Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Vovos skillfully takes audiences from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again.

Doug and Ted's interaction starts with a classic comedic trope, but Vovos doesn't let it rest there. He knows that people need to interact with others in real time and space -- sometimes desperately so -- and shows it on stage.

But again, this is no one-note script as Vovos takes yet another comic turn with character-defining actions and dialogue to wrap up. This is a marvelous script.

There are rules about life, rules about love and -- as Lewis writes in this full-length play -- rules about death. But this is no didactic play, not with Lewis' imagination and verse. The rules and worlds he creates show us the value of love and life, and that death can be more than what we expect.

Hageman has crafted a wonderful script for young actors that shows understanding for its main character, Dean, but acknowledges he has done bad things. Empathy, yes. Sympathy, no. She uses the strengths inherit in theatre to tell Dean's story -- Greek chorus, compression of time, overlapping dialogue, double and triple casting. And Dean's story is nothing less than a story all of us want to hear: we have value, we deserve to be loved and understood. We can't tell Dean's future, but we see he has the strength to do good.

Malakhow has created fully dimensional characters who cannot see the good in themselves, even though it's apparent to everyone else, including the audience. His writing is honest and humane, not forcing Jason, Robbie and Jordan into fully heroic, self-confident versions of themselves. They fall and stand up for themselves, make progress and make poor decisions. Malakhow allows them to be human, even as the audience yearns for them to understand their goodness.

David Narter's dark comedy Sharpies has such a razor-keen edge, it slices the targets in its path: self-centered helicopter parents, the pressures put on very young children to stand out, and the system that encourages and rewards narcissistic sociopaths. And also, it's hilarious. Bravo to Narter for trusting the audience's intelligence and letting their imagination make the grotesque even more vivid.

Lawing's Connie Williams, Pez Slayer is a wild and weird play, filled with a mash-up of details that are perfectly in place within a fever dream. It's sexy and violent, filled with pop and political culture references, and its pacing rivals a roller coaster ride -- building slowly but after pausing at the top of the first hill, it runs rapidly through curves and loop-the-loops.

Hageman delivers a gut punch with her short play "Girl Dolls." She masterfully draws in the audience, leading them to expect an arch satire about how tech undermines face-to-face, human interaction. Then comes the shift, and Hageman briskly attacks the objectification of women, the cruelty of men, the ease of destroying personal lives. She raises questions that will last long after the performance ends.

Because of Matthew Weaver's warmth and empathy for all 3 characters, "When You Are a Little Bit Older" confidently moves beyond what could have been a cliched "sibling versus sibling" confrontation. Instead, it plays like a memory, perhaps the first in a series about any of these characters and how they grew up.

How far would you go to pass as someone you're not? What would you hide? What would you force yourself to do? Where would you draw the line? Bee Scott's one-act play Mission Creep dramatizes how the survival instinct leads Tess and Liam to disavow parts of their lives. Clearly drawn, life-or-death conflict. Nice pacing to reveal the horrifying given circumstances. No answers, just questions ... which I love.

Azure Osborne-Lee's 10-minute play The Sandbox dramatizes so many true moments in such a short time, from sibling relationships and rivalries to the sweet longings of first love to the surprising moments of connection between generations. Absolutely crystal clear with its characters through dialogue and action, Osborne-Lee has crafted a wonderful play that would be a warm, welcome addition to any festival.