Recommended by Bethany Dickens Assaf

I love the multiple ways to read the final line: it reflects the myriad of approaches Matthew Weaver uses to tell the piece, balancing the urge to present our 'best selves' in dating with the authenticity of an artist. Weaver deconstructs each point in a familiar 'list' of qualities, bringing his true self - and some wonderful humor - to each until we receive an empathetic portrait of the speaker. A terrific concept, well-executed!

This play is a sheer delight: a slice of heaven in ten minutes. To select a single favorite line would take ages: I'm a personal fan of Aunt Betty, but with dialogue this relatable, sharp, and well-paced, there's a lot to love! Eddie's rabbit hole of concerns about his upcoming wedding are authentic and hilarious without ever becoming pedantic, and Richard treats him with unremitting grace, kindness, and good humor. I'm not sure I've ever loved two characters more in a script!

A gripping, theatrical work that demands to be performed: Jodi Antenor deftly weaves separate and shared experiences through dynamic poetry. So many of these lines challenge, assert, and take the reader's breath away. The theatricality, particularly in the final moments, is stunning and will be exciting to see onstage.

A wonderfully bizarre piece with sharp theatrical elements and fantastic absurdist dialogue (as well as some seriously amusing uses of silence!). Underneath the shenanigans, there are some sincere meditations on growing up and the pressure of having a 'purpose.' A great pick for any theatrical group open to experimentation and high-energy antics.

Wonderfully surprising and subversive at every turn. While the play's central conceit - a man tries to bribe an admissions counselor NOT to accept his daughter into a prestigious college - is a wonderfully satirical premise, there's also a rather sad subtext at the play's core: the role financial constraints, perceptions of elitism on all sides, and parental jealousy often play in deciding a whether or not a student attends college. Moran has balanced these relevant ideas in a tonally impeccable piece.

WOW. I cannot say enough good about this piece. The gender dynamics alone are striking, startling, and yet effortlessly authentic. The characters are drawn with great care and depth and the dialogue is sharp and well-informed, without being dense or overly expositional. The parallels to Elizabeth Holmes add relevance to the piece but "Burst" has a great deal more on its mind (environmental consumerism, female-female relationships, the myth of white male tech genius), which come together to form a melancholy, aching, and urgent tone.

I cannot say enough good things about this delightful, warm, and funny piece. Through deft characterization and the stakes-raising conceit of trying to find a taxi in the rain, Charles Dent immediately draws us into the world of this former couple. I was so taken by the seamless construction of the humor and the romance and the bright authenticity of the dialogue. A perfect re-meet-cute for any short play festival.

A twisty take on the politics surrounding reopening in the wake of COVID, Charles Dent's piece is an effective conversation starter on truth and who controls it. Though supposedly united in purpose, the characters are fascinating representations of a myriad of viewpoints surrounding culture, collective action, and what we owe to ourselves and each other. One of these viewpoints is not fully apparent until a highly enjoyable twist ending. I strongly recommend this work, especially for a Zoom festival!

In this creatively conceived work that easily spans years in broad strokes and fascinating specifics, Jackson Hoemann has theatrically captured an incredible amount of the coping mechanisms, anxieties, and internal dialogues of the mind. The concept of the unreliable narrator here is taken to new heights, with multiple facets of the main character's personality presenting information in distinct voices, each individually motivated. The most heartbreaking moments in the piece are when the voices insist on the main character's 'brokenness,' even as those around him are seeing his worth. And that ending monologue is a stunner!

There's so many things I love about this achingly honest conversation between a couple trying to explore their marital roles as a means of accessing who they truly are (or might be). Juniper McKelvie allows revelation after revelation to unfold naturally, with each twist feeling earned and authentic. I was so struck by this marriage, which meets the modern definition of 'stagnant,' but is dynamic and layered and full of life. The dialogue is also brilliantly nuanced, FUN, and doesn't get in the way of one of the most brilliant uses of silence I've seen in a long while!