Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Ryan Bultrowicz presents Absurdity as Nightmare in this dark one-act comedy. A mundane scenario -- an onion is discovered on a kitchen table -- spins into the macabre as three roommates "what if" themselves into believing the onion has a malevolent personality and an agenda. Kudos to Bultrowicz for pushing the action and stakes from real to spooky, and, finally, for not explaining away the mystery.

Finley's 11:50 is bittersweet, romantic, ironic, theatrical and leaves audiences with more questions than answers about the characters and their relationships. A well-constructed, emotional script.

Selfish, illicit lovers. Ice-cold bon mots. Murder plots even Rube Goldberg would find labyrinthine. Vocabulary that rises to dizzying heights of sophistication. A 4-year-old boy played by a life-sized doll. And a bunch of bananas. Finley's short farcical mystery/suspense script offers so many gifts for audiences and performers alike.

This comedic short script nicely tweaks the drama that comes when relationships turn more serious, and expectations of absolute honesty are made. Kirk Shimano plays up some of the silliness -- an X-ray makes for a funny and unusual prop and plot point -- but he also understands that such honesty can be painful. We feel for Paul regarding his past relationships, and we hope Billy makes good on his claims. Well-written, especially the ending action and reaction.

Alex and Trip, two men in their 20's and 30's, show genuine camaraderie and affection for one another in Blaisdell's Act with 14 Words. She skillfully shows that these are intimate, private moments that both men enjoy -- their actions are that well defined.

But with fourteen words, Blaisdell turns everything on its head, and the audience realizes we didn't know what we we thought we did. Questions abound and concerns arise for these men and their relationship. Well done.

What isn't said is what matters in Nina Ki's short drama I Love You. Dad can't bring himself to say "I love you" to Charles, his son, but Ki's writing provides hints that there is a lot more that Dad is unable to say. How much has the cycle of "Be a man, be tough, don't let your feelings show" damaged the males in that family tree, and how much has Dad lost? But Ki provides a final straw of hope for Charles. Emotional, restrained and heartbreaking.

For all the well-deserved praise Latham has received for her dialogue in 2 B or Nah: Sexting Hamlet -- and it is very well-deserved -- the highlight of this short, comedic play for me is Ophelia and Gertrude taking the lead in their own lives and moving on from Hamlet and Claudius. This script is hilarious, yes, but it also casts a gaze at empowerment. As Claudius might say, "Yass, Queen!"

Nina Ki's Broken English is an emotional short play about barriers disrupting and endangering empathy. Kyle and his mother face barriers of culture, family legacy and expectations, the generation gap, the need for independence, and expressions of sexuality. But Ki also shows how language can create an equally hazardous barrier, not only between the characters but the characters and the audience. Audience members who understand Korean might have a stronger sense of understanding and empathy for Mother, who speaks Korean almost exclusively, perhaps even more than Kyle feels, who speaks English almost exclusively.

Credit Jean Koppen for taking a real-life situation with negative implications -- the false alert about a missile set to hit Hawai'i in January 2018 -- and using it to shine a thoughtful, romantic light on marriage. Anna and Jack complement one another so completely, even in the face of looming disaster and a huge lifestyle change. The Aloha Life would be a sweet, heartfelt entry for any festival.

Fardon's 1=0 relies on an audience's perspective for its meaning. To paraphrase a character, "If you assume that something untrue is true, it expands what's possible." Depending on whom you believe in the story -- and a lot of what the audience sees and hears are reactions to revelations, not the revelations themselves -- Russell can be a refugee or a grifter, Molly can be a friend or a manipulator. Or, like the subatomic particles studied by Celeste, the protagonist, all the characters have the potential to be all of these at once. A wonderfully written play.