Recommended by Eytan Deray

With "Of the World", Lainie Vansant captures the trials of coming out amidst testy religious waters vividly and never in a schmaltzy manner. It's played honestly and to the point, which makes me admire it more than many "coming out" pieces I've seen in a long time. Well done!

"Countdown" is a funny and tremendously sweet comedy that gets all of the awkwardness and urgency of a burgeoning romantic relationship between friends just right. It's almost as if Rushing adapted "American Pie" for the stage in a simple 10-minutes. Rachel and Danny are adorable characters, and will be just as adorable when they're performed live on stage. An engaging play!

Searing, painful, desperate, and relevant! With "Round the Decay", Straton Rushing gets points for portraying drug addiction and its effects on family in all of its stark, upsetting reality. It's raw, with utterly real dialogue and incredible characters, and you can't put it down! A must-read!

Haha! It's funny 'cause it's true. Lee R. Lawing finds all the right laughs in this breezy, raunchy, and witty ten-minute farce about social networking among the gay hookup culture by basically just telling the truth. A riot!

Beautiful! Positively poetic and moving! By rooting the Persephone myth in modern times (and finding the timeless relevance in the subject matter), Jennifer O'Grady doesn't manipulate the audience to get the tear-ducts working. She earns that honor all her own! A gem of a ten-minute!

A funny, meaningful portrait of not just a child on Halloween, but a child so well-aware of her individuality and determined to embrace it despite her more standard upbringing. A true joy and another winning monologue from Asher Wyndham!

"Bloodlust" is a hilarious, witty, and sexy Halloween farce that spoofs vampires terrifically! If this is as much of a riotous hit on paper, I can only imagine what it would be like to see it on stage! Produce this!

Stephen Graff winks at several genre tropes while crafting his own exciting and pulse-pounding piece of psychological horror. "It Wants to Kill Me" gets its chills not only by making the audience bystanders in a horrific "what would you do?" situation, but by also never showing us the force that is after these characters. Your imagination runs wild, and Graff doesn't show you a thing. THAT is smart writing! Would love to see this produced!

Terrific dark comedy that misdirects you in the best way! Karen Fix Curry sets you up for a funny, somewhat unusual scenario and then her characters pull the rug out from under you. Loved this work!

Arthur M. Jolly has written a striking, powerful, and poetic drama about grief and domestic destruction that, in the blink of an eye, seamlessly transitions into horror for the grand finale (and it IS a grand one, I must say). Gabrielle and Raoul are flawed, difficult, complex people, and effortlessly attention-grabbing. Check this one out!