Recommended by Steven G. Martin

This one-act play for young audiences has a lesson within it, but Daniel Prillaman has loaded the action with a lot of fun and funny moments so that it's as entertaining as it is instructive.

Spoofing Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and the accompanying plot would be plenty enough to make this play enjoyable, but then there's a jolly pirate character who is unapologetically nice, narrators who break the fourth wall, and cows and dragons, and so much more.

Imaginative, silly, and full of joy. Prillaman's "A Pirate's Carol" will please young audiences and actors alike.

This short adventure delivers exactly what its title promises: it's an excellent origin story of a super-powered heroine.

I enjoyed the premiere of "Origin Story" during Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette's 10-minute play festival. Kyle Borcz has created strong characters and twists, and this play is a lot of fun for audiences.

I'm glad "Origin Story" already has developed a solid production history. I hope it receives more productions in the future, and I hope Borcz will tell us more of Bradley Wald's story.

Hayley St. James sets their sights on several subjects in this short, satirical comedy: celebrity influencers, faddish pop culture movements, and those who profit by manipulating the previous two. And as St. James usually does, they hit all three targets with bull's-eyes.

It feels someone is always conning someone else in every moment of "Glass of Water." And I love that none will be able to admit to being conned for fear of being discovered and made fun of. It's a wonderful trap they're all caught in.

You can count on two things in John Busser's short comedies. First, they always will have a funny concept at their core. Second, they aren't just about funny concepts; Busser delivers on plot, character, dialogue, and action to make each of his plays memorable and fun for audiences and performers alike.

"Dr. Wu Has Been Eliminated" is another fine entry into Busser's catalog. The mashup of workplace comedy and international evil villain is terrific. And then comes the details in the dialogue that set up the world and action ... it's a rich, fun comedy that'll make audiences guffaw.

I love that Greg Lam doesn't focus on the miraculous event itself in this 10-minute comedy, but how it affects the people who experience it -- the emotions are deep, varied, and constant in "When Jesus Drops By For Tea."

Lam also has created a wonderful character study. First, the men are perfect foils for one another, and it would be enjoyable to act either role. Also, Lam generously shows how some people have a complicated relationship with religion, even when it's positive.

I hope "When Jesus Drops By For Tea" will have a long, robust production history.

The tension between the characters in this 10-minute drama starts from the first line and never lets up. It evolves during the course of the play, but the tension never declines, and an audience will feel it.

I also love that the tension isn't just tossed aside by the characters, either. It affects Joe, the 19-year-old protagonist, whom the audience learns isn't doing well even before Josh's antagonism. The emotional catharsis of Joe's revelation is earned.

I'm glad Paul Smith's "A Break" already has seen a strong, varied production history. Here's hoping it only grows more robust.

Very dark, very funny, and very self-aware of its literary backbone.

I love how Seanan Palmero Waugh builds the tension and retreats from the tension, only to build and retreat again and again. There's true atmospheric terror being created here especially due to the protagonist's isolation, and then it's undercut by the dullest of observations by the protagonist. "Lenore Once More" is funny and frightening, and it ends with a literary gag that'll have audiences chortling.

I have no idea how an actor wouldn't want to perform this monologue. Waugh provides so much rich variety of content and tone.

A sparse play, a visually stunning play.

Lila Perlman creates an absolutely otherworldly setting for the short horror play "Within Their Range," and it affects an audience emotionally. There is immediate tension created, and it only builds as the characters talk about what they should or shouldn't do. And, even better, Perlman believes in an audience's ability to create the horrors of the climax in their mind.

"Within Their Range" will excite actors, directors, designers, and audiences.

The emotions in this short play about two gay teenagers goes from "Ow!" to "Oh."

It's quite the journey Scott Sickles takes Beauregard and Zeke, not only in the entire series of short plays but in "Miss Coco Peru Does Not Lie!" specifically. There are new explorations -- both physical and emotional -- in these moments on stage.

Actors, directors, and others will remember what relationship milestones were part of which of Sickles' fine plays. They are that important to the characters and the plot. And I look forward to future milestones in the series.

The American Dream is rife for satire when it come to home ownership, financial inequality, healthcare coverage and more. I love that Mark Loewenstern takes on food production and insecurity in this surprising short monologue.

Everything from its setting to its tone makes "The Plate" that much richer. It explores scarcity, nutrition, the overreliance on meat, and other subtle, complex issues related to food.

This is a smart monologue that'll rattle people into feeling more than a bit uncomfortable. Bravo, Loewenstern.