Recommended by Rachael Carnes

Gartner's language play, her rhythm and imagery would be a wonderful armature for any actor to build a compelling character around. Evocative yet relatable, this historical piece feels vibrant and current, with a subtext that explores age-old questions and themes. I love how much pressure per square inch the writer exerts -- this tight, explosive monologue is a gem.

Riley! OMG — This play's inventions and humor are balanced by sharp insight into our current anxiety-provoking climate and how it impacts kids. Wyndham hits another home run with this relatable gem. Made me itchy allover! Calamine is not enough!

This well-crafted play is a gut punch, honing a critical eye on the gray areas that we've created around gun culture. It's remarkable to imagine the permeable conversation about this charged subject, between actors and audience - and within the audience itself.

Lawing holds nothing back in this evocative, visceral monologue. Giving voice to an interior ministry - the mournful lamentation of someone whose basic needs aren't met. There's something exalted in what the writer has done here, something transcendent, like pushing off the bottom of a body of water and searching for the air.

I'm a card-carrying member of the Asher Wyndham fan club, whose work jumps off the page. Individually, his pieces pulse with contemporary energy and as a whole? He's quietly documenting our worldwide conversation, one monologue at a time. Read, laugh, engage -- and produce -- this play.

When a playwright you greatly admire writes a short play about two of your heroes, you pay attention. I so love the nuance and subtext here -- the space in which Kaplan explores different ways of sensing. There's much to relate to, even in just five pages. A perfect form, worthy of praise and production.

Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous play. Danley's language is rich and warm, her characters immediately sympathetic. Multidimensional, nuanced, contemporary roles for children or teens seem rare, so Danley's contribution here is especially welcome. She's penned a play that's both hopeful and charming — not because the characters or their situation is saccharine or contrived - but for its honesty and genuine humor. This play is deserving of many productions. And if the weight of the world has you down, read this gem.

This play goes for the jugular with razor sharp comedy. It would lead audiences to laugh out loud, cringe, cry and sit slack jawed at its sheer magnitude. Walker holds a mirror to current events — and let’s them burn. An important time capsule, and a devastating contribution to any festival of political plays.

This ten-minute play could be an example for writers. It's taut, dropping us right into the mix, and developing two characters that we're attracted to, that we care about, right away, and sustaining their arc in a believable journey. There's a little world here, at once unique and universal, a space for coming together in grief and healing, with humor and with sorrow. Hageman's dialogue is easy and natural, her story tender and relatable. And the adorable Sock Monkey is a super bonus. This would be a delight to see onstage.

LOVE this play, and not just because I'm in the dedication. :) Lawing is a remarkable writer, lyrical and poetic, with the perfect dash of acerbic wit throughout masterfully-built storytelling. This monologue explores the territory between interior and exterior, expectation and boundary-pushing, what's fantasy, and what's all-too real. It would be a fascinating blueprint for an actor, a beautiful, funny and evocative portrait. I would love to see this onstage! (And I know where to buy a bonnet.)