Recommended by John Busser

I defy anyone who reads in bed to say they've never done something like this with their partner. Completely relatable and very funny, the mental and verbal gymnastics that Jessie goes through to keep reading Mark's book and then to keep from spilling the plot to him are hilarious. Mark's reactions provide her with a perfect straight man.

A threesome like no other that comes from the mind of Scott Sickles. Not content to ever give us stock characters in mundane situations, Scott manages to create a love triangle with only two points (at a time) and still makes it work like gangbusters. His dialogue is hilarious, the situation ridiculous, but it still manages to tug at your heartstrings. You feel for all of them. They don't get much better than this.

I cannot recommend this beautiful, tender conversation highly enough. And despite being a monologue, there is definitely a conversation going on here. Multiple ones. I am amazed that there are layers of guilt, happiness, regret, frustration, anger all in this 1 page confession / plea for understanding that Scott has written. Sickles puts more feeling into one page of dialogue than some others can muster in a full length. I am in awe.

All good monologues keep you wanting more and this corker by Christopher Soucy is no exception. Keeping just enough of the all-too-real "gory details" hidden, Shelby's speech to the surviving class of 22 is ripe for expansion. I want to hear more (possibly from the other survivors) Just terrific writing!

Art imitating life or vice-versa? The characters here are people playing characters based on possibly(?) real events in their lives is so meta, it can make your head spin. But Cody Goulder pulls it all together in a wry, funny look using the noir detective tropes to perfection. Even as Gal threatens to upend everything, Dick pulls her back in just as Cody pulls the audience in. Fun stuff!

Children really are the most amazing wordsmiths, aren't they. Rules of grammar, syntax and phonetics, be damned, the way Mill speaks to us about his upcoming campaign to avenge a terrible wrong, is so... right in his intent and misusage. I would speak like that were I in his footie pajamas and that's the charm of Scott Sickles work. He puts us right there in the drivers seat by making his characters sound just like us. We all could have let it go if it weren't for the damned M & M's.

A lot can happen in 2 minutes. A lifetime of upcoming bliss vs. a lifetime of eternal regret and the wedding that binds them together. Marcia Eppich-Harris needs to write a two minute followup on the reception. Then another on the wedding night. And so on, and so on.

I love reading a play when I have no idea where it's going, and this one pleasantly surprised me. Jack and Jill, trying to live beyond what the song says encounter someone who just might be able to help them do that, in a somewhat unorthodox way. The ending was also unexpected, and I won't spoil it, but needless to say, like in the best fairy tales and nursery rhymes, a happy ending was had by all. Well, maybe not all, but at least the important ones did.

Many times we couch what we say in metaphor and example instead of coming out and just saying what we really want. Joe Bardin's characters show this so perfectly, as we (the audience) watch 2 people talk about the play they're watching, the people in the lobby, anything but what is really on their minds. And yet they, and we, know exactly what is going on. That's good writing.

A thoughtful, elegant and touching look at how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world, by two individuals who look at things from different perspectives. One approaches by looking forward, the other, looking back. Through their interaction they come to an understanding. The dialogue is wonderfully realized and I would totally believe the two DID have a conversation like this on a trip to America, the land of opportunity... and comedy.