Recommended by Vince Gatton

Scott Sickles' TESSERACT is many things: a pulse-pounding international-intrigue thriller, a heartbreaking family drama, a horrifying dystopian nightmare, and above all else: a warning. Sweeping in scope and unbearably intimate, the story alternates between propulsive, stylized action and tiny moments of grace, courage, and devastation. An urgent howl of rage and cry for help, TESSERACT is a must-read, must-see tour-de-force.

Taking its title and inspiration from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, Sara Jean Accuardi's Ever-Fixed examines the romantic notion of constancy and finds something profoundly threatening. A smart and uncomfortable short play that questions the premise of that kind of ardor, and the way our culture valorizes and perpetuates toxic ideas of romance.

If you read only one short Zombie/Frankenstein/Demon Possession/Lesbian Romance/Mental Health Drama/Comedy/Thriller this year, make it Aly Kantor's Come Back Right. Its thoroughly entertaining blackout scenes wittily rewind and remix to play with different horror tropes, all while telling a real and touching story about loss and fear and doubt. A great ride.

Charlie O'Leary has a wonderful facility with young-people dialogue: utterly easy and natural, yet filled with poetry and tension. In The Last King, he uses that facility - along with the narrow students-and-teachers scope of his plot - to let the scifi/speculative fiction nature of his premise sneak up on you. As you follow his tantalizing breadcrumbs down unexpected paths, the vast scope of his ambitions become clear, and you're left with a big play with big ideas about what changes as cultures rise and fall...and what stays the same.

There’s wit and playfulness aplenty here, but this is not simple story-theater. Mark-Eugene Garcia’s gorgeous script continually brings us back to the storytellers themselves, and slowly and deftly lets us in on their longings, heartbreaks, challenges, and fears. The more we get to know their circumstances, the more each new Pedro story becomes a deeply moving act of courage, grace, and love. So much of this play is fun and funny, but what I will remember always is how incredibly moved I was, over and over again. Bravo.

I absolutely adore these two characters. 13-year-olds Rosemary and Mary Rose have a lot to figure out, but what a joy their journey of exploration and discovery is to witness. Aly Kantor's hilarious and charming play is loaded with clever choices, up to and including delicious supplemental materials (and their fonts). Fun, frank, and innocently erotic, Body Horror pushes all the right buttons.

I double-dog-dare you to find anyone better at the dystopian-nightmare-comedy genre than Daniel Prillaman. This absurdist three-hander set at the bottom of a deep, dark pit will give you all the Godot/Dumbwaiter vibes your heart desires, with Prillaman's own unique blend of humor, riddles, movie debates, and scatological references added in for flavor. Nothing this bleak should be this funny, nor this strangely charming...but that's what makes Prillaman Prillaman. Look on his works, ye mighty, and despair.

..Or don't. Despair, that is. You can always look for rocks.

If you’re skeptical of the one-minute play form, you will find no better argument for it than the works of Steve Martin. Once again he delivers here, in a short but powerful emotional saga with a beginning, middle, and end, packed with secrets, longings, implied backstory, reveals, decision points, and consequences. A story of huge emotional stakes told with breathtaking economy.

It's absurd, it's fantastical, it's unsettling, it's sad, and also very funny. You don't have to understand the world of this play to be entertained, amused, and moved by it. Who are these eccentrically-named and -costumed characters? How did they get here? And why? You won't find answers, but you will find high stakes, smartly-executed lazzi, and a tremendous lot of heart.

As a horror fan and once-upon-a-time gay teenager, this was right up my alley. de Forest gives us a “Scream”-esque, self-aware meta-slasher that plays with horror tropes even as it’s defining them - a conceit that could be handled lazily and for cheap laughs, but here is sharp, smart, and character-driven. What deepens this so satisfyingly beyond a sketch idea are the small beats that layer in genuine humor, warmth, romance, and humanity. And then there’s that perfect double-meaning of a title and deliciously ambiguous ending…