Recommended by Adam Richter

An excellent play for the Halloween season, "Of Night and Dark Obscurity" haunts us with its tale of emotional abuse and what victims need from each other. The dialogue is rich and layered, and the staging would be a costume designer and makeup artist's dream collaboration.

When someone veers inexorably down an irrational path, there is little that a reasonable person can do to stop them. Rachael Carnes has written a darkly funny revenge play about the desperate lengths to which people will go to get back at those who have wronged them.
This play is — ahem — itching to be produced.

It's remarkable what we do to push ourselves when we're seeking to prove our worth — whether to ourselves, our dumb sister with ALL THE TROPHIES or that snide-yet-cute sailing instructor. Ellida is an instantly recognizable young woman: Determined yet questioning why she's in a situation she considers dumb. This monologue is funny, vivid and full of dramatic tension. Not to mention the lighting and movement possibilities of staging a person treading water in a fjord. I would love to see this on stage.

War makes for impossible situations. Dave's tale of taking a life while in Vietnam is brief but powerful, and filled with questions. The one that stuck with me the most is: Who has the right to take a life? The killers in the trenches during a battle? The doctor who decides a patient isn't worth saving? The politicians who sent them all to fight in the first place?
This is part of a larger piece but "Zero Sum Game" easily stands on its own as a thought-provoking and powerful monologue.

"Drive Away" is a powerful, gripping play about sisters, each one trying to save the other from herself. Robin Berl masterfully sets up the situation, with great staging and sharp dialogue, so we think we're watching a play about one thing and then — WHAM! — she delivers the big reveal that pulls the audience in a completely new direction. After reading I was left struggling with the question: Why are we so bad at defining happiness for ourselves? The way Berl presents this question in this play is brilliant. Well done!

Reading previous recommendations of "The Old Railroad," I wondered: How did Scott Sickles tell this story in just one page? Having read it, I still have the same question. This is a lovely tale of brotherhood, Christmas and family traditions. Holiday rituals are how we remember loved ones, warts and all, and "The Old Railroad" is a warm, funny reminder of that.

Life is a series of tiny little decisions that have ripple effects through the rest of our lives. Philip Middleton Williams' short play "Going There" demonstrates this with such wit and skill. Sam and Gary have a complex relationship that's completely believable in both timelines. I am always amazed by the author's ability to tell so much in so few pages, and "Going There" is another gem.

A delightfully absurd physical pantomime that will be a delight for actors to perform and audiences to see. Scott Sickles leaves no ambiguity in his description of the action, making it easy for readers to visualize the play. Well done!

I read the Twitter thread on which this play is based and did not think the story could get any better. And yet Emily McClain makes it perfect! This is a laugh-out-loud play about people with the best intentions and the worst responses. It needs to be staged everywhere. It is easy to produce and hilarious.

A terrific 1-minute play that expertly plays with the audience's expectations and subverts them to hilarious effect by the end. Absolutely brilliant.