Recommended by Steven G. Martin

I love Christopher Soucy's short monologue "Uncivil Suit" because the lawyer character is defiant, angry and willing to tie the threads between government and industry and quality of life -- or lack thereof -- before attempting to tear down all those threads. I'd enjoy seeing a performance of this monologue.

John Busser's reminds us that kindness, understanding and grace are needed especially in emotionally heightened times. That he shows that so clearly yet also layers good-natured ribbing and and teasing between siblings on top of it shows his skills. "Waiting on Mom, Who Already Left" is terrific.

One reason I love "Between Dollywood and Disney" is that Robin Rice provides an example of people not giving in to their struggles, of people who find solutions. I also love the depth of details in Susie's and Stan's shared life, the timelessness of the themes of love and memory (and loss). It's really wonderful.

This monologue is an electric jolt because of its tone and content.

An actor and director will discover so many layers to the story behind "How to Boil an Egg." That's because of Greg Hovanesian's writing skills -- what is told, when it is told, how much is told, how it is told, and who is doing the telling.

Audiences and readers will plead to know more about the given situations, but Hovanesian provides enough to fill in the necessary blanks for this one-minute piece.

Shannon Murdoch's plays focus on characters about whom society so blithely, cruelly, patronizingly says, "There but for the grace of God go I." But in her plays, including "Your Terrible Beautiful Heart," Murdoch treats her characters as people, not cautionary tales.

We feel Christopher's despair as option after option is closed to him. We understand Gabrielle's anger and resentment as she is treated as less than human. We can sense the sibling love between the two. Murdoch's empathy for her characters strengthens our own.

Are there flaws to the death penalty and execution by lethal injection? How does it affect journalists who are required by law to serve as witnesses and extensions of society?

Eric Mansfield has written an excellent "issue" play with "Witnesses for the Execution." There are well-defined characters, excellent dialogue, philosophical points of view. The location and time of this play are also excellent, too, not pandering for cheap theatrical thrills.

I hope this play receives more productions.

Stomach-churning. Gleefully madcap. Onyx-dark. Unique.

This play could easily be titled "Sociopaths in Love." Daniel Prillaman has taken the seeds of romantic comedy and planted them in the acidic dangerous soil of the horror/torture genre. Both sides of this cross-breeding experiment are amply played out, but with the added bonus of being genuinely, horrifyingly funny.

As with so many of Sheila Cowley's excellent short plays, audiences are going to have to lean forward and listen well and look hard in a performance of "Timing": the rich emotions are underplayed by the characters, the subject comes through subtext, the characters are constrained for a variety of reasons.

"Timing" is bittersweet and partially hidden away, a gem of a short play that must be paid attention to fervently. But it is so rich and ironic and full of life that it's well worth the effort.

Lucy Wang is my pen pal. She encapsulates in such a short amount of dialogue the joys of not only writing but also receiving a single letter from a friend.

"A Letter is a Smile is a Laugh" takes on huge subjects -- communication, connection -- in a tasty morsel of a monologue that would be a gift to any performer.

Sheila Cowley continues to be one of my favorite playwrights, period, a playwright whom I think emotion means more than even plot or character. Emotions and the given world, i.e., often in nature.

"Tidal Pulls" fits right into that type of work, emoting such a strong feelings of wonder and connection, of generous and welcoming perspective. This short play engages feelings for the broader world and its inhabitants that Lee describes.