Recommended by Michael Goodwin Hilton

Each voice is so accurately heard, each storyline so well-developed, the reader can easily imagine the playwright disappearing into the scenery that she so masterfully and meticulously captures. This is a play about magic, our innate need for it: whether it be the magic of transcendence, holiness, mythical beings, or the everyday magic of being alive and in love in this world - the magic of making it day to day when it feels like everything is stacked against you. "The Mermaid's Parade" begs us to believe when it seems as though there is nothing to believe in. Produce this!

A gritty, high-octane, and impeccably maneuvered episode of dark history that illuminates the lingering injustices of the present world. Within a matter of only several pages, Bryan traverses enormous terrain - building complex relationships, adding twists, and examining important and (unfortunately) timely topics of reproductive rights and womens' struggles to have control not only over their bodies but their lives and livelihoods as well. I can easily and avidly recommend this play for any festival seeking provocative and highly dramatic shorts!

I had the immense pleasure of seeing this play in Central Park presented by Barefoot Shakespeare Company. I was enthralled, edified, and enchanted. Melissa's play answered questions about R&J I never even knew I had; in so doing, she opened up the play to further possibilities and managed to add depth to an already unfathomably deep world. That said, the play is a world unto itself. It is fascinating in its own right, apart from the light it sheds on our most famous tragedy. I will be reflecting on the implications of LC for a long time to come!

A poignant, haunting and mesmerising short play about the ghosts of our past relationships as well as the ghosts we became in those relationships. Rose examines the confounding irony of two people becoming more alive to one another once one of them has passed on, having distanced himself from destructive behaviors such as alcoholism. Love and life here are treated as natural cycles, subject to diverse temperaments and continuous renewal. This play will keep you thinking (and dreaming) long after you've finished. Read, produce, immediately!

With all of our technologies and social networks, how is it that human connection seems more problematic and elusive than ever before? This is the question I asked myself while reading Kel Vance's ingenious and wildly inventive new full-length. Though the lead character spends the play isolated and trapped, her willingness to engage with the off-stage character Mattie opens up new possibilities for her own self-awareness and journey forward. Reminiscent of Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape", "Flake Plastic Trees" juxtaposes technological dissociation with personal transcendance, making for a delightful and truly memorable piece of theatre that should be produced asap!

Yikes! This short will send shivers down your spine in every sense - from its vivid renderings of frozen deserts, to its bone-chilling ending. Full of twists and turns, the play keeps you guessing (and gasping!) until the last piercing syllable. I have a strong Feeling audiences will LOVE this one!

Bublitz's monologue achieves a rare and penetrating examination of the consciousness of a young woman learning to identify sexual violence despite the cultural noise which conditions us to accept the unacceptable. All the more real, devastating, and dazzling through its understatedness and artful brevity.

An explosive, relentlessly inventive look at how history - both personal and cultural - intrudes into our every waking moment despite the stories we tell ourselves about transformation and renewal. Isaac's play is every bit as ingenious, disruptive, hilarious, gut-punching, and awesome as Dave Eggers's "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." It breaks all the rules and builds its own. As unapologetic and complete a play as any you'll read from any writer at work today. I have no clue how they'd pull this one off, but I'd sure love to be there in the front row when they do.

A challenging and infuriating play about the conflicts facing individuals and their communities after and amidst ceaseless injustice. Hill writes with an acuity and urgency reminiscent of Larry Kramer and Charles Fuller. This is a story authored by our times, for our times, which will (regrettably) be relevant and necessary for a long time to come.

A beautifully lyrical short play driven by a vivid and haunting metaphor unlike any I've read before. Chavez invites you to juxtapose lesser-known scientific facts with the instantly relatable experience of personal loss. In so doing, we consider both in ways we hadn't before or wouldn't have otherwise.