Recommended by Doug DeVita

With humor and pathos, Robin Rice presents us with that person we all either don’t think twice about or avoid completely, without laying on the guilt or making an apology or excuses for who they are; it’s both sad and yet fitting their best friend becomes something usually even more unwelcome than they are. Sad, funny, and a dagger to the heart, all in a minute.

And in today’s “so wrong it’s right” sweepstakes, the winner is Scott Sickles. Gruesomely hilarious, this one minute ode to love, gratitude, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is delightfully demented, the perfect play for this less than delightful, yet nonetheless demented holiday. LOVE IT!

JESUS GOD! This is so wrong it’s right, and so damned funny I nearly choked. Great sendup of kid’s TV, and I’ll bet it’s as much fun to perform as it is to read/watch.

Well I did not see that coming, but I enjoyed every twist and turn along the way. Thanks, Jack! Quite fun!

Levine nails more than 60 years of experience in less than 60 seconds of playing time, and does it beautifully. A winner.

In this work in progress, Charlie Stowe displays a charming, fearless audacity, tackling Dumas’ “The Count of Monte Cristo” and turning it into a high school revenge fantasy. And he does it with wit, a great knowledge of his source material, and a youthful joie de vivre that is both refreshing and inspiring.

Uproariously arch and with typical Sicklesian flair, FROM THE TOP's Rashomon-Like structure joins other works which view the same events from different perspectives – most notably Alan Aykborn's THE NORMAN CONQUESTS as well as that farcical theatrical valentine, Michael Frayn's NOISES OFF – and more than holds its own; funny, frantic, brilliantly plotted, and oh so smartly glib, underneath the shiny surface there is a true pathos and heartbreak which give the work its dark emotional sheen. A terrific accomplishment. Score another one for Sickles.

Having read and recommended all seven of the plays in this compilation, I stand by my original thoughts except to add: reading them all together and in order, these plays gain an extra layer of poignancy, an extra layer of meaning, and an extra layer of beauty. I was not prepared for the cumulative power and effect, a power and effect I imagine would be triply affecting when staged all in one evening. Terrific work.

I love this monologue. And even though ultimately I'd never want a tarantula as a pet, Rosenberg gives such an authentically weird but charming voice to her character, Dorothy, I was nearly swayed by her arguments. And the reveal at the end is absolutely priceless. Wonderful work, and a gift for an actress to perform.

Angry and timeless, Gill's monologue is written with an astutely targeted passion that hits the bullseye with each precisely-considered line. A gorgeous, thought-provoking and necessarily upsetting work that needs to be performed. Often.