Recommended by Steven G. Martin

I had the pleasure of attending a staged reading of "Second Death of a Mad Wife" May 14, 2019, at Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette in Lafayette, Indiana.

The script showcases McBurnette-Andronicos' exceptional skills at world building through her research into historic personalities and events; establishing a claustrophobic, uneasy atmosphere; and creating a character-driven mystery that doesn't offer pat answers. I look forward to attending a full production of this play -- it offers a complicated and satisfying night of theatre.

This drama about a family caught in the midst of the opioid addiction epidemic pulses with theatricality -- multiple overlapping narratives, time jumps, direct address, non-fiction reportage, situational and character irony, the use of movement -- that culminates with a harrowing image of people left agonizing with doubt, guilt, grief, anger, questions, and pain.

There are no pat solutions, only more questions, which makes Goldman-Sherman's play more harrowing and nearly unbearable. Unforgettable theatre.

This wonderful short play sets three characters who desperately need one another on a collision course. "Angel of Hope" is a play about the journey -- an audience may guess what the ending will be, but they also will feel compelled by the actresses playing Clarissa, Teebo, and Hope to find out how the ending comes about.

Tanuja Devi Jagernauth treats audiences and actresses alike to eye-bulging theatricality with her short play "Skin." There's gallows humor a-plenty mixed with a strong dose of fight choreography and symbolism. Yet the family's power dynamic, the foundation for Jagernauth's marvelous action & characters, makes it wholly relatable for audiences.

I've seen this performed several times to the delight of audiences. There's lots of humor based on the situation and characters, and the murder has several suspects and motives thrown together. Fast moving, fun, with an unexpected twist at the end.

Carbajal immediately sets up the world, the conflict and the rules of how the play will run -- all of which the audience recognizes and accepts within seconds -- he quickly provides insights into character, and he follows through a strong beginning and middle with the inevitable end. This one-minute play excels at everything that makes theatre exceptional.

People memorialized after horrific incidents are more than just a name and photo. Carnes' stark, two-minute docudrama is a reminder that lists of victims' names include neighbors, parents, lovers, siblings, children, friends, and others whom people cared about.

Among the strengths of Donnelly's sort play "Go Knights!" is the honest characterization of a person who doesn't respond well to disappointment, who lashes out at loved ones, who suggests unforgivable things, and whose go-to setting in an emotional crisis is selfishness. They can't all be heroes, and Julie Van Beek's responses are human.

Credit, too, to Donnelly for using action -- selecting music & dancing to it, specifically -- to further define character and bring the crisis to a (momentary?) resolution.

Among other strengths, Sickles' short play "Outpost" is terrific at telling a story through scope. The story begins at the deepest and widest of perspectives -- on the fringes of the Milky Way galaxy -- and then re-focuses to tell a very intimate story.

This one-act is both funny and sweetly romantic. Credit Moran for grounding the action, characters, and dialogue in a basic truth: We don't often get the truth when relationships fail, even if we really want to know why.