Recommended by Asher Wyndham

The descriptive power of the lines and the unusual setting for the action of this play forces you to be right there, in the dirt with this young couple. I like how how the conflict, the arguments in the middle of the night reveals new insights for the couple -- and that at any moment they could be caught. Also the backstory and learning who they are now and where they are going is revealed slowly, perfectly.

I didn't expect this play to go where it did, and I'm glad it did. A hee-larious sex farce based on a simple premise with unexpected results. If you like characters that don't hold back what they want, even if it's morally questionable, like characters in a Thomas Bradshaw play, then you'll like this f'd up play.

Two different brothers, Bilal and Eric, of two different faiths, Islam and Christianity. They are separated by prison bars, but they find at times a way to communicate through the language of music-- of Beethoven and Coltrane. A lyrical, intense play about brotherhood.

I'm glad I didn't read the synopsis before reading this. A super short play with plenty of surprises, and it's clever in how it gives you breadcrumbs of exposition to clue you in. I enjoyed the use of contemporary speech with vulgarity to re-write an old tale.

It's a folktale for the stage with a surprising twist; it's a domestic, magical realist comedy. A season for the year is a distinct personality/voice. A clever, fabulous work. If your theater company is interested in producing contemporary folktale-like plays, then choose this play.

Stand-alone historical monologues are rare, and those with a teenager are more rare. Warning Shorts by Everett Robert presents a girl's account of the attacks during Civil War. There is a sense of urgency in this monologue that is lacking in most monologues, a speaker who needs to tell her story. And there are some startling revelations of monstrous cruelty suffered by this girl that I didn't know happened during the war. The monologue reminds us that what we love most about someone who has passed was storytelling and also his/her fight for what is right.

You might have seen a woman like Tyler's mom before, depicted in art or in the real world. Schroth's take on the lower/middle class American housewife isn't a one-dimensional cartoon in old slippers and curlers. Tyler's mom is engaging, she's real because her complaints about pets and other things captures her view on life. Her voice is real because these complaints capture perfectly her peculiar state of mind. It's not surprising this monologue has received productions.

It seems like everything goes wrong for this newly-engaged couple lost in the forest park, but this play proves sometimes you have get lost and figure out the best path together. I enjoyed how the playwright highlighted directly after the proposal the kinds of arguments/disagreements that this couple could expect several years into their marriage. Like her play My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Lolly Ward uses a clever story concept with an unusual stage setting to address the challenges of sustaining romantic relationships.

This is an ahhhhmazing play! Why hasn't this been produced!?! Produce this play now! The structure (going from present to past and back again), the spectacle (swimming on stage!), the emotional intensity and complexity of the characters makes this a winning play -- it's inspiring! What this play says about relationships, gay or straight, about couples or friends, about teamwork, about dreams and goals, about what's improbable vs what's impossible will leave you treading water for a long time after this play. If I was a producer compiling an an evening of shorts, I'd choose this play.

I read this play before looking at the 'subject matter keywords' and noticing 'painting.' As I read this play, I started to picture the play as a sort of active painting, acrylic characters, their backdrop and the landscape beyond coming into focus, changing shape as the coffee was spilling. It's a play that I can't find a comparison with; it's like being in a funky gallery and seeing the characters morph from Rockwell to something strange. You may think of other painting styles; the experience will be different for different readers.