Recommended by Peter Fenton

Sometimes we need to just laugh in the face of grief, and what I can absolutely say about Brenton Kniess' PECULIAR PUPPETS OF PHILIP PLATT is this play made me feel for a tragic loss AND I laughed a bunch. I've never quite thought about puppet anatomy the way Brenton has made me consider it and now I doubt I'll be able to unsee it. Watch the video of this performance if you can, the puppet actors especially gave strong comedic performances of Brenton's words!

What I love about this monologue from Scott Sickles is so much is left to the imagination and yet it's such a clear picture. Scott doesn't need to beat us over the head with too many words, any reader or audience member would know exactly what's going on. It's definitely an awkward situation the guy finds himself in, but he's earnest and honest—he's clearly a guy doing his best, and it's heartwarming in a weird way to see this guy be vulnerable enough to see the person across from him. Great job!

I stand by the idea that the hardest person to come out to in the process of coming out is yourself, especially when you have gone through some, if not all, of the motions of ritualized heterosexuality. Don Baker has illustrated a moving monologue from a man who has done just that and is wrestling through coming out to himself. Your heart breaks for this guy, and to an extent, his wife—which tells me this is a successful and true monologue!

This monologue, much like the piece it was later expanded into, made me cry. It’s a profound reflection on a life well-lived and loved and a beautifully vulnerable illustration of why we should always write what we know. Allen may have left for the biggest adventure of all, but his memory lives on in his lovers’ memory and mementos of a life together. A hauntingly beautiful piece.

This play is breathtaking, thought-provoking, and timely. I appreciate the surgical precision Jillian Blevins has taken to illustrate a uniquely Jewish and uniquely woman-centric story that transcends time, gender, and religion to the reader to empathize with the complicated place Dr. Gisella Perl finds herself in throughout the play. I love the way the play ends, too--with that little glimmer of hope at the end of a dark tunnel. This is the second piece by Jillian Blevins I've had the pleasure of reading and I have to say, this writer has an incredible range.

Paul Donnelly had written a ten-minute two-hander with heartbreaking realism with FAMILY VISITATION, set in the not-too-distant past. I’ve known enough people like Estelle and just feel crushed for Randy and the love of his life. How does one recover from something as real and heavy as this? You’ve made me feel something, that’s for certain

Jillian Blevins’ ROMEO AND HER SISTER is a tour de force of theatrical history, queer identity, and family dysfunction all packed into a charming period piece. Charlotte’s portrayal of Romeo is a brilliant reversal of the classic tradition of cross-casting in Shakespearean days and those who know their theater history will appreciate references to Forrest and the overall scene set in this play. Also, anyone who has ever been in a play will be able to relate to *someone* in the cast being like Susan in the leading role of Juliet. A witty masterpiece from Jillian Blevins!

There is room for just one joke in this particular three-minute piece from Dana Hall, but it's a really, really good one!

Rarely in a 10-30 minute play can multiple believable plot twists can be piled one on top of the next on top of the next with any degree of coherence, but dang it, Philip Middleton Williams has shown us how it's done! He's written a nice slice-of-life work, some acerbic political commentary, all within a fun window into the people of a small-town diner who's one step ahead of the game. I can always appreciate a strong scene set by Philip Middleton Williams.

What more could you want out of a ten-minute comedy? NEIGHBOR! NEIGHBOR! is a great, consistently funny piece that seems to be about squabbling neighbors mediated by a police officer with a twist ending that I genuinely did not see coming… loved seeing how these characters pulled off their “Bavarian fire drill” plot