Recommended by Mike Byham

Zaffarano crafts a winning laugh-out-loud comedy with heart in TURKEY BABY. The mother-daughter relationship feels real and relatable. The concept is over the top funny. This is a wonderful short play that will do well in festivals. It brings a smile.

This is a fascinating piece of historical recounting. Told in a theatrically interesting way, we get to live with and through Mary Todd Lincoln as she deals with accusations of mental incompetence following her husband’s assassination. It is easy to feel Mary’s pain as she deals with the unimaginable circumstance life brought her. Donna Latham does a nice job of using period-accurate vernacular lending authenticity to the staging. Really, really well done. I would love to see this staged.

THE CREATOR is an imaginative coming-of-age story with unexpected emotional impact. Beautifully wrought by J.S. Puller, the play moves with a brisk pace from start to satisfying finish. A joy to read and a must-have for scholastic theatre. Well done.

Fun, sweet and moving, PUNK GRANDPA will make you miss your own or wish you had one like this one. As told through the eyes of the granddaughter, Scruggs one-act cleverly uses short scenes to broaden the story and overall impact. Delightful.

John Patrick Bray has a unique writing style creating immersive worlds filled with weird yet relatable characters that you can’t help but root for. PAPER CROWNS is a fine example. Loving County Texas isn’t a place you’d choose to live, but it’s a place where magic can happen in the right hands. Desperate people finding a measure of happiness in this place is good story-telling. So well done. I’d love to see this one staged.

Women have made many contributions to war efforts that have gone unrecognized or devalued. OF WOLVES AND WREN sheds light on one of these hidden contributions as a group of young women intellectuals help the Allies outsmart the Nazis. Prince does a nice job of creating the room where this happened. Great story told extremely well. I would love to see this staged.

This cleverly-written piece provides two separate history lessons. The first is based on the biblical tale of Cain and Abel. The second is more obscure, but Tennant demonstrates knowledge of her craft by writing scenes in historically progressive styles - from Ancient Greece to modern day broadway. A good story told in a very interesting and unique manner. Fun to read. I would love to see this performed. So well done!

BLUE MOON (Ryan Stevens) is a one-actor play packing substantial story-telling punch. It plays much larger as the single actor portrays others. But maybe playing multiple roles is the point? Wrestlers getting lost in their personas and turning heel to sate their ambition. What a world they live in! I absolutely love the set up and subject matter being explored in the manner it is - well done! This is a prime role for a talented actor lucky enough to land it. Give Stevens the belt!

The Hollywood of yesteryear must’ve was populated with some very interesting characters and apparently Henry Frank was one. Joe Weintraub does a great job of setting the mood sweeping back to the days of film noire and pre-code movie-making. A captivating glimpse of the past.

I had the pleasure of reading YEAH, ART FIGURES for a contest. Very rarely does a short piece have so much to say in such a fun and elegant manner. I absolutely love the richly drawn characters and the dialogue is spot-on perfectly natural. So well done. I hope this is staged near me so I can see it - or better yet, give me the opportunity to play FRANK. This is a wonderfully written play certain to entertain (and educate) audiences while providing actors with meaty material.