Recommended by Mike Byham

What a twisted, bizarre, messy story this is. I absolutely love it! So many great moments that will make you laugh out loud. Ian Donley exhibits a quirky imagination to wonderful effect in MRS. REYNOLDS. Would love to see this staged.

THE ART OF … DATING is a witty lesson in the trials and tribulations of modern dating viewed from a female perspective. I absolutely love the pace of the dialogue in this piece. The patter is nonstop fun only interrupted by a dinging of a bell. Anastasia Wild has crafted a funny satire that both skewers the modern dating landscape while still promoting hope for romance. This is sure to thrill audiences who will likely need a few minutes to catch up following the final bows. They will exit laughing. Very enjoyable.

Brent Alles brings the funny with the short SWEET SUMMER WINE. We all know "those people" - or if we don't then maybe we are them? Great premise. Who can't relate to poor Jenny as she suffers through the conflict of providing customer service and educating the willingly ignorant. A happy result is we get to laugh in amusement. Well done.

I really like this short. It's difficult to cram a full sense of loss into a 10-minute piece, but Darrin Friedman does just that in his story PARK BENCHES. The play provides suitable atmosphere for its topic and the dialogue is natural. Sad without being maudlin, the result still provides David (and us all) a glimmer of hope that all things are temporary - even the heart-wrenching grief of the passing a spouse. I'm sure we'll see this one in festival line-ups soon.

I’ve always believed the key to good science fiction is its humanity. Anastasia Wild highlights and reinforces this belief in her short PORTALS. The friendship between our two protagonists complicates decision-making, interfering with the pursuit of scientific discovery. Great atmospheric table-setting and providing high emotional stakes, this short is a winner!

I really enjoyed reading Tom Era’s A RAINY NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD. Simple story-telling done right. A moment in time capturing humanity hidden by golden-age Hollywood glitz. This play contains a couple of audition-worthy monologues to boot. Well done!

OH MY LIFE! is a joyous romp. I absolutely love this slice of life family comedy! It’s funny in all the right places - sometimes hysterically so - yet it never descends into camp. Barley does a great job writing totally relatable characters. We recognize these people immediately and they each speak with their own distinct voice. The dialogue is suitably fast-paced and witty. This would be a great addition to any theatre’s summer line-up. One question though - what is “toad in the hole?” and where in Texas can I try it?

Who doesn't like a good old-fashioned farce - and Tom Erb's WEDDING SECRETS is just that! Creative staging elements and hilarious mishaps result in a wedding to remember. The characters are sharply-drawn and their choices are suitably questionable leading to the intended fun and funny. This would be a great piece for adventurous community theatres.

Love this! We get a lot in our one minute - said and unsaid. Not sure where I thought this was heading but certainly where it went. Wonderful concept, genuine dialogue and relatable characters bring you a WTF ending. My kind of play. Well done!

Tom Erb's PAPA'S WORLD SERIES is a march down memory lane - especially those of us with Pittsburgh roots having spent time at Forbes Field. It's not an entirely happy parade though as disturbing family secrets are revealed and digested. Are we dealing with a ghost? Or perhaps Tommy is navigating a conversation with an inner voice? Either way - this is an effective piece highlighting the power of reminiscence. Very stageable.