Recommended by Asher Wyndham

Flirting, tenderness and some remembrances for a scientist and her former fling - someone who's slightly human. An unexpected play about reunion and intimacy at last minute -- with a memorable kiss. The backstory and the incident that resulted in captivity in the interrogation room is as captivating as something out of Philip K Dick.

If you're an admirer of Conor McPherson or you're a fan of Irish theatre, you should check out this engrossing play. It's got an emotional intensity and depth that's Beckettian at times. I had the opportunity of seeing a staged reading at the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Nebraska in 2010. And it was a pleasure to re-read.

A trapped soul embodied by a barefoot woman under a spotlight...an intriguing image. Her existential predicament is both her dark comedy as well as our own. You'll laugh at her and at yourself. She has many disagreeable traits including swearing like a trucker, but her crappy attitude about life on earth and even her pessimism may make her relatable. A complex character in a short time. Definitely a stand-out among the many afterlife plays. Bravo.

Brainsick is In-Yer-Face with its depravity, its cruelty is expressionistic in its presentation, kind of not naturalistic, but totally believable -- because this world is dangerous for too many women. This play is shocking just like something from Kathy Acker or Pierre Guyotat, but that doesn't mean it's not serious. It's serious about sexual slavery and degradation of women. A play that can be performed in different cultures and countries. Kane would be proud.

This is the first parable-play that I've read on the reproductive rights and abortion. It's a must-read; it does more than just present through humor the psychology and positions of both sides - represented by an Elephant and a Chicken; it's a spot-on satire criticizing the self-interest and cruelty of the modern conservative party and women-hating conservative men. If you're producing an evening of plays on these issues, consider including Antone's The Egg.

Ellen Abramas choice to bring to the page and stage Dr. Peter Mark Roget -- the man behind the famous thesaurus -- has resulted in a hilarious spectacle -- of synonyms! And it's much more: it's about finding that passion after many years pursuing something completely different. The play seems to encourage us to pursue that idea, create something that truly makes us happy -- something that compliments our soul, something synonymous to it. Unfortunately, for many of us, our day job, what pays the bills, is 'antonymous' to our innermost desire, (if that makes any sense).

I had the opportunity of listening to a stage reading of this play several years ago at Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. If you're looking for a gay play for your season that is sexy and inventive, that's arresting in its story and spectacle, than this is the play for your theatre. Like Caryl Churchill, with each play Shineman challenges himself with language and structure.

One of the most engaging solo plays I've read; Alley Oop the Clown is a compelling character study that appeals to both your funny bone and your heart.

Michael Perlmutter 's short play The White on the Page showcases what theatre does best -- the playfulness of play, the spectacle of theatricality, the power of bare-bones theatre. In doing all that, with intelligence and some humor, he holds up a mirror to what's most uncomfortable and unsettling about race relations today.

This haunting account of a farmhouse fire by a young woman is riveting. Her account is far scarier than most festival horror plays. And that account is riveting more for what it reveals about herself, her family life and relationship with her father, and her interaction with the Fire Marshal than the actual fire. The character feels so believable from a perspective of naturalism but also unlike any girl you've met before because the play comes across as this Midwestern Gothic-meets-Horror play. What Salsbury achieves in a few pages, her ability to create such a compelling personality is outstanding.