Recommended by Adam Richter

I think it's safe to say no one will ever fall asleep — or eat — on a train again after watching Rachael Carnes' wonderfully absurd and (for one audience member, anyway) cringey short play about the nature of existence and where the hell you find tzaziki sauce. Read this play, produce it and for the love of all that is good in the world, don't wipe your greasy hands on the upholstery.

This sweet, lovely, romantic comedy goes horribly wrong in the span of a minute, and the results are hilarious. Matthew Weaver has a gift for turning seemingly conventional situations on their head in ways that are surprising and fun, even when (spoilers) the characters may not survive.

Robin Berl gives us a powerful meditation on grief, fear and coping in this domestic two-hander that isn't REALLY about how to fold a fitted sheet (but still kind of is). An excellent short play that would be a cinch to stage.

I think one of the worst aspects of the COVID pandemic was how helpless so many of us felt, and Jeffrey James Keyes' heartbreaking monologue brings that helpless feeling to life. This solo piece is touching and poignant in the way it forces us all to ask the same question as the protagonist: What would have changed if I had done things differently?
Definitely a piece that needs to be staged once live theater happens again.

Finally, someone has come along to update the classic garden-gnome-loves-girl story. Scott Sickles' delightful fantasy play is a playground of fun dialogue and language and a hilarious take on what happens when the villagers rise up to destroy the witch in their midst.

This short play is uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time, in addition to being one hell of a good science fiction story. A beautiful two-hander that deserves to be staged often. I would love to see this in person.

I loved this heartwarming tale of a woman and her one-person chorus, who's just the perfect amount of pushy. A fantastic addition to any 10-minute play festival. Brava!

In this short comedy, Emily McClain dissects with surgical precision the fraught nature of LGBTQ children and the parents who refuse to fully accept them. She adds an undercurrent of suspense because halfway through the argument over whether or not the couple should travel to Italy on the dime of the homophobic in-laws, you start to wonder: Is this the fight that ends Kellie and Sarah's marriage?
This is a great exploration of parent-child relationships, of marriages and how far we are willing to go for each one.

This short play unfolds like a fun game of chess, pitting the arrogant professor against a seemingly hapless administrative assistant. The surprise ending is fantastic and satisfying, and it's a wonder the professor didn't have the wit to see it coming. Moral of the story: Obey the library rules, kids.

What would you do to make your team win? How many kids you got? Those are the two central questions at the heart of this funny, funny satire of religious devotion, told through the lens of America's other great religion, sports. I also appreciate that this is written in a way that makes it possible to be staged in today's environment. Hopefully it CAN be staged soon.