Recommended by Ava Love Hanna

Paula's Last Drink manages to pack a massive emotional punch into just ten minutes. Richter juxtaposes an old dive bar at last call with a supernatural siren singing a literal "last call" to Mickey as he grapples with his family's legacy. Its focus on generational guilt and inevitability combined with sparse dialogue and eerie audio cues creates a tragic portrait.

Mycorrhizae is so well-written and constructed that the real meaning of the play sneaks up on you. While the audience focuses on the distinct and likeable characters and their attempts to navigate the forest, O'Day casually serves up a meditation on the biological, social, and spiritual systems we use to connect and survive in a dark and indifferent universe. Part thriller, part uncanny mystery, part profound grief study, this play is a complete, unforgettable package.

Have you ever read an audio drama SO funny that you forced everyone around you to stop what they're doing and listen to you read it out loud -- friends, neighbors, your partner who happens to work remotely and has given up on closing their office door? This script is THAT funny. Not only is it a voice actor and Foley artist's dream, it's smart, so smart, ridiculously smart, and a guaranteed audience pleaser. Would love to listen to this as an audio drama or see it performed for a live audience.

The Indestructible Mike Malloy is a hilarious radio-style audio drama set in the ancient history of... 1995! This script is an absolute delight. Rust gives us quick-paced, snappy dialogue, richly drawn characters, and smart humor that never misses a beat. It’s packed with nostalgic 90s references, layered with immersive Foley effects, and anchored by a twist ending worthy of a serious mystery. Audio drama at its finest!

There's No Sand on the Moon is a beautiful and devastating magical realist journey through the purgatory of displacement. Munoz-Evers deftly juxtaposes the brutal reality of survival with Isabel's whimsical talking objects. It's a haunting piece that explores layers of loss: refugees and a crew who can never go home, an Imaginary Friend serving as an archive for lost souls, and the ship itself offering a never ending journey. A timely piece that I'd love to see on stage.

Calm Your Tits is a riotous, unapologetic feminist musical that feels especially sharp for those of us living in the Lone Star State. French perfectly balances frenetic silliness with the dark reality of Texas legislation. From the human-sized "Sorting Uterus" to Greg Tedrick's gigantic hat, the satire is fast-paced, loud, and incredibly cathartic. It’s a heartbreaking and hilarious anthem for anyone tired of being told to "calm down" while their rights and their bodies are being signed away.

Peter Dakutis’s Very Common Remedies is as dark as it is funny. He literalizes the "thoughts and prayers" trope to an absolutely devastating effect and offers us a biting indictment of a society that values punditry and talking points over actual action. If you're looking for a short comedy that makes you laugh and sigh in equal amounts -- this one hits the mark.

Fading Fast is a chilling look at how we're curating ourselves into loneliness. I love how Mazunik uses the 'Rose' glasses to show that once we start filtering out everyday annoyances to create a perfect personal environment, we risk cutting the imperfect people we love from our lives. A powerful commentary on our technical and political zeitgeist. Fittingly, the play can be performed in person or online -- a brilliant consideration by the playwright and I'd be thrilled to see either version.

The Polycule is a hilarious, whip-smart comedy of manners that feels like a modern Molière. Blevins not only gives us a delicious drama-filled comedy, but she does so with devilish irony: it's written entirely in rhyming couplets, yet no one in the play is a couple. The playful rhyme perfectly skewers the groups 'enlightened' jargon and offers a rigid linguistic device to contrast the group's human messiness. A fun play for a night of theater with your partner(s).

Ghosted is a tender, funny, and haunting play -- literally. In just ten minutes, Mabey takes us on a journey of longing and the pain caused by the historical silencing of queer love before doubling back and gifting us an ending that is steeped in hope and intention. The 'flat baguette' is not only a hilarious image, but the perfect symbol for transformation -- both for Gigi and Brenda, and for the world they now live in. A gorgeous play.