Recommended by Robert J. LeBlanc

MUMMY AND ME by Randy Hunt is written in his unique gentle style. Hunt writes deeply human characters that are easy to connect with. Even if they're a centuries-old Egyptian mummy. Mummy and Me is a story of loneliness and finding comfort. Ned, a security guard, has his lunch in what was once his favorite exhibit. Max, a new arrival, decides to chat Ned up whether he wants the company or not. It is written with gentle grace, wonderful dialogue, and kind humor. Mummy and Me is genuinely funny, human, and touching.

THE FIRST PESCATARIAN (BASED ON ANCIENT TEXTS) by DC Cathro is a straight-up riot. Rockefeller has a great idea for a new food source. Phoebe has her doubts. The dialogue is quick and, like all of Cathro's comedies, filled with brilliant opportunities for performers who can play with timing. This would be a standout in a festival.

The Quarantine Bake Off had a tough list of requirements to fit into the show. DC Cathro nails it in this touching short and intimate two-hander, LIFESAVERS. The title has a deep double meaning. It's 1982 and Victor and Corrine are coming home from a date to see E.T. The Extraterrestrial. A riot erupted and is raging across the city. The pair and hide in the back of the nursery where Victor works. The two teens are each other's comfort during this time of panic. They are each other's light in the darkness.

Today Mary Anning is a still unsung-but-growing hero in the paleontological community, in her lifetime, specifically as she was early in her work, she was viewed as a laborer if they acknowledged her at all. The short and powerful FOSSIL LADY, by Claudia Haas, set after Mary and her father's discovery of the first ichthyosaur but before her discovery of the first complete plesiosaur, demonstrates the dismissal that the patriarchal scientific communities had for her. It shows the fight she had to go through to recoup her time and resources while protecting her discoveries, to be considered an equal.

Philip Middleton Williams's A MOMENT OF CLARITY is beautiful. It is the touching connection between a father and son during a moment of clarity in the father's dementia. Dand sits with his father Clkyde at a pharmacy waiting for a prescription when a moment of clarity hits. Windows like this open briefly and are rare and so the two make the most of it. This show is masterfully written. It's a powerful show that will stay with you.

D. Lee Miller's THE REVIEW is sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, and always true. Alice has been with the same company for decades and today is her annual review. Miller once again speaks with a cutting truth. It's as if this monologue was transcribed from an actual annual review. Her main character of Alice is instantly identifiable. If you've lived your life in the corporate grind, this monologue will speak to you. The audience will be immediately sympathetic to Alice's point of view. I would love to see this staged or hear it produced as an audio piece.

D. Lee Miller's THE CHANCE really hits home for anyone who started out young. Sue has dreams and isn't going to let a gatekeeper get in the way. This beautiful monologue demonstrates the unbiased ambition in youth. It is a mirror to the past before cynicism creeps into a performer's art. This fantastic piece has the ring of truth that so many artists will be able to identify with. This monologue would be a wonderful opening to an evening of plays about the craft, struggles, and ambition of artists.

Wicked, dark, and cutting quickfire jokes fly in this very dark comedy by John Busser. Friends looking for a sliced ball discover something horrific in the rough. It raises important questions, like whether or not they should ask to play through. The jokes land hard and John really demonstrates his mastery over the one-liner. It's the best type of dark comedy, one that makes you feel guilty for laughing. A WICKED SLICE is morbidly funny.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FORMER ZOMBIE by DC Cathro is a show that will stay with you. It's a show that raises real questions and doesn't present any easy answers. It's a preface of a conversation we all should be having. This show deals with triggers, trauma, and the fallout of both. It deals with the complex topic of protecting those who have been traumatized while asking the question of what blame, if any, can be placed on performers portraying a character in fiction. It approaches difficult issues in an honest and neutral way.

MEMORY by Rachel Feeny-Williams is a tight and wonderfully written crime procedural. It is a fit mystery as it follows detectives on the hunt for a serial killer who get an unexpected lead. MEMORY fits so much plot into its short length that it tricks your own memory into remembering it as a much longer. It does so in such a skillful way that the play doesn't seem overburdened or convoluted. The detectives, particularly DS Hale, are very well written and believable. This would be a fantastic addition to any night of mysteries.