Recommended by Doug DeVita

This short play packs a lot of laughs in its 10 pages, while at the same time making quite a statement about faith and the “true” believer. Bicknell’s marvelously light touch and way with a punch line make this a delightful read from start to finish. I’d love to see it staged.

All the feels. Surprising, delightful, and still packing a punch — however delicate it may be — this play says so much with so few words, and every one of them are just wonderful.

The couple at the center of this short play about a long (ish) standing married couple have nothing on Carrie Bradshaw and her relationship woes. Not in terms of comedy or heartbreak, at least. Cavanaugh keeps the tone light until he turns on a dime and rips your gut out, and he does it with a skill that belies the seeming simplicity of the plot; he brings us out into the deep waters so fast we don’t even realize it, and then we’re hooked. Beautifully done.

I love historic fiction, especially when it's Hollywood history that's being fictionalized. The larger-than-life characters, the glamour, the seediness, the secrets... it's all ripe for great storytelling, and Jennifer O'Grady capitalizes quite grandly with her poignant script centering on the secret life of legendary comedian W.C. Fields. There's just enough truth to raise questions, and just enough fiction to answer them satisfactorily, and as a whole, O'Grady paints an entertaining picture of the larger than larger-than-life, yet affectingly vulnerable Fields.

There’s a refreshing candor Oty brings to this script; we pretty much know how it’s going to end from the get go, as her characters are so clearly delineated — from the very first words they speak we know who’s the user and who’s the usee. But Oty is so upfront with who these two are and the language she uses to tell their story (her exposition is minimal and masterful) that one is swept up and carried along to the inevitable conclusion and still enjoys the ride.

An absolutely beautiful 10-minute that moves one to tears with its perfect mixture of tart and sweet, and then causes an all-out bawl-fest with its magical, gasp-inducing ending. With wonderful roles for a teenage boy and an elderly woman, this heart-tugger should be the hit of short play festivals everywhere.

Richly eloquent writing and a fascinatingly obscure (at least to me) hero, along with its timely message of religious hypocrisy, anti-semitism, and acceptance of "the other" give this play a contemporary edge that sets it apart from most period political dramas. Plus ca change, and all...

Oh. My.

Maximillian Gill takes abusive boss satire to a whole other place with “Stick,” and I don’t mean its corporate bathroom setting. Convulsively funny and horrifyingly cautionary, Gill warns that the much needed removal of a stick up one’s ass may just open a Pandora’s box of even worse shit, and he does it with his customary light touch that nonetheless stings. Great roles for two actors.

Guidroz totally captures the delightful innocence and the glee with which tweens discover and use foul language, and gives us a wonderfully funny trip back to a time when cursing was both dangerous and cool.

What a distinct pleasure to meet up with a character from another play and learn even more about them, which is one of the distinct pleasures of "The Trouble with Mustard Greens." Just one of the pleasures, as this monologue for Jaspreet/Jessie, the protagonist of Gill's marvelous "The Bitter and the Sweet," is so beautifully layered and textured it just keeps revealing the complexities of a mother/daughter relationship with a pungent, but not unpleasant delicacy.