Recommended by Steven G. Martin

This short monologue is ravishingly poetic and coolly reflective and somewhat sad and filled with awe and wonder. It is everything and a half in just a few minutes.

Sheila Cowley captures the unpredictability of life from the universal and monstrously majestic scale down to the incredibly intimate and personal. "Flicker" concludes with one of the most satisfying descriptions of the beauty of everyday life, and how that beauty is found within ourselves.

"Flicker" is a magnificent monologue that has already earned a richly diverse production history, and deserves so much more.

This full-length play is a coming-of-age tale told on an imaginative scale I've never experienced before.

I originally read Lauren Gunderson's "I and You" in American Theatre magazine. Absolutely everything works, starting with Gunderson's characters, the almost entirely opposite Anthony and Caroline. Their personal histories more than address their current-day choices, they form the very basis of the story itself.

Yes, enjoy the surprise ending, but audiences and readers will enjoy the trip to that destination as much as the destination itself. A brilliant play.

A little bit of Christmas, a little bit of violence, a whole lot of fun.

Old holiday traditions and philosophies about celebrating Christmas battle against more contemporary attitudes in Monica Cross's savage, 10-minute dark comedy. It's quite fun to see Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Santa Claus together on stage. And Cross takes a not-so-subtle jab at the commercialization of holidays.

The dialogue nicely captures the characters' personalities, costume designers will love the challenge of differentiating the characters, and the unexpected action will cause some audience members to gasp.

This is a fun, tart holiday play for theaters.

McMorran has written a tart, tangy blackout sketch: it's funny, direct, and a little bit savage.

This ten-minute dramatic fantasy is a feel-good play.

"Broke/Fix" shows that people at horrible odds with one another still can come together when someone else is desperately in need of compassion. Joan and Jessi, Gina Femia's protagonists, can't communicate with one another while focusing on their own problems. But I love that they show their humanity in the presence of someone else in need. And by doing so, there is promise in their own re-connection.

"Broke/Fix"'s fantastic story, characters, and underlying emotions would appeal to audiences and theatre makers alike.

This collection of short, 1-minute plays is stunning in its variety, depth, and insight.

Emily McClain's "Triptych on Igniting" includes smaller plays about societal/cultural upheaval, being present for a person who has undergone immense pain, and mourning the smallest details of our lives that bring meaning.

Equally varied are McClain's methods to share these stories: highly visual storytelling that includes only a little dialogue; a robust, emotionally weighty monologue; and patter amongst a large group of five characters.

"Triptych on Igniting" is about differences, which make the similarities that much richer.

The other shoe will drop. It always does, and it always surprises.

Ruben Carbajal immediately tosses the audience into a tense situation without providing clues to the era or situation. Through costume and the precise dialogue, the audience receives hints. But then the details are shared, and everything that the audience has built in their minds may very well have exploded.

"All the Kingsmen" is an excellent historic play. It would be great to produce in a festival.

The comedy is all in the juxtaposition.

Samantha Marchant's 1-minute comedy "Steam" balances farce-like levels of silent, physical comedy with probably the least helpful self-help messaging ever heard on radio. Bonus points for including Ryan Reynolds in the conversation.

A female actor with strong physical comedy skills and a good director blessed with timing will greatly enjoy working on and producing "Steam" for audiences.

This one-minute drama feels like it's more about what isn't said.

I love that Samantha Marchant has put so much pressure on Paul in "Good Boy." He's doing a tremendous amount of physical work, there is a threat of rain, Erin is questioning him, and he's lost a faithful companion. Yet at the very end, Paul can barely summon more than a sigh.

"Good Boy" is a very nice character-driven play, one than an insightful actor could put a lot into during a performance.

This monologue feels like a eulogy of an entire type of person and way of life -- hardworking, earnest, direct rural farmers who eke out a living by caring for and cultivating the land.

Plummer's "Vermont Farmer" is rich with imagery and a bit of sadness created from the realization that things change.

I especially am grateful for this monologue as it showcases people in rural areas and their lives, something I can relate to.