Recommended by Adam Richter

Nobody writes a good farce like Debra A. Cole, and no one can compose a one-minute farce like she does. "Room 205" is a satisfying, laugh-out-loud sprint through a comical encounter between a hotel worker and a guest. I loved every minute of this piece, even though it only had 1.

Sixty seconds of absolute brilliance.

"sorry."

This honest and ultimately uplifting play says so much about the world of transgender kids — the inner world in which they find themselves and the outer world that they have to navigate, too often filled with hateful politicians who want to legislate away their existence.

I want to see this piece performed in front of every self-righteous asshole who wants to deny humanity to transgender people.

Debra A. Cole has done it. She has distilled all my years as a copy editor into a single minute, although "War of Words" is much more fun than wrangling reporters' stories night after night. I loved this playful, funny and all-too-recognizable short play.
"War of Words" will make audiences laugh and cringe, and would be a delight on stage. Bravo!

Phil Ochs once sang that it's easy for white liberals to like minorities, "as long as they don't live next door." Christian St. Croix extends this argument in "Cold Foam," in which the white liberal in question can not even handle the existence of a Black man within her line of vision. St. Croix distills so many American social ills into a killer solo piece. Well done!

"Cabana Boy" seems like it should be longer. I don't mean that anything is missing, because it isn't, or that Philip Middleton Williams gives his characters short shrift, because he doesn't.

I mean that after reading this beautifully written, moving coming-of-age play, I couldn't believe that it was only 60 pages long.

He built an entire universe, gave us four sympathetic and emotionally complex characters and gave them a tight, well-paced story of love, first times and longing that is painfully beautiful.

Brilliant work, as always. I would love to see this on stage. Bravo!

Before there was Marley's Ghost there was ... Banquo?
In this hilarious comedy, Monica Cross gives Macbeth and Lady Macbeth the holiday treatment they never had but probably deserved. "Lady M's Christmas" is chock-full of Shakespeare references and a nod to that other male English author but is still very much a standalone play that more than holds its own in the holiday canon. Bravo!

What happens after we die is all speculation, but Christopher Soucy's "Time Between," a lovely, rich two-hander, lays out one of the best possible scenarios. This play would be a treat to see on stage, and give audiences a lot to think about. Well done!

We all wish we had more time, but Debra Cole's "Frozen" is the most realistic answer to that wish. Insightful, clever and rich in characterization, this monologue would be terrific for any actor. Bravo!

The march to fascism ends with the scenario Scott Sickles so vividly lays before the audience in this horror play. In a dystopian future where gays are sent to "camps" for conversion, two couples try to navigate the precarious waters as they see how much they can trust each other.
This play is heartbreaking and angrifying, an alchemy that only Scott can accomplish.