Recommended by Robert J. LeBlanc

Ben and Kerri had a fight, Todd's here to help. That's when things get strange. What's in the Box is a prime example of why Randy is such a master at pacing and dialogue. This short play is funny and ominous, with fantastic opportunities for actors and for creative staging. It's a show that will leave you in stitches while making you really wonder what's in the box.

This is a play that proves that life isn't wasted on the young. Albert and Amy have a long, well-lived life. Albert is out to prove that age is just a number, while Amy is out to just keep him safe. SKATEBOARDS AND BLUEBERRY PANCAKES is funny and fast with great dialogue and memorable characters for senior performers. May we all live like Albert and be able to reminisce at 90 about the time we took up skateboarding at 80.

CORNUCOPIA by Rachel Carmes is a hilarious fast-fire play about two people who love one other enough to go on the offensive with brilliant banter. Built-up tension comes to the surface after a comedy of errors. Finley and Jules find themselves with a late-night furniture issue the night before a family Thanksgiving that they are hosting. Enough old grudges and disagreements are dredged back up to fill a horn of plenty. Though there may not be enough glue and time to save the rickety table, there is enough love laced through the barbs to know that their relationship is sound.

It's telling when a piece of absurdism reads like the truth. Jarred Corona's THE PRINCE'S RICHARD is a hilarious take on the current state of 24-hour punditry, where spin is labeled as truth and out-of-context sound bytes are used to drive a narrative, rather than represent the speaker's intentions. This show will have you laughing and will leave you thinking. This is brilliant satyrical absurdism that I would love to see produced.

Bullying can be brutal, doubly so when it is facilitated by someone you trust. CHLOE AND ZOEY is a tense scene that plays out with honest realism. Chloe helped in a plot to undermine her younger sister. Mom discovers the bullying and needs to try to handle the situation in a manner that teaches a lesson while negotiating the complexities of her own troubled relationships. The real stand-out is Zoey and her strength of character. DC Cathro is one of my favorite playwrights. Works like this, simple, direct, complex, are the reasons why.

DC Cathro accomplishes more in this short play than others do in a full length. Rose is shaken after a tragic shooting in her library. Maria grew up with the violence and is not very phased by the human toll but shocked at the aftermath. THE LIBRARY WILL REOPEN ON MONDAY will hit you. This play deserves to be produced often.

IMPERFECT STORMS is a cinematic two-hander about lost love, identity, and survival. Scott Sickles keeps a tight focus on the relationship as a dangerous flood rages outside and threatens to collapse the building that Louis and Kelian are sheltering in. Their relationship is over but there is still love and understanding. This is a thrilling heartbreaker.

At first I thought I knew exactly where this show was going. I have never been more delighted in being wrong. This play packs a punch. It starts with a call from one family member to another about quarantine protocols and then goes in a completely different direction. This is a dark dramedy that hits all of the right horror buttons.

GUARDIAN is a heartbreaking story of protection written in shades of gray. Every character is empathetic in this short play about survival and the sacrifices a person needs to take to protect themselves and others. John Busser’s tense dialogue is paced in a dramatic style that can only be executed by a writer who deeply understands the music of comedy-the power of the beat. There is a tragic beauty in this piece. GUARDIAN will stay with you.

Funny and unexpected, CHILDREN’S LETTERS TO SATAN will make you laugh out loud. It is a devilishly twisted holiday show that would be perfect in an adult holiday comedy festival.