Recommended by Scott Sickles

I admit I feel more than a little guilty for this. Not just this play. But the playwright writing all 38 prompts in our collective's latest group endeavor as I am indeed one of several folks who made frequent reference to Mr. Soucy's "rep" as it were. Of course, had we all stayed silent, this likely would have happened anyway. Fortunately, this forgiving 4-pager it's a perfect capper to the exercise, managing to be humbly self celebratory. No small feat. Viva Soucy!

This very silly short piece contains thematic multitudes about masculinity, bloodlust, and desire - to name but a few! A hilarious and sublimely modernized take on gunslingers, gunfights, and the lawlessness of the Wild West, with great characters syncopated comedy and perfect time. Plus brunch food! Delightful!

OUT THERE slithers forth in a marriage of specificity and universality in a ceremony of moral pragmatism. From the get go, it is a masterpiece of tone, in both setting and circumstance. Even on the barest black box, it will live in the memory as a portrait of opulence. The discourse flows in absurdist rhythms and repetitions. The world needs Reds advising people like Gold. Read it again with different genders in each role. It's a great song no matter how you play it.

There's a joke in theater: a play on a park bench must be about "life with a capital L!" The best of these are indeed about "Life" but look like they're about "life." The small things abound before adding up. Blanks remain unfilled until the picture becomes vivid, not in spite of the empty spaces but because of them. Weibezahl weaves a tapestry where what we don't know is made more powerful by what's missing in Margaret's very lowercase life. The result is anything but Unremarkable.

A highly ending female-driven chamber noir, like a ten-minute SLEUTH for two women! It's a whirlwind of a trope-fest with every genre beat in the perfect place. There's deception! There's gamesmanship! There's alcohol! (and perhaps other toxins…) Best of all, it's a great vehicle for two actresses to go head to head!

The greatest gift you can give to yourself is to help others. Of course, sometimes in helping others you're taking a serious karmic risk. For the protagonist of this monologue, those consequences will have to come later. For the time being, there is much joy! Joy and finding one's purpose. Joy in bringing others' comeuppances. The joy and knowing that something you did made at least one other person happy. Joy! Joy! Joy! This is a fun one to read aloud. May it spark joy in you as well!

Yes, some things aren't funny anymore and, yes, some of them weren't actually funny to begin with. I've been on both sides of this discussion. And sometimes it's hard to accept creative expression in terms of the era where it originated. This play is a prime example of why it's important to at least try. It leads to more enjoyment and understanding, and hopefully less whining.

A beautiful snapshot of a person made fragile after their greatest hopes fell out of the sky and burned up before they hit the ground. (Metaphor, not a spoiler.) In these moments, the shock of what just happened meets the challenge of maintaining composure until you reach the safety of the person you can fall apart in front of. And Cern achieves this in a one-sided phone call where the speaker never repeats what the person on the other end said! Bonus points for that! A remarkable mini monodrama!

In the BusserVerse this is what qualifies as, well, Busser Verse. Is it a poem? Not formatted like this it's not! But don't let the deceptively small page count fool you! This piece is EPIC! The story zips along as delectable turns of phrase leapfrog the most giorious homespun proper nouns you've ever heard. The attention to detail is stunning and the vernacular is as colorful as it is at times appalling. (Much like the author himself!) The linguistic equivalent of Dueling Banjos, its song must be heard to be believed.

Sex work is dangerous work. Sometimes those who pay for physical intimacy have great emotional vulnerability. And that vulnerability can manifest in ways that take all parties by surprise. In this taut ten minutes, Love gives us a slow building avalanche of tension. No judgment is cast on the escort; Love treats her like the professional she is. The client however – I'll just say it's a great role for actors who specialize in vulnerability and volatility. You'll be on the edge of your seat even after the curtain falls.