Recommended by Jackie Martin

When I was a young child, the story of Noah's ark absolutely terrified me. We're talking nightmares for months, despite the dove and rainbow and promises at the end. That's why, when I read the description of this short play, I knew I had to read it. The concept is great and the dialogue is truly funny. A great showcase for three actors with strong timing and physicality. I'd love to see this one performed!

I was lucky enough to watch a production of "Buckle" at The Warner Theatre's 8th Annual International Playwright Festival. It's a great one act for two young actresses - one I would have been thrilled to sink my teeth into when I was in high school or college. John Patrick Bray tells the story of two very different (or are they...?) teens with engrossing dialogue, humor, and understanding.

I had the pleasure of seeing "Property" performed at The Warner Theatre's 8th Annual Playwright Festival. The story is compelling, the writing is both natural and poetic. The short-lived relationship between the two women, each lonely in her suffering, is believable and beautiful. The last moment of the play will stay with an audience - I know it will stay with me.

The characters in "The Night Witches" jump right off the page. The writing is clear and strong, the story intense and engaging, the dialogue both realistic and poetic. As it's an ensemble piece for 9 women, I would (and recently did!) especially recommend it to any high school or college theater director who finds themselves with a group of strong young women ready to take on an exciting new script. "Tonight you will fly" might just be my new affirmation.

I absolutely love this play. Rory and Bernard leap from the page with such clarity and strength of voice, and the friendship that unfolds is both hilarious and touching. I would love to see this beauty produced.

A lovely play that captures the complicated, messy emotions of co-parenting after divorce, especially when confronted with the nostalgia that so often accompanies the holiday season.

Haunting and lyrical, "Here (not here)" hits all the right notes in a short space of time.

I was fortunate enough to see this play at SlamBoston, where we shared billing and where "172 Push-Ups" won for Best Play. There were several really wonderful short plays performed in those two nights, but this play really sticks out in my memory as being funny, touching, and so, so real. An engaging story from beginning to end.

A fast-paced play about our culture's obsession with reboots, remakes, and come-back stories, "Composition Delta Zero" is funny, deft, and surprisingly touching in the end. This would be a great addition to any short play festival.

"Last Words for a Person" is a beautiful, devastatingly real piece that manages to pack a whole lot of history and emotion into fewer than 10 pages. I imagine this play will pull smiles, tears, and "huhs," "hmms," and other unconscious noises of recognition from its audiences.