Recommended by Robert Weibezahl

This charming play was a standout at The Decameron Project Los Angeles 1 Minute Play Festival. Levine deftly packs the arc of love into a 60 second elevator ride. A perfect mini-play.

An emotional gut punch caps this intense and intriguing short play, which delves bravely and unapologetically into the unassailable power grief can have over us. Playwright Swenson expertly tricks us into thinking we are witnessing a boorish encounter when we are really privy to something far more complex and enigmatic—yet convincingly real. Once you have read, seen, or heard this play, you will never forget it. Bravo!

A really sharp, unexpected blend of horror, humor and pathos. Jon is so meticulously written, his spiraling breakdown, disguised as standup comedy, a emotional gut punch. The other characters that haunt Jon’s life—real and imagined—create a fascinating world where what we’re seeing isn’t always what we’re seeing. After a reading I saw at The Sauk, the audience could not stop talking about this play—it touch them that deeply. I hope to see a fully staged production of this gem … and many more.

A wholly original, extremely clever, and deeply heartfelt portrait of a teen coping with the ways ADHD has shaped him and continues to dictate his life. This ten-minute blend of comedy and angst is the best kind of instructive play: it never feels like it is lecturing even as it is informing and advocating. Billy speaks to and for the legions of "different" kids and all those who love them.

“I told myself, if I can sell just one special item, it’ll be progress,” says Laney, a widow braving her first attempt at a garage sale. With this poignant line playwright Cokinos says so much about STUFF and the emotional value we assign to it. And she has more to say. THE YARD SALE deftly packs a lot into ten minutes: grief, memory, the sisterhood of military wives, and the possibility of moving on. A very lovely, wise play that brings a tear or two, but also a warmth to the heart.

This funny, high-wire comedy hits the nail squarely on the head, capturing the pervasive anxiety of parenting in our over-scheduled age. I listened to an excellent audio production of the play by Theatrical Shenanigans and could feel my stress-level rising even as I nodded and laughed along. So glad my own daughter long ago outgrew the need for summer camp! The impressive list of productions underscores how perfectly Brian Cern has tapped the way we live now.

This chilling piece by dedicated monologist Asher Wyndham could not be more timely. The heartless vitriol of the Special Agent for ICE shrieks from the page and will batter the heart of anyone with a trace of human compassion.

I recently listened to a lovely audio version of SPIN CYCLE on Theatrical Shenanigans. It is a textbook (and delightful) two-hander, offering two real, endearing characters finding a connection (even if they don’t necessarily know they are looking for one.) The dialogue is so natural and subtle that the emotional underpinnings sneak up on you. Jim and Mandy will charm audiences they way they ultimately charm each other.

The best kind of “futuristic” story is one that you know in your heart is this close to becoming true. INSERT TOKEN is both funny and terrifying, a cleverly conceived cautionary tale that (frighteningly) captures the way we live now—whether we want to or not.

Feeney-Williams’s thrilling little play, which I heard in an excellent audio version on Theatrical Shenanigans, pulls the rug out from under your expectations with diabolical skills. What begins like a charming little game of romantic cat-and-mouse takes one detour after another until it reaches a shocking and very disturbing conclusion. You’ll be squirming in your seat by the end (and that’s a compliment).