Recommended by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

Whoa, this short drama builds in intensity right up to the end! There are few short plays that do the dramatic as well as this one. Originally written for Zoom, it could be performed equally successfully on screen or on stage. The stakes and the fear come through either way. Great work!

I read this one for the title, and it exceeded my expectations. I mean, it includes the stage direction, "St. Michael the Archangel drags themselves into the office like a teen who got caught taking a dump on the principal's car." What is not to love here? God's spiraling self-reflection is delightful, the cameo by Jesus is A+, the Denny's reference is inspired. This short is a gift both to the actors who get to perform it and to the audiences who get to watch it.

This romantic comedy is different than most of the romantic comedies out there, in that it deals with a newly (and happily) married couple and their respective exes who are still platonically in their lives, emotionally (and, in one case, financially) there for them. Even without everybody swapping partners, there's so much drama to mine. This play does a good job showing how messy and complicated just the basic act of existing in this world can be. Plus, it's funny.

I love a good surprise! This silly short about two slightly odd detectives and one very baffled suspect is a great skewing of the interrogation trope in cop dramas. We're constantly trying to play catch up, wondering what this person is accused of doing, why the questions are so strange, and what on earth happened to Cal Wilkington. It's a delightful ride with a great reveal and a perfect button at the end.

This short play about meeting your grandson's almost-significant other under... unique circumstances is adorable. It's a hilarious ensemble romantic war play that's only ten minutes long. (It doesn't seem like all those descriptions should work together, but they do.) What a fun piece with hilarious dialogue and a zany, delightful premise.

This short is a sweet study in sibling dynamics when the middle child gets her period for the first time. Her older sister is convinced this is the dawn of their My Sister is My Best Friend era, while her younger brother doesn't see how this changes anything. This would be a great play for a late elementary/middle school audience, as it does a great job focusing on periods as a positive thing. A lovely little story about a day on which both everything and nothing has changed.

I love what David Hilder does with dialogue. This dark sex comedy about a pair of wealthy, shallow siblings during those teenage years when one knows everything is fantastic. It hooks you from the very first (angrily shouted) line, and the twists and turns and cringes and comedy which follow are a terrific ride. I especially enjoyed how the rapid fire dialogue would stop every so often and a character would speak directly to the audience, allowing us to see a new and different side of them.

I love this one act! It blends folklore and history as it explores the question of how much we are able to shape who we are and what we are destined to be, versus how much the people and events that came before us shape us. Plus it's so wonderfully steeped in its setting - a designer's dream!

Wow! I used to teach American History, and I never knew this story. What a great piece of readers theater for high schoolers and all of us, highlighting one more complicated piece of the United States's complicated history. Antisemitism is, unfortunately, a perennially relevant topic, and the question Morey Norkin poses is a great one for a post-show discussion: Was Grant antisemitic, or did he allow the stresses of his position to cause him to fold to popular public sentiment? And which is worse? I especially enjoyed the songs and quotes woven throughout.

What a fun short this is! There's humor in the language and the situation, but there's a lot of opportunity for physical comedy as well, which isn't often the case in plays I read. This play is a real gift for a trio of comedic actors!