Recommended by Ava Love Hanna

Apprehension is a fantastic play. It masquerades as a nonchalant, yet uncanny portrait of suburban depression before peeling back the surface to reveal something much, much darker. Deyo uses the banal repetition of domestic life to mirror a terrifying, inescapable cycle. I love how the setting feels both timeless and 'out of sync', inspired foreshadowing for the loop Joe/Finn is caught in. It's a clever and perfectly executed psychological horror. Would love to see this on stage!

The Butcher unearths a startling beauty at the intersection of the sacred and the profane. While the inciting incident is a jarring, visceral act, it serves as a masterful catalyst that shatters the characters' comfortable veneers. Suilebhan forces us to sit with a difficult, transformative moment only to reveal a profound, five-way collision of belief and identity. An unflinching work, The Butcher finds grace in that wreckage and proves that the deepest truths are found in the sharpest cuts.

Norkin's The Replacement is a bite-size satire that uses humor to reveal the ridiculousness of extremism. This short play's use of comedic defiance, sharp humor, and a clever reveal offer a unique way to emphasize that community will always triumph over hate. A fun play with an important message.

Chagutok is a gorgeous, atmospheric mystery -- the kind of play you read and then think about for days. Using a non-linear narrative and character journals, Gatton brilliantly creates a mirror structure where the audience is as 'unstuck' in time as the cast, and shows that grief and political turmoil are universal constants regardless of the era. It’s a haunting, lyrical meditation on how connection is the key to surviving in a perpetually broken world.

LARPing is a surreal exploration of the roles we play as we navigate real life. Brilliantly framed through a casual D&D game, the play uses role-play as a profound metaphor for agency and our lack thereof: dropped into scenarios with character sheets we didn't create and a roll of the dice to decide our fate. Lovely use of the layered, echoing effect where the same actors explore different versions of vulnerability and connection. This script rolls a nat 20.

The Biker is a masterclass in high-stakes, low-danger comedy. The dialogue is rhythmic, well-paced, and laugh-out-loud funny. Gene’s hilarious melodrama is perfectly balanced by Diane’s tender patience. Both characters are not only funny, but so likable that I found myself smiling all the way to the satisfying end. A fun short comedy that would be the perfect addition to a night of 10's.

Clinton Festa is a master of writing for young audiences. The Magic Sleep Mask is witty, smart, and has just the right amount of mischief. Festa moves beyond the typical bedtime story by transforming nightmares into aspects of agency. Bear #3 is a hilarious standout, providing a chaotic comedic engine that helps elevate the play's humor. The final twist is a delight, proving that sometimes a little drama is worth the loss of sleep. Would love to see this one on stage!

All That We Deserve is a brief but powerful short play. In only one minute, Martin uses brevity and repetition to turn a daily workplace interaction into a study of unwavering compassion and empathy. As Archie hides their brokenness behind hostility, Benjy uses a simple refrain as an offering of connection. An excellent reflection of our zeitgeist and a perfect pick for festivals looking for a high-impact, sixty-second emotional arc.

John Busser’s A First-Draft Second-Rate Love Story is a deeply funny meta-theatrical comedy. Both playwrights and actors will recognize themselves in this script and grimace at the indignities the other have thrust upon them. I can't help but think of my own Johns and Vivians/Miriams and what I've put them through. This short play is sure to be a crowd pleaser as it's not only a fast-paced satire of "second-rate" writing but also a clever celebration of the theatrical collaborative spirit.

Maeve Kelley Baker’s Snowball is a brilliantly absurd dark comedy. Using a pink snowball -- the weirdest snack cake -- as the catalyst for a dispute that snowballs into a Machiavellian psychological war is both unhinged and perfect. Baker crafts a play that organically grows the tension, paranoia, and one-upmanship until it builds into an avalanche that neither of the main characters can escape. This would be an amazing anchor show with shorter plays performed during the closing intervals.