Recommended by Peter Dakutis

Had enough of the merry and bright during the festive season? How about a French existentialist elf? This hilarious play is the holiday present you didn't know you needed. As Jean-Paul Sartre said, "Hell is other elves."

Being such a generous playwright (to her characters and audience), Vivian Lermond can find the warmth in very cold places. This is a sweet one-minute play that sparkles like...well, both kinds of ice!

A lot of signals get crossed in this brilliant comedy by Daniel Guyton, and the results are hilarious! A space alien receives an audition tape from an actress, and he wants her to help save his planet. I saw the original production, and it's great fun. Actors should have a ball with it.

A very twisty take on Little Red Riding Hood and quite tasty, too! I'd love to see this on the stage.

Another brilliant one-minute play from Evan Baughfman. It’s got lots of perfect jokes, and I am totally here for Wetflix! I’m wanting more and hoping Baughfman will write a follow-up on the writer’s block bug

I don't need a Ouija board to tell me that this one-minute play is a great read and would be hilarious on stage. The very last line is a stage direction that provides a huge laugh. I'd love to see it as a line of dialogue. Great fun!

The blame might go to Barbie, but all of the credit goes to Arianna Rose for this warm and funny play. Rose beautifully renders a a mother and daughter heart-to-conversation on finding your passion. It's easy to see why it's a hit with audiences around the world.

A speed-dating event with only two participants? It’s a brilliant idea, carried off very successfully by Marjorie Bicknell in this warm, funny play. There’s a lot of potential for physical humor, and the actors and audience should have a great time with this piece.

This is a beautiful one-minute play, drawing power from its quiet, understated quality. There's so much for the actors to explore, and audiences will find it moving.

Pickup is a cute play with a big laugh at the end that you won't see coming. It moves along briskly and should be a big crowd-pleaser at short play festivals. I loved it!