Recommended by John Busser

Deb Cole hits a very relatable nail on the head here. Naming a child can be nerve-wracking and it's something that almost all of us have faced at one point in our lives. I loved the way the 2 couples managed to do more shooting down of name choices than positively encourage said names. Too many times, I've seen people enthusiastically endorse names that mean we now have people running around out there with names like Zephyr, Portabella and Breehl (Those are real kids names) And what's wrong with a porn star named Noah?

Extremely interesting piece that should be staged if only to have audiences take pause to look at how their reactions can be just as triggering as the material of the standup comic in question. One of the functions of humor is to poke holes and expose the absurdity of our lives. But some poking can irritate as well as illuminate. At what point can personal offense be wielded as a weapon against those they oppose? Marc Paykuss imagines a very real answer here, and it isn't pretty.

As a childhood paleontologist, I am intrigued by Evan Baughfman's true life account of how flowering plants truly arrived on the prehistoric landscape. (Evan's a teacher, so this MUST be true). I would love to see this staged, if only to watch the costumer ingest enough magic mushrooms and begin the greatest feat of costuming in theater history. I loved this.

I don't know about Joe, but boy, am I glad i did THIS thing? Reading this wonderfully screwy Twilight Zone-esque piece from Chris Plumridge was quite a treat. It's funny as hell, bent in all the right ways, and perfectly punctures our social media landscape. The way everyone but Joe seems to be obsessed with knowing whether he did the thing or not is so typical of our jump-on-the-bandwagon mentality. This play put a smile on my face, which, based on Joe's answer, might have been the thing he was doing all along.

I was so pleasantly surprised at where this play took me. I was expecting a play about trying to help a troubled child and... well, I don't want to give away that ending. Paul Smith expertly subverts your expectations and does it with simplicity. This is terrific writing. He doesn't get fancy, but knows exactly how to take you down an unexpected path. I loved it.

WOW! Lee Lawing puts it right to the audience and delivers one hell of a dark satire on religion, abortion, game shows and the Pro-Life crowd. It's really all about money isn't it? There's enough in here to make some folks laugh their asses off, while other asses will feel the uncomfortable heat of their own hypocrisy. I think this is definitely one that should be staged. Especially for that zinger of an ending.

At first I thought this would be about a collector's obsession (as a rabid comic collector, I sympathize totally), but then the play takes a hilarious left turn into Twilight Zone land. Brenton Kniess takes what could be a source of pleasure and comfort (who doesn't love to lay on a pillow) and turns it into a darkly funny murder weapon that I guarantee, an audience won't see coming, even if you placed it over their face and pushed down. Funny stuff.

Reminding us all how artificial and phony both dating videos and politics can be, Asher Wyndham perfectly nails the insincerity of it all. Hilariously so! A gift on a gilded platter for any actress with a comedic bent, a closet full of wigs and perhaps a couple of blasts of cough syrup to get through the bile and hypocritical selling points of the video she is shooting. This is satire of the first degree and I'd pay good money to see this on stage.

Oh what a tangled web Victoria weaves! Leaving poor Barry and Shirley caught up in it. But in this delightful piece, no malice is intended. Tony Vale treats this interaction like a roundabout with each character going in circles as they try to catch up with one another. I loved the dialogue between the three and this would work terrifically on the stage. Don't get caught in Victoria's slipstream though. You might enjoy it too much...

Friendship and bullying can sometimes go hand-in-hand at the age that the children in Lee Lawing's thoughtful little piece are. The friends here tease and compete with each other over the slightest matters, like who can go mega-force while skipping rope. No matter how inconsequential, kids will compete (and passive-aggressive bully each other you have to admit) But here, Lee shows that isn't always the case. Sometimes understanding and acceptance can be superpowers as well. Luckily, these characters accept young Arie sight unseen (pun intended).

A wonderfully positive message about treating everyone the same. Even those who are different.