Recommended by Philip Middleton Williams

This short play offers a philosophical discussion about life and being that is worthy of any graduate seminar in psychology or philosophy and done with the common sense touch that has the reader believing that menu items can not only think but reflect on the meaning of life that would make Rene Descartes pause mid-bite. This is one of the most common-sense pieces of absurdism to come along since Krapp pondered his spools.

I have been to Swamp City. My car broke down and it was towed to a place very much like Johnny's Garage, and I met people who populate this world. Douglas Gearhart has the eyes and ears to bring them to life in this short play and make them as real as that early Sunday morning while I waited for the mechanic to show up. Gearhart's style of spare but powerful dialogue and character depiction makes every word and beat worth hearing or waiting for.

I never knew anything about D&D except what I've seen on "The Big Bang Theory." But Sean Gref's one-act not only made it clear to me how it works, but how it can empower the role-playing and bring out the truth behind the gamers' hopes, dreams, and secrets. The game takes on reality and reality becomes bearable for all of the characters, and what starts out as a board game becomes three-dimensional life and all that comes with it.

Light and darkness and projections play an integral part in this play, and not just from a theatrical design sense. The carefully crafted story of Martin and Bianca, who each have their reasons for hiding from their past and reluctant to explore the future, is told in a way that builds suspense to a Hitchcockian level but without the overwrought tension. The sense of danger is always present but never horrifying and that makes it all the better. It's theatre-noir.

Ghosts get a bad rap. They're literally the bogeymen/women of horror stories and Halloween, but when you think about them as individuals, they are memories of loved ones, and their spirits are literally alive within us. In this loving and often humorous tale of Benjamin and his recollections of the past, he learns much about himself and the loved one who teaches him. The message here seems to be that ghosts are always with us, and they're welcome to share a shabbat.

We are told from the moment we can see ourselves in the mirror that our body image is important; we make life-changing decisions based on our own self-imagery. But in this sharp and funny short piece, Jillian Blevins gets it right on the nose. Lest you think that this syndrome applies only to one body part, trust me when I tell you that there are plenty of men who wouldn’t mind doing a little adjusting, if you get my bris. Oy!

Having been present at the time the original Star Trek was born -- I saw the premiere episode -- and seen every iteration of the franchise since, this belongs in the canon. Mike Byham has crafted a very funny and oh-so-real story of the consequences of James T. Kirk galloping around the galaxy, and the punchline is right on the nose. This play should live long and prosper.

The beauty of radio drama is that we each get to create the images of the characters, the settings, and read the thoughts that pass through the mind of the characters, blending them with our own. Sam Heyman's piece does that all, giving us opportunity to create our own universe. As I read it, all the senses were heightened, and his narrator's voice and the image he created are very clear. I wish there was a way to read it with my eyes closed and see it come to life. Hey, that's radio.

Despite the fact that my ancestry is a mix of Welsh and Plantagenet, I binged every episode of "The Crown," loved Helen Mirren as "The Queen," and have "The King's Speech" on DVD. So I was delighted to take another peek behind the royal curtain and see what the royals were really thinking on VE Day in May 1945. More importantly, how Winston Churchill really felt about winning the war. Christopher Plumridge's play gives us a look at these all-too-human characters and wins us over. Bravo!

I am all too familiar with Greek mythology, having suffered through it in high school and the dry retellings at the hands of serious scholars. So thank you, thank you, John Bavoso for liberating both Prometheus and the rest of us from the dreary tales that explained humanity's plight and gave it not just a modern twist to 21st Century realities and human/avian/demigod feelings and their foibles. Mythology needs humor, and this stuff has us rolling in the aisles.