Recommended by David Beardsley

A group of very different people come together seeking to understand their near-death experiences, but the connections they forge ultimately demonstrate that what you do with your here-and-now is more important than what might be coming “after”. I enjoyed this play! Hoke’s dialogue is so sharp. Her characters have such clear voices and points of view, but they never become annoying archetypes. This is a topic that could easily get bogged down in philosophy, but it avoids those traps without sacrificing the big ideas. It’s a play that deserves attention.

I could have sworn I’d already recommended this piece. I saw it live almost a year ago at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and it knocked my socks off with its raw honesty. I’ve since come to realize that “raw honesty” is what defines Franky Gonzalez as a writer. He never looks away, or backs down, or flinches. And this short play is no exception. It is a brave exploration of the terror and uncertainty that all new parents feel. It won’t feel more certain as a parent, but it might make you feel less alone.

This is one of the most nuanced and eye-opening plays about systemic racism, white privilege, and white guilt that I've come across. Nothing is straightforward as Malakhow shows how intersectionality and power dynamics shape identity and community in subtle, often-corrosive ways. Two black educators seek, with little genuine support from white colleagues, to bring more diversity, tolerance, equity, and awareness to a tradition-rich, overwhelmingly white Quaker school where discussions of race rarely advance beyond virtue signaling and serve ultimately as a shield for privilege rather than a starting point for change.

This is a genuinely moving short play about two people making a real human connection by sharing and listening. How can something that sounds so simple be so difficult—and not just in real life; it’s hard to pull it off as a writer, too. The lure of snappy dialogue, one liners, high drama, and big finishes can be so strong, and it can easily derail one’s effort to create something that feels real. And this feels so real. I just loved it.

I happened to catch the Tiny Theatre reading of this monologue, and it knocked my Christmas stockings off. What a hilarious short piece! Adams brings just the right balance of allusion, cliché, and genuine emotion to create a mini Christmas miracle. Here’s hoping her piece has a long life in holiday festivals everywhere, and that Santa finally stops exploiting elven workers. It just ain’t right, y’all!

A touching look at two sisters, one on the cusp of adulthood and anxious about what's to come, the other just over that cusp and deceptively confident about what it all means. Taube has written a psychologically complex coming of age piece that would be a fun challenge for two young actors and a strong addition to any short play festival.

Franky Gonzalez is one of the most open and honest writers I’ve come across. He doesn’t flinch, ever—whether he’s writing about something immensely painful or lifting our spirits with a prayer of hope, as he’s doing here. He writes with a fearlessness that feels like a challenge, as if he were saying, “Here it is, the truth. I believe you can handle the truth.”

This is a poignant and funny romantic comedy that would be a blast to see on stage. Three women, tired of being burned by false love, go looking for clues to help them better understand men. In the end, they wind up understanding themselves, and that makes all the difference. This plays is has razor-sharp dialogue and fun theatricality, but it's the sincerity and warmth at its core that makes Come 'N Go so inviting.

All of John Minigan’s skills as a playwright are on display in this beautifully structured, efficiently delivered, utterly hilarious short play. There is an empathy at the core of the humor that that turns what could be a biting or deflating comedy into one of the more charming and endearing scripts I have read. No Regrets is a gem.

Festivals of “naughty shorts” take note: Has Walter Freeman got a play for you! He takes what is an an awkward and uncomfortable situation on the best day and turns the volume hilariously to eleven. I laughed, I cringed, I squirmed in my seat!