Recommended by Doug DeVita

All three characters in Nick Malakhow's "Emergency Contact" are damaged gay men, and how they negotiate the twists and turns of an ill-conceived and ill-fated one-night stand – instigated from a hook-up app – give the play an urgency that is palpable, often times darkly funny, and ultimately sadly hopeful.

Burdick's elegiac is by turns sweet, funny, melancholic, wistful, and ultimately hopeful. Covering a lot of emotional ground with concise elegance, "Sign Here For All That Remains" is a beautiful short play.

Aside from having one of the best titles EVER, this is a delightful short piece that anthropomorphizes dog behavior perfectly. As a dog owner, there isn’t a word Middleton gives Sam and Ben that I haven’t attributed to my own dog Max in similar circumstances. Funny, heartwarming, and spot-on. Woof!

The intimacy permeating every fiber of this play is intoxicating; Nick Malakhow has crafted a truly beautiful work from the tiniest of details, allowing one to feel a part of each character’s world, as well as part of the larger whole. I was drawn in right from the first lines, and read it straight through. A stunner.

Greg Burdick's "Room 27," a deliciously dark, existential riff on sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, is also a pointed social satire seriously spoofing fame, misspent youth, and death. It is also a piercing metaphor for the special hell in which creative individuals can live when they can't pursue the art that drives them. An unsettling work, but nonetheless a terrific one. And devilishly funny.

Mary Sue Price plays with time, place, and expectations in “The Schifferdecker Electric Park,” a deeply atmospheric ghost story in which other worlds collide with beautifully elliptical precision. Two great roles, wonderfully evocative writing, and I love the title!

O’Henry, updated, shortened, and viciously delightful.

Beautiful. Moran creates an entire world and a deep relationship with very few words, and packs a wealth of feeling in each with astonishing clarity.

A stunning work of art. Moving, haunting, and exceptionally compelling, Franky Gonzalez' "Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes" is both a gut-punch and a reaction to systemic racism – in and out of prison – that provokes not only rage, but truly earned tears of compassion. Beautifully done. Harsh, but beautiful.

Now this is my kind of family holiday play: a heartwarming monologue from a loving daughter to her invalid father.

NOT! At least, not heartwarming, or even very loving.

John Busser’s “Under A Watchful Eye” is a terrific short play that slowly reveals the “heroine’s” true feelings and intentions as he masterfully builds the piece to its harrowing conclusion. A great addition to the “dysfunctional family holiday” canon, and yes, it IS my kind of play.