Recommended by Asher Wyndham

This play captures perfectly the frustration/anger one feels when the significant other just stops communicating. With an unusual structure -- monologues as voice messages and intercut messages -- the playwright creates an emotional story that almost anyone can relate to. The play made me stop several times to think...and say, yes, I know that awkward moment in a relationship where you don't know if it will last or not... Sometimes all you can do is try like Beck, leave those messages, communicate, reach out to the significant other through your technology and be truthful, even if it hurts.

Moose is a disgusting a-hole, but I can identify with him. We've been in his situation before, "down on love." You can easily identify with him if you've experienced heartache and have found it difficult to move on after a breakup. His action -- protesting outside Hallmark -- is extreme, but his reason for doing it, his emotions make perfect sense. A witty, perfect ten-minute play. I would love to see Moose in a longer work. If I was a producer, if I was given the $ to produce an evening of short plays, this play would definitely be chosen.

A playwright who thought outside the box to capture her human drama. A short, powerful play about parenting, abandonment, regrets, forgiveness and reconciliation -- all examined beautifully through a comparison between insects/humans. We're bug-like when we go through life with a tough-exterior (an exoskeleton) that hides our heartache and pain; we take flight like the beetle to escape our obligations and responsibilities. The confrontation in the classroom provides some laughs and some poetic insight into what it's like being human and a mother/father/child.

It's rare that I bust a gut laughing when reading a play. Read it and you'll laugh out loud -- produce it and your audience will laugh out loud. These characters are not exaggerations -- I've worked in call centers, plenty of "questionable" people.

Jess, a prisoner going on 40 years in confinement, is a complex character. You might not identify with her, but she definitely deserves our understanding and our empathy. Yes, she has her vices, but she also has her virtues. She has the positive and negative traits that actors want in the greatest characters. She has a tragic past, but she's found some happiness in the present -- and that shows us her strength. She has a rare fortitude -- she will survive in her cell city until she dies. Better listen to her, learn the ropes, get close to her.

The bombshell revelation near the end of Act 1 is a real shocker! After Act 1 I'm left wondering, How is Sasha going to respond? How will her family react? among other questions. After I finally found out what happened - or, to be more precise, what Sasha did - during the war, it left me struggling taking sides. A necessary play about a contentious political issue that will never - never - go away. This compelling play uses an unconventional structure -- spliced conversations and monologues from various settings -- to build its tension.

A captivating play about how a traumatic event in someone's young adulthood (like bullying) can have a profound impact on someone's later years. When the revelation comes...it makes me wonder who really can't move on and forgive... A great ten-minute, perfect for festivals celebrating female voices (or dealing with the topic of bullying). Perfect for young directors in college.

Original characters. The surprise revelation from Jeannie makes the play a page turner because she just doesn't stop talking. Jeannie's offer to Verna -- I'm not going to tell you what it is -- is another great surprise. I would like to see these two old ladies in a longer work.

The playwright's words create hilarious stage pictures and situations. I enjoyed how how the playwright intensified the story as the three teenagers try to cover up the "crime." An original story concept -- and that's rare. The ending is unexpected, and provides the best laugh.

In ten-minutes Levine says so much about relationships and passion. The setting -- a blank stage that is an ocean floor -- is memorable. What the playwright says about "wading" in a relationship is beautiful and honest.