Recommended by Steven G. Martin

This is a very well-plotted short play.

Ryan Kaminski creates tension from the opening action, builds it through introducing a new character and expands it through backstory and world building. But the marvel of this play is the back-to-back reveals that change the power dynamic between Vivian Howard and Arthur Nelligan. And every moment of it is beautifully set up from the beginning of the script.

"The Deal" is very well written and very worthy of its robust and diverse production history.

I love that Sunita, the protagonist in this short play, ultimately stands up to the blasé, yet blatant and constant belittling of The Man With The Power. It feels like a victory for her, and I'm certain audiences will feel the same. "Civics" takes aim at power, America, and uncivil methods trying to belittle and minimize others.

This short play's easygoing, affable charm is the direct result of Miranda Jonte's skill at creating appealing characters. Her protagonists have a decidedly doggy point of view, blended with a flair for superhero melodrama. "Captain Flash & Major Bang" is a lovely, self-contained series of vignettes that audiences will adore.

Baughman's "Truth Juice" is a fun concoction of rhyming verse and mother-son dynamics. It's jaunty one-minute play with an unexpected ending.

Miller's "Fireflies" is a beautiful, image-laden reflection on nostalgia: idyllic memories of first loves and infatuations and, I think even more broadly, childhood. This is a succinct reminder that things change.

Daniel Prillaman knows how to get audiences to react: put characters through the ringer by creating the strangest circumstances imaginable, like a rehearsal date with far too much spaghetti and a gloriously over-the-top raccoon with an Eastern European accent.

"Lady and the Raccoon" is a joyously silly and messy addition to the Terrence & Ling-Ling Adventures series. Trashy Carl's brash, loud voice boldly shoots through this world, but it's a wonderful complement to Terrence's timidity and Ling-Ling's/Candace's sweet awe of the world.

Situation, characters, physical humor, gross-out humor, and genuinely sweet setup make "Lady and the Raccoon" a comic winner.

I love the friction created when characters do one thing, but speak about something entirely different. Shelley McPherson does a beautiful job of this in this ten-minute comedy.

Also: the immediacy of this moment is clear, but the characters' backstory is not. McPherson has created more friction with this. I think "Who Do You Love?" would be a crowd pleaser when produced.

Emily McClain has written a jarring play. From the opening image of a goat smoking a cigarette to the final twist where the tables have officially turned, the audience is going on a twisted, dark journey with implications about factory farming, being complicit in evil practices, and downfall caused by hubris. I love it.

There is much to love in this one-act script: the strong, distinctive characters and their voices; the tonal shifts from light-hearted to serious to the (bittersweet?) ending; the sections of beautiful contrapuntal dialogue; the conflicts and the stakes; the actions and choices the characters make; the theatricality. All of it comes from Jillian Blevins' skill, imagination, and empathy.

It's clear Blevins has conducted a lot of research, but more impressive to me is the emotional core developed for each character. "The Eighteenth Quinquennial Endlings Picnic" should receive many productions, and would be well-loved and -remembered by audiences and actors.

Magnificent beast, God-like, trapped in the most banal existence imaginable. Christopher Soucy captures a dangerous, muscular, tensed rage in "They Call Me Tony" that is terrible but also enthralling. But it isn't just anger at the top of the lungs, muscles tensed, either. There's also a resigned anger, a pitiful anger toward the end of this brief monologue. It's a nice journey.