Recommended by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

I love the twists in this short play as you figure out what's going on and what's at stake and how little time there is for Jacqueline to figure things out. Her realization of the significance of what's in the desk is great, and the line "I'm in a Russian doll of hells" made me straight up chortle.

There is so much to this short play! At first it seems like the story of a couple with a naughty dog, but as the play goes on you realize why this couple owns the dog and your perception of these two characters as individuals and as a unit shifts. It's subtle and surprising, and I love that this play tackles a Big Subject without being too heavy or depressing. People who live through - and continue to grapple with - big, hard things still find reasons to smile, as this play demonstrates perfectly.

I was hooked from the opening of this one, where the Serenity Prayer ended with "Play ball!" I love, love, love this play told through (mostly) monologues of women who play Dungeons and Dragons together! (And you don't need to know anything about DnD to enjoy the play - the characters explain everything you need to know.) I was actively trying to pick a favorite monologue as I read, but whichever one I had just finished became my favorite every time. I loved how they all wove together and the layers that existed between these women, their pasts, &their futures.

Yes! I don't remember the original version of The Little Mermaid all that well (other than her turning into sea foam at the end), but it always bothered me how quick Disney's mermaid was to give up her voice for a guy she barely knew. Aly Kantor's short play is a loose retelling of the story set during the Holocaust, and Zelde has a harder time choosing whether or not to ditch her voice than Ariel did. The story is set up perfectly, leading to her final choice, and there still manages to be humor along the way. So good!

Amazing! A bunch of gay folks from history living in the "special place in hell" reserved for them have decided to spread Gay Panic and fight for their freedom. I had to read the play when I saw that Rutherford B. Hayes was in it (I mean, how many plays is that guy in??) but my favorite character was William Dorsey Swann. His outfits and his unapologetic attitude were amazing! If pride month were a play, it would be this one. I loved the energy, the historical people I learned about, and the whole concept of this one.

I love this short! It’s sweet and funny, and we can all use Jesus’s reminder to stop being stupid (well, I can, at least.) Fabiola Decius has created a perfectly structured, tight and engaging ten minute play. Lovely!

This is the kind of play I would LOVE to take my kids to! Billed as "a fairy tale for those in transition" this is one of those rare plays that will captivate both children and adults. It has dialogue so simple, yet so profound. I found myself repeating lines aloud just to hear the sound of Aly Kantor's sage one liners and to try to remember them. Kantor's beautiful, broken world parallels our own beautiful, broken world, and there's a meditation on the color blue that is better than any poem I've read in a long time. Fabulous!

This comedy about a dinner party full of drama and elbows manages to deliver four nuanced characters, terrific dialogue, and a surprise twist in only ten pages. I loved how much was communicated just through glances and body language. In addition to being a stand out in a night of shorts, “Elbows” would be a treat for an actor - there’s not a bad role in the bunch!

What if one of the Weird Sisters renounced her witchy ways, checked herself into therapy, and now wants to move to Palm Springs and soak up the sun? This clever short delves into the lives of the Weird Sisters, giving funny glimpses of things that have happened because their magic doesn't work properly when there are only two of them. It's a delightful reimagining of some of Shakespare's most well-known mischief makers.

I must admit, with proper shame, that I have made it this far into my life without having read or seen Twelfth Night. That makes me living proof that you can enjoy the socks off of this play (basically Sir Andrew's origin story) without knowing anything about the story that inspired it. Plus now I will have the added joy of holding all of Toby Malone's delicious backstory in my head whenever I DO finally get around to Twelfth Night. There's adventure, there's intrigue, there's tragedy, there's dueling... Shakespeare couldn't have done better himself!