Recommended by Dominica Plummer

"Words like tides." What a beautiful way to talk about something so frightening for a writer as the inability to find the right words as quickly as she used to be able to do. Steve Martin's poetic, heartfelt monologue about Wanda's failing memory is not only a terrific piece for an actress to perform—it is a work of art that will appeal to audiences whether they have experience of Wanda's predicament, or not.

It is really rare that one finds a play that is so vividly imagined as Scott Sickles' Marianas Trench. It is an adult play, yet the central characters, Teddy and Anzor, are 11 year old boys. They are rich, complex portraits of two queer kids coming of age in a dystopian America that feels terrifyingly real in our troubled times. Add to this dazzling theatricality, extended metaphors of deep sea diving that take your breath away, and an ending that made this Brit forget her stiff upper lip and just cry. Brilliant!

Wow. What a way to celebrate the Biden/Harris election! Weaver's play is cute, heartfelt, and captures this moment in history just beautifully.

When an Anglo Saxon kid meets a badass Vampire Viking in the year 798 AD you might be forgiven for thinking that this encounter will not end well. Especially as you have just witnessed the long drawn out demise of the kid's priest. It's the details that pull you into Prillaman's harrowing horror story, but what really sets it apart is the unexpected relationship that develops between Viking Idunn and young Edmund. And the gift (and challenge) she leaves behind. Here's hoping we get to find out whether Edmund decides to take up Idunn's axe!

A taut two hander that will have audiences squirming uncomfortably on the edge of their seats. High school student Keith knows just how to play the power game, and Father Stanley, his victim on this particular Halloween, finds he is powerless to resist the manipulative teenager. But if you think you know where this is going, watch out for Cathro's stunning denouément. It will leave you literally gasping for breath!

The visual images will chill you to the bone, and the ice cold voice? It's out for revenge against all writers who create poorly written female characters. Monica Cross pulls off a comic horror fest that will have audiences laughing and gasping as they follow this hapless writer's well earned night in refrigerator hell!

An original idea that takes off from a boardwalk hotel meeting, and goes in all kinds of unexpected directions. Sickles' play starts with a scent, some powerful memories, and mixes them all together in a haunting story about the things we'd rather forget. This short will linger with audiences like a classic perfume.

A great addition to the zombie genre with enough twists and turns to please every Halloween thrill seeker. The characters may seem recognizable at first glance, but McClain freshens them up for extra chills and plenty of laughs along the way. Actors and designers will have fun with this holiday piece.

A masseuse has his work cut out for him with a chatty client who seems to be looking for wildly inappropriate "extras." But just as you think you know where this is going, DC Cathro gives the audience a totally unexpected twist, and an even more inappropriate ending! A great addition for any festival looking for a "what the heck is going on here?" rather than a run of the mill "whodunnit".

A lyrical evocation of a relationship between two brothers, a tree, and a sky that sometimes offers shooting stars. Hendricks' play is both simple and profound. It's the careful placement of the words, and the silences, that linger on in the memory long after the story is done. A wonderful play for inspired actors and designers.