Recommended by Charles Scott Jones

Long twisty title that fits this sci-fi comedy perfectly : RESEARCH SUBJECTS OR THAT CREEPY GUY TAPING ME IN MY SLEEP. I like how well Erin Moughon establishes the illusion of camaraderie between Adina and Debbie and then like a magician makes it disappear. Jonathan’s first entrances are hilarious. Debbie’s “what if” speech about the Shadow Space is such a cool threat. And flighty Adina is a delight throughout.

This Donald E. Baker piece has special meaning to me because I had a childhood friend named Dick who was a junior, and when I called him on the phone his mother would answer and ask: “Big Dick or Little Dick?” And I would reply, giggling to myself, “Little.” My friend's mom reminds me of Gina in THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT, a very Frank play about Dick. Big fun. The tone is just right.

I was drawn to ONE MORE HOT GARBAGE SUNRISE by the provocative and poetic title! And Aly Kantor does not disappoint in this very unusual sci-fi short play, that is more about character than plot. Two sisters Lynn and Wiley say what they need to say, in what will probably be the last time they see each other. I like it that Wiley lives in a “outpost in the upper-atmo” of Venus (not on the 900 degree surface). Her description of a Venus sunrise makes this piece soar and I love how it contrasts with what we get here.

I went from thinking THE BABY is a foundling as in Fielding’s Tom Jones, to then being creeped out as if by Shirley Jackson. And I think it’s wonderfully indicative how detached Anna is that she calls 911 to report the mysterious sound of a baby crying - without investigating herself. That is as disturbing (because it’s probably true to what many of us would do) as what she would find upstairs. Wonderful suspense and a satisfying ending. Terrific entry by Jennifer O'Grady into the subgenre of baby horror.

I’ve been reading ominous “baby” stories and came to Sam Heyman’s HEY BABE not knowing what I was getting into. It’s very well-paced and I admire the ambiguity between hypnosis and hypnotic, as Marcus deploys a skillset that infantilizes. There’s a very nice touch of his correcting Pete’s pronunciation of a word by saying it the same way. I like the opening lines as the setup for this terrific horror piece. An unexpected entry in my private subgenre of baby horror. The ending is chilling and would be unnerving to see on stage.

EYES OF PURIST GOLD is mesmerizing. I admire how it seems to play by its own irrefutable logic, how Monica Cross achieves an atmosphere of surprise and inevitability, erudition and pathos. And I love that she creates a kind of expansiveness that embraces history both large and small, shallow and deep. And there's the adroit handling of the Midas theme. The students with cool words, the dreamlike layers. I never knew where this was going while I was thrilling to it the whole time. Wonderful work.

The idea of an interactive torture museum is inspired and I laughed all the way through AND TRY NOT TO ENJOY YOUR STAY. But what I found just as exciting as the spoken words from Laura the tour guide is the Note from the author at the top for the non-speaking roles of Sandy and Pat. I tried to visualize how a performance would come off with Sandy and Pat pantomiming the visual aspects of Laura’s speech, as John puts it, demonstrating like a flight attendant during the airline safety speech. This would have me rolling in the aisles.

So many hilarious bits in John Busser’s horror spoof. The choice of Mr. Spinoza for the substitute creature’s name feels perfect. (If memory serves Spinoza wrote a heretical book on the Bible.) MR. SPINOZA, SUBSTITUTE CREATURE draws brilliantly from two sources - it’s a farce mongrel descended from monster flicks and sub-teacher dramas. There’s rustic, “armed” villagers making monster-history small talk. A sub-teacher/ creature losing control. My father was a teacher and I love classic horror flicks, so this play is extra funny to me.

Good creepy, funny creepy, sibling-affection creepy. It’s all there in THE VAMPIRE’S SIS. A brilliant and fantastical exploration of how a person or two persons can get used to anything. A perfect short short to chill your blood for Halloween.

In recent times I imagine so many couples have gone through what A and B do in NEWS AVOIDANCE. How did some of us, the A’s of the world, become so addicted to news circulating one rotten individual? It’s like a super slow-motion fight or car crash nobody can look away from. Unless you’re like B. Adam Richter offers the view from the mountain, the insight most of us can use right about now.