Recommended by Doug DeVita

The day-to-day annoyances of office life come in for quite the shaking up in JAM, another intense short play in Vince Gatton's ...BONUS STARS universe. This piece of the puzzle – like the others in the series – has a life of its own, but as the action is happening concurrently with the inciting incident in YOU HAVE EARNED BONUS STARS, it serves to deepen characters and actions we've heard about but haven't experienced first hand, and fits in perfectly with the full-length ...BONUS STARS. A terrific addition/complement to this heartbreaking saga.

Another intense play in Gatton's ...BONUS STARS universe, THINGS ARE LOOKING UP at first seems to be a simple slice of life piece, with a relaxed give and take between the characters, but when the AHA moment comes (especially if you've already read YOU HAVE EARNED BONUS STARS), everything changes instantly, the tension ratchets up considerably, and one is left horrified by what is about to be made very clear to one of the characters, and heartbroken for her future. Like other plays in this series, it stands on its own, but deepens if you know the full story.

Gatton riffs expertly on survivor paranoia in this intense short play; the denouement is gasp-inducing, but the far-reaching consequences of what seems to have been an inconsequential action glossed over in a single line of dialogue is even more devastating if you've read all of the plays in Gatton's ...BONUS STARS universe. Riveting on its own, CASSIE STRICKLAND... is shattering as one part of an epic whole.

One of the funniest origin stories I've ever read, and also frighteningly plausible. Steven Hayet, you've made me a belieber. A grande belieber.

The joie de vivre coursing through every line and action in this play about death lifts it into its own seriously funny, hilariously serious world; the central role of Amée is a gift for an actress, as is Pig, one of the funniest, snarkiest, most horribly lovable anthropomorphic characters I've ever come across. The possibilities for inventive staging abound, and in performance this must be sheer delight. I'd say well done, but that would be just so wrong, considering Pig, and her fate...

This beautifully poignant monologue is a touching, funny, heartbreaking, and unapologetically sensual piece, with a dynamite role for an older actress and a lot to say about aging gracefully, and lustily. Wonderful!

What a beautiful, touching, and poignant two-hander from John Mabey, in which he explores the need for human connection in the modern digital world with dignity, intelligence, wit, and heart. A gorgeous piece of writing with so many opportunities for staging – both live and the now ubiquitous online platforms – and two roles with enormous depth. Just wonderful.

Oh 2020, will you EVER stop fucking with us?

There's always a slight sense of voyeurism in any play dealing with a therapist/client session, but... given the current state of the world and all of our emotions, is it voyeuristic, or is it cathartic? Emma Wood provides a sense of both in VOICES, a short but punchy comedy in which she nails the desperation we're all feeling with concise, sharp jabs that are nonetheless recognizably funny.

I love Shakespeare. I love TWELFTH NIGHT. I love origin stories. And I particularly love origin stories that retain the magic and charm of the original while being its own original entity. And in creating the origin story for Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Toby Malone's ADOR'D ONCE, TOO is all of these in one epic, magical, funny, romantic, Malonean-cum-Shakespearean work. Read it, savor it, love it, produce it. It's that wonderful!

Without overstating anything (too much) GOOD GOD I LOVE THIS PLAY! Vince Gatton nimbly races along a razor thin – and razor sharp – line, juggling horror, pathos, and most winningly a surprising sense of humor as he limns out his heroine's journey; there are moments of hilarity that are both so inappropriate and yet so right one gasps from the combined shock and pleasure of the feat. Cinematic in the best sense, how I would love to see this staged; so many possibilities for a director with vision and their cast. Love, love, love!