Recommended by Steven G. Martin

This play hits me hard on multiple levels, and I'll long remember it. I need to watch it in performance. And when I do, I'll cry more than a little, as well as smile.

Philip Middleton Williams, through his skills at sharing details and layering emotional insights to them, has created an exquisite portrait of his father. This is a memorial that will come to life each and every time "Hey, Dad" is read or performed. It is a fitting tribute from a loving son to a father who seems as genuine, caring, and loving as one could want.

This short drama succinctly showcases a bitter truth: people can be aligned, want the same thing, but conflict can still separate them.

Mark Loewenstern dramatizes the aftermath of the shootings near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in Queens, New York. Loewenstern shows what the Muslim community wants and needs, as well as what the law can actually do. Audiences will empathize with both characters in this two-hander, which will lead to an even more emotional response to the conclusion.

Brief, balanced, yet still painful.

There is nothing more riveting than watching someone successfully do what they are good at.

Francis Boyle's short, dramatic monologue is a portrait of a person successfully doing what they do best: lead. The Chief of Surgery protagonist is decisive, empathetic, a sharp planner, a fine communicator, and tolerates no bullshit. The protagonist in "Before the Storm" truly is in command.

I watched a terrific reading of "Before the Storm" from Back Porch Theater on its Facebook page in December 2020.

I listened to a reading of "Parent / Teacher Night" on Back Porch Theater's Facebook page in February 2021.

Francis Boyle creates such crisp dialogue for the teacher protagonist in this short monologue. There's wit, there's reason, there's imagery, there's an implied command of the situation for the teacher, a character of strength back by Right.

And then comes the turn. Everything changes; the language, the emotion, and even our perceptions of the protagonist. And at the end, we understand who the teacher is speaking to and why. And it hurts to know why.

This one-act play feels like a football-field-sized mural built by hand using Dominoes.

John Busser is brilliant in working out story, plot, character, and motivation in "Time Travelers Can Apply Yesterday" to such high precision. Busser's plays always have a heightened sense of wit, but this play reaches a new dimension. Read it once to revel in its story, read it several more times to enjoy the skill that makes it feel effortless.

And I love that for as finely tuned the play is, Busser creates a climax that is absolutely groan-worthy and low and a mess. Genius payoff. Genius.

A classically funny short comedy -- the set up, the complications, the resolutions are executed with what seems so much ease.

Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend, however, puts a lot of work into making "The Early Flight" look so easy. There are subtle shifts in tone, the complications add depth to the characters (which can serve as a red herring to distract from the original conflict). Dellagiarino Feriend even creates two separate endings to satisfy a variety of production opportunities.

There's a lot of work put into this relationship comedy, and it all pays off. Read, produce, and enjoy.

Not until the final line of dialogue will an audience fully understand the dark. comic story here. And it's very satisfying to be kept in the dark.

This isn't to say Ken Preuss cheats audiences and readers with "Science Friction: The Rapid Deconstruction of a Rational Mind." It's just the opposite, as I could sense something was wrong even with light touches and references to oh-so-many science fiction stories. Preuss provides hints.

But it isn't 'til the end when everything is laid out will an audience fully understand the conflict and the resolution in this short, terrific play.

This may be the perfect comic play that shows just how much everyone is over apocalyptic events and headlines. Dark comedy done oh so well.

What I love about Greg Lam's "This Year" is the characters' tone. World weariness and apathy are hilarious points of view to take in what really is a horrific situation. With everything else piled on, what more can we ask from our protagonists beside a tired sigh?

Credit Greg Lam's excellent dialogue. Audiences are going to laugh out loud with glee as the characters roll their eyes, groan with annoyance, and shrug throughout.

This 10-minute drama isn't a play that an audience member is going to enjoy, but it will leave a huge impact.

Jared Eberlein's "Click! (A Travel Motif)" is painful because its use of repetition -- dialogue, action, sound effects, results -- left me feeing that nothing has changed or will change. But change must happen.

This is not an easy play, nor is it fun. But it's powerful and necessary. May its production history ever grow.

A hugely entertaining short comedy based on misunderstandings and wildlife ferocity.

The fun begins immediately as audiences will gladly accept the titular iguana protagonist in this play and all his actions and misadventures. And Liz Dooley provides plenty of them.

It is off-the-wall, over-the-top, out-of-left-field, shoot-for-the-moon hilarity. Actors and directors who embrace those qualities of "This Play Has an Iguana for a Protagonist" will be richly rewarded by appreciative audiences.