Recommended by Ken Love

The Hitchhiker myth, thanks to Jack Kerouac, Flannery O'Connor and Tennessee Williams, has been well immersed into the American ethos. John Patrick Bray with "You Got That Right", skillfully avoids the pitfalls of triteness and offers a refreshingly horrific take. Dark humor, surrealism, horror and comedy. Ten minutes that will no doubt leave theater goers wanting more.

Ryan Kaminski and I have known each other for quite some time - via NPX. And I feel so fortunate to have witnessed a reading of his short play "Lizzy". This young man definitely has an ear and a feel for horror. As well as incisive character invention and dialogue. This is the continuation of a fine relationship. Let's keep writing!

Yes, the first three quarters or so of the play are steeped in a highly engaging diatribe on transgenderism. Then, just before the piece wraps up - an ending that makes your head spin. "Transgression" by Christopher Soucy is a wickedly funny and daring piece of theater. All under ten minutes. Bravo!

A dinner gathering that begins on an acerbic, even toxic note. So, yes, it's to be expected that things would go downhill. Only . . . we didn't expect things to devolve so horribly - deliciously horribly. Paul Braverman's "Family Dinner" literally begs to be produced. Incisive wit, engaging from beginning to end. Well done, my friend!

Yes, a riff on "Waiting for Godot", with a touch of a Woody Allen sex comedy and just a splash of "Tales From the Cript". Adam Richter's "Waiting for Hookman" - inspired by actual incidents - is deliciously, comically horrific. I enjoyed hearing every wicked minute of it at the October Frightfully Inspired Script Readings.

In the days when sketch comedy ruled the TV airwaves, Julie Brandon would no dount have a very comforatble place for herself (FCC retrictions be damned). Of course, there's no reason why we can't enjoy such works now. The real kick of "Today's Potatoes Are From Lincolnshire" is in the ending. It's like a punchline. And quite funny without being cute. I could see an entire evening of such works by this writer.

Writing a fable for these contemporary, jaded times, in my view, requires courage and a high degree of talent. Mr. Bhattacharya proves himself to more than up to the task with his short play "Empty Night". A wise, incisive tale that no doubt draws its share of blood. And that's the point. This is the kind of piece that I would have no problem reading again. And again. Magical writing, indeed!

Douglas Gearhart's "Swamp City Boxing" was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best plays I'd read in a very long time. Truth be told, after a gritty and incisive beginning, I was preparing myself for a very dark ending. But this marvelous piece wrapped itself up in the best way possible with a satisfactory ending that was neither mawkish or sentimental. Dimensioned, highly believable characters and dialogue so real it stings. Kudos!

I think that this is the 3rd piece I've read by Julie Brandon. And I must admit that I'm hooked. "Howling at the Moon" is everything you'd want in a one-minute play. In fact, there's no reason why it wouldn't work as sketch comedy: I nicely wrought slice-of-life metaphor . . . that's funny!

I (like Woody Allen) have been devoted to Ingmar Bergman's work for years. And I must give immeasurable kudo's to the estimable Scott Sickles for pulling off this adaptation so effortlessly. "Hibernation" is as real as the characters that inhabit it. Gently comic. Touching. Nicely done!