Recommended by Doug DeVita

Izzy Salant’s elegant and spare language tells an elegant, spare, and heartbreaking story of a love that can’t be. But despite Salant’s economic use of words, the depth of feeling is astounding, and one is left haunted and touched by these lovers kept apart by time.

I’ve often wondered what my dog’s first moments of life were like, what his experiences were before we brought him to live with us and spoil him rotten. I certainly hope they weren’t as terrifying as David Hansen depicts in this heartbreaking play. I hold my own dog close as I write this, and hope he feels safe and happy, the way I want to hold Hansen’s STRAY and give him/her a safe and happy life too.

Well this was fresh, and natural, and oh, so vivid. And fall-on-the-floor funny. O'Neill-Butler's ability to create relatable characters and take them to extremes without losing their fundamental humanity is served up beautifully here; one knows these women, one likes these women, and one roots for both of them. A wonderful play with two great roles, this should be a staple on the short play circuit.

It's the matter-of-fact coolness with which Osmundsen's young characters face their future (and past) that makes this dystopian, sort-of-romcom so chilling, present, and haunting. So much has changed, so little will change, and somehow it all goes on like it always did, but different. A disturbing but wonderful work from the master of dark comedy.

Isolated from Middleton’s longer “A Tree Grows In Longmont,” this monologue of memory takes on even more depth, more poignancy, and more heartbreaking beauty. Truly moving, truly stunning, and a gift for any actor who is lucky enough to perform it.

Molly Wagner is right. And “If The Shoe Fits,” read it. You’ll find out why, you’ll change your perspective, you’ll most likely agree, and you’ll have a V8 moment of pure delight. This play is smart fun.

Go, Emily! This monologue tells it like it is, and in a way that is extremely real yet highly theatrical. A must read, and read on any and all platforms available.

Four women, one life, and all the hope, despair, joy, regret, etc... experienced as they grow and change are captured here, quite wonderfully and theatrically. Johnson weaves a riveting account with wonderful wordplay, and a terrific sense of who this woman is despite the distinct voices he gives each one of them at the various stages of the life they share. A lovely, touching work.

"Shore House" is a gift for college theatre programs, and new theatre companies created and run by young artists. And not just because the 10 plays that constitute this work only require one set and provide juicy roles for up to 27 young performers, but because Lockhart has provided 10 sharp, witty, touching, funny, and sad plays that perfectly capture the feelings, the concerns, the emotions, and the lives of teenagers during that magical and frightening summer between High School and College. A terrific collection that will make a wonderful evening.

That moment when youthful idealism crashes into grown up pragmatism is captured beautifully in this wistful and poignant one-act; looking twenty minutes into the future one knows exactly how these two people, once so close and bound by dreams of a shared future, are going to evolve – and continue to grow apart – as they live the lives they're going to lead. It is Johnson's gift that he makes the heartache palpable and real without ever becoming cloying or clichéd. A truly lovely work.