Recommended by Toby Malone

Mike Solomonson takes what is an emotional, difficult subject and infuses joy into every moment, with a personification of a military service dog by an actor that is never played for goofy laughs but show the distance Kelly has come since returning from the warzone. A beautiful piece about trust, love, and connection, with a touching conclusion. Nicely done.

A chilling microplay that flings us 120 years into the future and reminds us about just how insignificant all of our self-centred nonsense is as a species if we carry on behaving as though we are invulnerable. The arrogance of humanity is just breathtaking, and Steve Martin looks at it on the micro, micro level.

Not much good has come out of this pandemic but the new canvas on which gifted artists can work is a true bright spot. Seeing what Max Gill is able to do with a fascinating situation (nearly-divorced couple find themselves stranded in a NYC apartment and only communicate via Zoom) is truly inspiring, as we see the evolution of this separation through the lens of the collective fear, uncertainty, and furloughing that our society has endured. Heartbreaking and true, human and honest. Lovely work all round, and eminently produceable.

A beautiful example of the magic that Nick Malakhow wields when it comes to character and narrative, we meet two fully fleshed-out, compelling, human characters that I found myself needing to continually remind myself were just high school kids, bearing as they did the weight of the world and feeling so alone, even in company. Malakhow expertly weaves touches of teen anxiety, pressure, sexuality, and race but never in a prescriptive way: this is a heartbreaking, all-too-real examination of what we ask of teens as they figure things out in a vacuum. Beautifully rendered, which is no surprise at all.

An intricate, thoughtful meditation on hanging on to the past even as the future hurtles toward you at an unsustainable rate. Gabriella Bonamici crafts a speculative fiction piece which feels more likely than we may be comfortable, with the earth used up and the privileged few rocketing to Mars to start new colonies. Through the lens of organ harvesting and brain-altering surgeries, we explore questions of what is worth leaving it all behind for.

A first date goes downhill rapidly due to misplaced jokes that suggest that the dating algorithm isn't always to be trusted. A chilling 10 minute piece that will throw you for a loop as we realize that not everyone is always what they say they are.

Y'know, before I read Steven Martin's take on Emily McClain's style, I never noticed the groups of three thing: guess I'll have to dive back in to Emily's back catalogue with that astute observation in mind. What a beautiful thing this community is!

Whoa! Daniel Prillaman mashes HP Lovecraft into a bottle setting and sets it to smooth jazz, creating a taut, tense, thrilling short that is never over-explained or didactic. This is a terrific piece for a themed evening of horror shorts, and would be a sound designer's dream project. What a hoot!

An energetic, quippy short that examines the eternal question: how would YOU react if your city was attacked by a giant 20-storey-tall black giraffe? And if Space Ghost remains silent on the matter, is it even REAL? Freewheeling, silly, joyous fun.

This is a breathtaking, deeply layered play that requires its readers and hearers to immerse themselves patiently and let the words wash over. An hour or a day or a lifetime with these three characters, separate but the same, distant but so close. This is a meditation on a life in a style that feels both like a throwback to an experimental time but also feels incredibly urgent and present and vital for today. This is something that will only deepen and expand in production and is destined to be one of the must-reads of this decade. Read it.