Recommended by Kim E. Ruyle

Pass the vegetables, all seasoned with very clever and amusing wordplay. Morey serves them up seasoned with a big dose of creativity and humor. His vegetables not only taste funny, they talk funny!

Mark, just Mark, and Rose, the ultimate Variety Pack, deal with the demise of their engagement in this wickedly funny, fast-paced story. So much to love about this! Compelling characters. Sizzling dialogue – so many great lines delivered by Rose who excels at improv as well as Shakespeare. Fantastic!

From the opening sentence, Christopher Plumridge had me hooked. I can’t wait to get to the next serial installment in this fable in which a teddy bear is the endearing narrator. This initial monologue is a perfect setup to the historical context and dramatic inciting incident. Well done!

Intentions matter, but even when intentions are perfect, life sometimes deals unforeseen and unpleasant, even horrible consequences. In this stepfather – daughter drama, Jack Levine reveals the noblest of intentions and loving spirit of both John and Sarah. The bond between them is very real and touching. Jack’s play made me reflect on my relationship with my wonderful daughters. Thank you, Jack.

Vivian Lermond always delights, and Mae Day excels in entertaining (to be expected) and informing (more surprising). Vivian did her research for this 10-minute play, and I learned enough about Mae West to ignite my curiosity to delve more deeply in her life. She was known for her sexy persona and clever use of double-entendres, and Vivian, true to character, delivers many great one-liners in this fantastic piece.

It’s great fun to see Brenda, a city employee, put the devil through bureaucratic hell when he applies to fly a flag for Satanic Appreciation Week. The roadblocks Brenda sets up are devilish and delightful with references to the DMV and the devil’s handwriting and drawing skills. Satan’s frustration is hilarious.

John Busser’s done it again. A ten-minute play with comically-gold dialog, intriguing characters (especially the namesake, C’Thulhu), and a fun premise. Fantastic.

It’s rare, I think, for intimate relationships to momentarily break and then rebuild into deep friendships. But how sweet that is when former lovers are able to be friends and confidantes. Feeney-Williams gives us that story in a short play that follows Max and Jenny from childhood to old age. It’s a poignant, bittersweet story delivered with a deft hand.

Humor can be a great way to penetrate serious themes, and Andy has struck comedy gold with the clever premise and dialogue which leads to a thought-provoking conclusion. I wondered if there was a young person, the owner of Ken and Joe, who was manipulating the characters. But in the end, I concluded the inventive animation was all Andy. Terrific!

Some people choose to unburden themselves on a therapist’s couch. Not Lores. Instead, she creates a theatrical circus featuring performers who are closest to her in real-time – daughter, Doll, and best friend, Joan – as well as her mother who returns from the dead to haunt her psyche. Just Ignore Me is impossible to ignore. Creative. Theatrical. Incisive. A woman’s frustration, pain, and loss played out for us under a big top. Outstanding.