Recommended by John Busser

Boy did THIS leave a bad taste in my mouth. But make no mistake. This should be required reading (or listening or seeing) for those of you who gloss over the nightly news reports, or the You Tube videos. Asher Wyndham gets right to the whole sick manor in which some people excitedly lust after items at an auction that have a particular function (and notoriety) with the same fervor they would lusting after a piece of fine art. Although I could be wrong. A Rembrandt doesn't have the stopping power of an AR-15. Killing machines are much more collectable.

I had the distinct pleasure to take part in a reading of this emotionally resonant play by Sam Heyman. This play deals with Jackson, a uniquely compelling character dealing with a search for answers after a childhood trauma. But it's not only Jackson's journey we take. His parents, both with their own fascinating stories to tell, A university teacher with an unexpected connection and a newly found friend both complicate and enrich the story. All in all, a very strong piece that needs to be shared with bigger audiences.

I was stunned by this tragic, yet touching monologue from Steve Martin. Gabriel feels so conflicted as we watch him try to both honor and blame his older sibling for the sin of contracting a life-threatening disease. And finding out his parents true intent for his own conception is both sad and relatable. Who wouldn't have mixed feelings over these circumstances? My highest recommendation for this outstanding piece of writing. I'll be processing this one for quite a while.

In one minute Neil Radtke takes us on an emotional roller coaster, except this coaster track ends much too abruptly. Such as what sometimes happens in real life. This was heart-breaking.

Wow, this short radio play from Michele Clarke hits hard and then ratchets up the stakes and the tension in equal measure. The well placed use of sound (the crash, the water, etc) with no visual to guide you works even more to terrify you. I don't mean this in a derogatory fashion, but thank God this is only a short play. It's so effective in setting the situation, I don't think I could've taken a longer journey with them. Absolutely chilling.

I found myself slowly crossing my legs as I read this. Holy cow, this was both funny as hell and cringe-inducing at the same time. I loved that hapless Tony was trying so hard to please his wife in a way that, frankly, gives me the heebie-jeebies to contemplate doing. The character of Claire holds her own quite well. A hilarious start to my day courtesy of Brandon Urrutia. And I'm going to be walking funny for the rest of that day.

There's a frothiness to Jordan and Flannery's conversation that only happens in a play. We only WISH we could be as smart, as eloquent, as damned entertaining as these two characters from Scott Sickles imagination. And since he wrote them, I guess Scott IS that smart, eloquent and entertaining in real life. If we ever meet, I'll be straining to keep up my end of the conversation. OR I could just read or watch his work and enjoy his company that way, as a satisfied audience member. That's a fact, NOT opinion.

This play needs to be staged if only to see how a play about noodle-armed people dealing with the travesty of a newborn with - gasp - hands would even work. This would be a fascinating creative exercise and I would imagine there are enough creative types out there willing to give it a go. Just don't offer to give them a hand staging it. You'll be run out of town. H. Avery wins for the strangest concept I've read in a while.

Surreal, funny as hell and unexpectedly thoughtful (The violence WAS expected though. Said it right there in the beginning). Dan Prillaman is a twisted, bent individual. But in the best way. No one blends humor and goosefeathers like he does. (I suspect no one would want to) But thank God he wants to, because we got this play out of it.

I absolutely loved this monologue about the finite nature of memory and our efforts to preserve them. Michele Clarke has written a wonderful account for those of us who are both lovers of family history, yet at the same time, we are lazy caretakers of that self same history. I myself have box after box of tapes, films, photos, drawings from my past that I look at lovingly, yet leave them to their eventual disintegration. This monologue spoke to me.