Recommended by Rachael Carnes

Richly developed characters travel a lifetime in just minutes. Barclay’s structure, pacing and humor just shine. Such a lovely opportunity for women actors! This is beautiful.

OMG — LOVE. This play raises the bar! Storytelling for now — Sensing and responding to the absurdity of *this* moment. Gardner captures it all with tremendous humor and insight. Look just below the ribald surface and find the kind of commentary that will likely define this era, theatrically. Gardner is reshaping the genre. 2017 winner of the American Playwrights Foundation Relentless Award. Is the titular character 'Pussy Sludge' Relentless? I think she's my soul sister. Viva Pussy Sludge, and big ups to Ms. Gardner!

So much win. This play's a charmer — An inventive, fun comedy. Burdick explores the complex world of modern dating and the layers of tech-driven trickiness. Lovely set-up, explored so engagingly. Lots of chemistry between these characters.

An exquisite window into a memorable moment — The Women's March is over, so what now? Writer Jagernauth explores the gradations and subtleties within a burgeoning resistance movement — With a rhythm and staging that feel both elemental and refined. Set in a pottery studio — How cool is that? — Working the slabs of clay is such a resonant image in contrast to our tech-driven world. This short play packs a punch.

Oh ho! These women! Took me right back to the cutthroat playground days as a new, bewildered out-of-town mom in the city! Ehrlich's language crackles with jokes that just keep coming. A rewarding little universe here — Full of fun for any group of actors. Packed with commentary and truisms. Love a play written for all women!

Clever set-up and balanced, taut dialogue — Defies what we think is happening so artfully. Plays with "Theater" in a way that connects emotionally, in a relatable, compelling way. Writer Goldman-Sherman takes us on a journey — To say too much would reveal and spoil it. Confident cadences and rhythm, universal themes. Goldman-Sherman says she could imagine this being performed in a real restaurant, and that would be incredible. Maybe 6-8 more dynamic short plays like this + a restaurant = An evening? This writer could do it!

This is a remarkable work. Writer Henry bathes raw, visceral moments in a questioning, haunting light — That seems to fly in from all directions. The pressured speech, internal fuse, grandiosity and their inevitable converse — is both beautiful and tragic to witness. Henry's thematic exploration - water, ice, a treehouse - is accessible, elegant and a punch to the gut. 'Paradoxysm' offers a measured way-finding blueprint for a creative team - and audience - to take a powerful proximal journey into the heart of a family's emotional marathon. Creative, bone-shaking, honest. Damn. Someone should produce this play.

My day job finds me in company with teachers all the time. I know these characters. 'Accommodation' is a telling portrait of the suspense and emotion plot that classroom teachers follow — From the wide-eyed newbies to the burnt-out master-teachers — this world is too, too real. Burdick paints the school confines with edu-frustration and plasters it over with admin-spirational "Hang in There" kitten posters. And somewhere within this charging dialogue - like Glengarry Glenn Ross in a staff room - they care for kids' development? Big ups for the protagonist - whip smart, jaded, she's OVER it. She's transcendent.

Lovely and aching - This monologue shoots an arrow through your heart. Wyndham uses place and places so effectively, finding this generous mom, who has nothing but her daughter, together/alone on a cold Minneapolis Christmas Eve. The writing has depth and recessed emotion that bring the conversation to a universal plane. The perfect vehicle for an actor to show her sensitivity and range.

This play's stacked with rewarding inventory built between two characters on the edge of big change — It's bittersweet, but buoyant — With tremendous believability. Writer Puccioni's language rhythm, her phrasing and clipped pace, bring out the subtleties of this broken moment — That we somehow know this lovable couple will survive. LOVE that this short piece is for performers in their 70's! It's timely and relatable and so producible — I can totally see it.