Recommended by John Busser

Oh my God, this was great! The dialogue was so pitch perfect, like how people actually talk to one another, juuuuuuust jokey enough without sounding sitcom-y, yet brimming with real friendship. Scott Sickles gives us two real people up here, so much so that you actually feel bad for Vesper (who's hurting), Kaden (who's hungry) and even Mace (who could never get a word in edgewise). This is great stuff.

As an added bonus, all the right foods get mentioned here, too. There's a reason they call it "comfort food."

I love me a good travelogue show, and seeing the Bear head to different locales on stage would be hysterical. Here he shows us Manhattan from both a lower (HIS height) and a higher (The ledge he's on) point of view. Granted we don't get around too much, after all, he's a stuffed bear, but who cares? His monologue is enough to keep us engaged. Wonderful stuff.

Chris Plumridge expands the mythology of the Vampire Bear and now I want to hear about other characters in this universe (The BPU? Bear Play Universe? That could be a thing, right?) As Origin stories go, there are few that are this... cute.

Hilariously exploring vampire tropes while "imprisoned" in a crib, the Bear ruminates on his existence in appropriate fashion. Amazingly, the tension is ratcheted up as the sunbeam moves ever closer in such a way, that you are actually worried for the fate of a stuffed bear. That's good writing!

A compelling mix of fairy tale-like telling and horrific historical fact, Christopher Plumridge has found a unique protagonist to tell a story that relates to us all. It has charm, pathos, subversive wit and sadness in perfect combination to give you a monologue you want to hear continue. Luckily for us, it does.

Oh was this a fun one. A comedy of miscommunication (it would be interesting to see audience members trying to piece together Jack's utterings) detailing the 911 call Jill makes after their latest accident. With clever wordplay and nostalgia (c'mon, we ALL know how this one ends, don't we?), Morey Norkin has a terrific 10 minutes in store for you.

A zoom meet gets hijacked when an actor mistakes the meet for an audition, and the results are appropriately bonkers. Hitting the right tone for the source inspiration (Beckett's Happy Days), Nora Louise Syran's dialogue works way better than it should when juxtaposed against the actor auditioning. This is smart and funny writing.

Well this is a game a lot of people have tried, but rarely as funny as Brian Scanlan's version. I'd love to see it staged just to see how some of the "game play" would be presented. I'll bet a clever director and some actors who are up for the challenge would mine comedy gold out of presenting some of the more private acts onstage.

Sometimes, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. You just have to reprogram his Alexa to get his attention. Lee Lawing's short piece is a sweetly funny look at how technology can both hold us back AND move us forward, if only we'd use it wisely. Margie certainly did...

There is a depth of feeling here that overwhelms you (especially for someone who has a similar companion, like myself). I was so moved by this simple acknowledgement of love for a dog, that this will sit with me for a long time to come. I bet there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house whenever this is performed.