Recommended by Steven G. Martin

I love plays in which the central conflict is the protagonist versus herself. Pamela Morgan has crafted an uplifting, theatrical short play that provides exactly that tension. And best of all, the audience knows Meg's life is going to changed forever because of the impact of the interaction in "Mirror, Mirror, Mirror."

Kudos to Pamela Morgan on writing this fun, uplifting short play!

An Egyptologist with a midlife crisis walks into a bar ...

Give Tom Moran a lot more credit -- this 10-minute play is not just a joke: He cares too much about his characters, including Ted, to turn them into a punchline. The comedy plays beautifully in "You Damn Well Can Take It With You," but there's so much more, including Louise's firm hand in guiding Ted back to a calmer state of mind. For all the talks about the underworld and deities in this play, its winning ingredient is the humanity shown.

And yes, it's very funny.

"Cabana Boy" dramatizes bittersweet, heartbreaking personal growth catalyzed by very unusual circumstances. I felt strongly for Mitch and Alex, but understood Miriam's desire for practicality and protection. Audiences will enjoy these strongly drawn, fully dimensional characters whose desires and agendas that are often at odds with one another. And the sunny and playful setting provides a nice juxtaposition to the heavy personal growth in this play. I'd love to see a production.

In "A Tragedy of Owls," John Mabey shows courage is shown both in grand actions and simple, yet paradoxically difficult, personal ones. This is an excellent historic play -- focusing less on events and more about their impact on people's lives.

Viciously funny, with twists. Also, a love letter to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" rather than a mockery or indictment. This 10-minute play by Paul Donnelly is one of his best.

One of the darkest comedies and most satirical satires I've read. The cringe factor is at a high level almost immediately in this one-minute play, but John Weagly doesn't let up even as an audience will want desperately to get away from Edith and Walter and their dark joy.

Well, that's one way to address sibling rivalry: murderous intent.

Lee R. Lawing has written a jet-black comedy that uses the classic Three Little Pigs story to showcase annoyances, character conflict, and figurative backstabbing on a grand scale. It's a shock and a laugh in less than a minute.

You will care about a refrigerator. Jennifer O'Grady's skill at characterization, dialogue, and humanity will make audiences CARE ABOUT A REFRIGERATOR. Terrific play.

The story is romantic and the spectacle is a perfect visual metaphor: breathtaking, direct, buoyant. Rebecca Kane's "Just Like Falling" is just lovely.

I love Bethany Dickens Assaf's "Angel" for several reasons. It takes a deep, nuanced dive into its plot and themes -- there are many layers being navigated from the initial setup to the metatheatrical climax. It's a very thoughtful, intelligent script with a passionate point of view, but it's not until the final line and action that everything falls into place. And it will be very satisfying to audiences when that happens. "Angel" is terrific and it deserves a robust production history.