Recommended by Scott Sickles

The thing about leaving anywhere is you have feelings for what you left behind: people and things, circumstances and situations, love and hate. Plumridge captures a crucial moment between liberation and imprisonment, both physical and emotional. Which has the greater risk is impossible to know, even after you choose. An evocative, emotional monologue. Ideally performed in absolute darkness.

There's a lot to unpack here. (Once you read it, you'll see what I did there.) An offer is made, possibilities open, steps are taken, and the choice between staying and going has larger and larger implications.

Jonte provides a concise, surgical examination of a relationship. Using the influence of social media as a catalyst, she reveals a stifling interdependence between someone who needs on their own terms and another who has never acted on their own desires. Not to mention the daddy issues which provide a surprisingly healthy map toward salvation.

The last line is perfection.

Someone even more minimalist that Beckett's PLAY, US shows us the evolution of a polycule from suggestion to realization. Using only 30 separate words (not 30 words total), Cole's dialogue transcends wordplay and fills the ample white space with love, hope, fear, and joy.

NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING!!!

And I'll do my best not to even hint at what happens. All I'll say it's that Gary is the hero we need, the hero I wish I could be, MY f-ing hero!

Once again, Wydham shows no mercy to those who refuse dignity to others nor does he make a mockery of his villains. We see them as they really are, a danger to the kingdom, to its children, to knowledge and decency, and to unicorn spirits everywhere!

ONWARD, MY LEIGE!!!

I've never regretted deleting my "dating" apps and this monologue reinforces that very wise decision.

There's more to this character that what their words convey, which is a brutal combination of unshakable entitlement and bottomless (as it were) need. Underneath it all Isa driving loneliness. Infiltrating the pathetic braggadocio is a history of a man who used to have potential and now needs to be cradled like a baby in a giant swing. Which, hey, why not and good for him!

But there's a better way to get what you want.

Here's hoping he finds it.

There's an elegant paradox to THE DATING POOL. When the older you gets a chance to warn the younger yous about the romantic mishaps, disappointments, and disasters of the past they must first have endured them so obtain the wisdom for the warning. Hence the inevitability of the mistakes of youth. After all, the young rarely heed their elders even when its their elder selves.

Rose presents a rich retrospective on a lifetime of romance examining naivety, exploration, optimism, and autonomy. Five fun and funny roles for women over a wide range of ages.

Watch, listen, and learn!

Beautifully intimate and exquisitely detailed. Millions upon millions of people have had the experience of being a caregiver to a loved one with dementia. Floyd-Priskorn shows us what makes Chip's struggle unique to him. These are HIS feelings about losing HIS parent. That specificity, both in the history and the emotionality, gives this piece a profound power.

As the son of a paranoiac, it was always frustrating when my dad was right about being persecuted. It was one thing when he blamed the neighbors for breaking into the house and hiding his checkbook or blaming the dog for intentionlly pooping where he would walk. But sometimes, it seemed rules and policies existed that excluded only him. For real! It was a literal curse.

So I see where David is coming from. Poor guy. Sometimes a dose of reality can help. Sometimes…

Enjoy!

Much like dipping a Reese’s Mini Cup into chocolate fondue, BEATRICE is a perfectly delicious hybrid of something that is mass produced and something that is lovingly homemade. The way Mandryk takes the familiar, from circumtances and backstory to individual lines you could say before the character does, then turns it all on its fleshy fleshy head… marvelous! Perfect for Halloween festivals but really ANY festival!

As someone with a legit beef against the Salvation Army which has its own deeply dark side, I reveled in this razor sharp and deathy deadpan satire! As always, Madryk’s broad strokes are make wickedly beatiful by a perfectly placed plethora of detail. The earnestness of both characters, one an innocent, the other a corruptor, only heightens the hilarity. If only organizations were this honest in real life. Fortunately, political candiates are! No really! Read this, you’ll see what I mean…