Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Bohannon has written a tone-perfect dark comedy. These characters are the personification of selfishness and shallowness, and the setting (with all of its implied jollity and goodwill) is perfect for the action.

Vance has written a short play that is rich with a combination of life-and-death consequences, gallows humor, earnest friendship, and contemporary issues centering on healthcare and family. The story and theme are as human as they come: Is there a limit to what friends do for one another, even if it endangers them?

In this monologue, Weaver creates a compelling character an audience can empathize with and understand -- her history and her circumstances are nicely laid out. Even better, Weaver grants the protagonist with conflicting emotions: anger, yes, but also a wish to be heard and understood by God. She is not easy to define, which makes her all the more human.

McGough's emotion-filled short play unfurls its way from sadness and grief to a bittersweet recognition. Black and Navy may not be a perfect match, but there's something positive to be said about being together.

Bultrowicz presents Absurdity as relationship & revenge drama with a comic overlay. That's what you get when the role of the antagonistic, selfish, two-timing lover is a loaf of sourdough. Or maybe pumpernickel. Or a baguette -- the casting options are broad. Credit to Bultrowicz for writing to the reality of the situation as Carol and Sophie are suitably surprised, offended, enraged, and -- ultimately -- revenged. Even more credit to the playwright for the concept. This would be fun to direct, to act, or to watch.

Kaplan's script is laugh-out-loud funny. The plot, characters and dialogue all lend to its joyous lunacy: a combination of "Let's put on a show" pluckiness, after-school special melodrama, "The Mystery of Irma Vep" theatricality, and insight into what makes drama students, their parents and teachers oh so special.

O'Grady's wonderful character in "Invisible" is a three-year-old dog named Scout, endowed with a lot of energy and playfulness. But Scout also has been subjected to the world of the unknown, pain and danger, and being careful. The world of learning, of giving in to fear.

The irony is that the audience knows what Scout is wary of, but maybe this deceptive (in the best way) play leads them to question the unknown fears that stifle their own lives.

Dias compares and contrasts the difficulties of the Syrian civil war in Return to Aleppo: the blood-pulsing chaos of leaving home at a moment's notice, the numbing bureaucracy of waiting months or longer for a new home. Dias's visual and poetic interludes between these scenes also are evocative, further revealing the emotional state of Hasti, the protagonist, who is dependent upon others for survival.

Burbano's short play examines what it means to be in power as opposed to being empowered. It is a terrific fictional character study about the private life of one of the most recognized women in the world. Burbano trusts the audience to come to its own conclusions about the characters and their motivations.

Lawing's dry comedy centers on a couple that operates on the co-dependent side of the interpersonal relationship scale. Lawing's dry sense of humor shows the two men dressed the same -- even down to their skivvies -- until a crisis forces them to look at, and accept, one another as individuals. They're foolish, they're in love, they're a unique type of same-sex couple.