Recommended by David Hilder

A very, very satisfying and pleasingly diverse compilation of horror shorts that are variously scary, funny, enigmatic, and combinations of all of the above. Without question, there is a significant creepiness here -- and happily it takes a bunch of different forms, without sacrificing quality. Hooray!

Compelling and dread-filled from the start, We Are Not Dead offers three full-bodied characters with clear wants competing to find the balance between mercy and mercilessness. Oh, and of course there's a creepy back story the is evinced clearly and naturally. Flavia is a great protagonist, and this is a terrific short play.

This is an entirely bonkers piece of theater, filled with hilarious awkwardness and impossible stage directions and a funny bone placed somewhere near its (bloody) heart. Operating on pretty much every conceivable level at once, QUICHE takes no prisoners yet offers rich rewards. So, so bizarre and fun -- not necessarily in that order.

Taut and tense -- in the best possible ways. There's an eerie feeling to the early going that is more than paid for by the turn the story takes. Excellent writing, a deep well of feeling masked by what sounds like the most mundane conversation. Just great.

Just gorgeous, these two women coming back together after what seems to have been a little while. The deep dive into their issues and feelings is deftly, beautifully realized. A small but mighty play done so, so well.

The fathoms-deep NEED embodied by Annie is unnerving, specific, and completely true. As is Trevor's unswerving commitment to swerving away from commitment. I felt so fully the history of these characters (including Leigh and Mitchell), how each of them is never quite on the same level as their scene partner. The scales tip wildly, and I was there for every change of status, mood, heartbeat. Terrific work.

Um, YES to this exploration of opposite sides of very much the same coin. Giselle and Julissa ache, yearn, flex, breathe, and imbibe music in the way of true believers. Their constant conflict reveals so much about the human condition, especially how people who are polar opposites in virtually every way can be tethered by one core, vital commonality. I love this play.

Oh I LOVE a piece as creepy as this one is! That Kudzu is more than creepy, but also a study of complex young lives interweaving (or not) in a very specific milieu, is a feat of dramatic engineering and I'm truly here for it. I've rarely encountered a script that takes a chilling description of offstage action and then brings it into the physical life of the play so effectively. Hats off to Prillaman and his freaky brain that made this piece.

Just terrific. The tidal flow of the scenes, merging and colliding with each other, is entirely appropriate for a piece largely set in a kind of liminal space. I love the genuine surprise of the story's revelations, but just as much I appreciate that they don't feel outsized -- instead they feel beautifully knit into the play's fabric. I would love to see this play produced.

Superb, superb writing. Such a deep exploration of the aching vulnerability of teenage boys, especially this pair of them, each struggling to stay afloat as the world around them recedes at every angle. I'm incredibly happy I read this play. You will be, too.