Recommended by Doug DeVita

Powerful, gut-wrenching look at homophobia and bullying, and what has, and more importantly, has not changed in 30 years. What makes it even more touching is how it’s told through the memories of one person, and how she reacts to what she did, and didn’t, do at two key stages in her life. Compelling dialogue, seamless time shifts, and recognizably human characters make “Safe” a worthy addition to the LGBTQ canon.

What fun! What dark, twisted fun! A terrific satire on multi-level marketing, true crime, and capitalism (among other things), John Bavoso's MLM is for Murder (Or, Your Side Hustle is Killing Us) kills. Literally and figuratively. I nearly died laughing, myself.

Is it better to live an unrecognized life, completely off the grid and shut out from all society, or is it better to live your life in a "normal" society, which gets worse and worse every minute? Which life affords more peace of mind, and which life can be a better agent to affect change? These are the questions asked in this funny, heartfelt, and thought-provoking little gem by Ethan Warren. Great characters and premise, and should be a staple in Ten-minute Play Festivals.

In “Thrasher,” Nick Malakhow captures the dynamic between two teenage misfits with the precision of an acid flashback. Heartfelt, truthful, funny, and sad.

The sheer matter-factness with which Isaac Otterman’s characters accept the horrifying changes being wrought to their world makes “The Volcano Play” both darkly funny, and, well... horrifying. A terrific 10 minutes.

Powerful and terrifying, J. Lois Diamond’s “Slicing An Onion” is nonetheless a paean to forgiveness, no matter the personal cost. Gut-wrenching, but beautifully written, it stays with you. As it should.

Deliciously arch dialogue, full of zingers and red herrings, and great character roles for older actors give Justin Guidroz's "The Murder Mystery Club's Final Case" a sly sense of fun, like Nick and Nora Charles ran into the Golden Girls and they all had a field day.

I love this play. Not having read Emily Hageman's work before, "Brian the Comet" was a wonderful introduction, a delightful, funny, sad, and yes, brilliant, rumination on love, life, death, and everything in between, told with an unusually engaging creativity and tenderness. And be sure to read the character descriptions, themselves a work of flippantly saucy art.

Feuding televison stars, especially when their simmering resentments spill over whilst on the air — live — are a natural subject for satirizing, but when treated as smartly as Miranda Jonte does in “The Shark Play,” their petty problems take on a deeper meaning and feeling. Darkly humorous, and with several moments of shocking savagery, “The Shark Play” reels us in with spot on characterizations and a sharply observed viewpoint.

A terrific example of story telling in monologue form, and a telling snapshot of a time and place not unlike what ours is once again becoming.