compassion fatigue" - elevates the conversation out of the news headlines and the seemingly endless sensationalizing and into the realm of poetry, of light filtering, of moments and mementos, training our hearts and minds on the work of way-finding that might make sense from senselessness. This would be a powerful addition to a performance of gun sense plays.

If it's possible to read a play through my fingers, that was me — Oh my, has Goldman-Sherman captured the barbarous zingers, the dismal torpor and the inexplicable emotional labor of late-stage modernity. Where does it come from? Why do we do it? This domestic comedy reminded me of Ibsen, with the husband and son useless layabouts, and the mother a column of seething rage. Over what? Only the most fundamental needs! Maslow says we need belonging to before just about everything, but does this mother "belong"? Funny and sharp, this piece would be an excellent addition to any festival.

This time of year, we resolve to get healthy, and what better way than to measure our steps? And why not compete for fitness goals with your friends? Lawing has a delightful time with these characters, offering an acidic comedy chock full of physical pratfalls and opportunities to keep ramping up the tension. I feel like I know these people, and we're not too far off from this reality. Happy New Year! Let's get in shape. ;)