Recommended by Jack Levine

JOHN BUSSER takes us on a journey of reconciliation of past hurts, missed opportunities, and unsettled feelings, as a father and a son talk about the past and what might be done to repair a relationship before it’s too late. “A Conversation About Mom” is poignant and will take your breath away.

MATTHEW WEAVER’s play skillfully portrays the journey of a person searching for love and companionship. The “Heart in a Box” is a beautiful way to tell the tale of hope, reluctance, envy, lost chances, misinterpretation, and all the other feelings we can, and mostly do have, while looking for our soulmate. The play uses no dialogue but will ‘speak’ to anyone who has ever sought love, which should be everybody.

KATE DANLEY’s monologue is a wonderful spoof of the power we may hope to have - control of the universe with our mind - but then, we realize our wants and desires may not come easily by ‘thinking positive’. I got a good laugh from “The Enigma”, and I believe audiences will, too.

JOHN MABEY’s play puts two siblings in their deceased parents’ home as they make final arrangements to discard or keep what was their parents’ possessions. But the physical objects, like a letter, open unseen doors to their family secrets. “Stages of Joy” tackles grief, love, shame, guilt, and the realization that there was more hidden from them than divulge while their parents were alive.

JACQUELYN FLOYD-PRISKORN puts us into a funeral parlor with two strangers. That’s the calmest thing in this fascinating play about what might be our apocalypse. When things seem destined to end in oblivion, we are given hope which is exactly the right ending. “Soft Rain” will resonate with the audience and will definitely be a topic of discussion for some time after this gripping play is read or seen on stage. BRAVO!

SCOTT SICKLES slam-dunks the zaniness, not-your-Hallmark themed, witty, and downright perfect short play to celebrate a Thanksgiving Holiday with all the trimmings of no-family-gatherings-over-pick-a-number. “Love And Gratitude (A One-Minute Play)” is perfectly insane in the best of ways. You really need to read this gem! Get it produced and invite me!

SCOTT SICKLES’s play grabbed my attention immediately, kept me entranced throughout, and poked me at the end which put a smile on my face. “Glint’ is definitely a play I want to see performed. The Director and Actors will enjoy putting on the performance and the audience will be totally satisfied.

PHILIP MIDDLETON WILLIAMS one-minute play, “Begging The Question”, is “Ah, perfect!” I was totally taken aback by the ending. A very sweet play!

ROSS TEDFORD KENDALL’s mystery thriller play, “Solicitation”, had me guessing the purpose of the meeting of two strangers from the beginning. As everything seemed to become clear, I was totally surprised by the ending.

MARK HARVEY LEVINE’s “The Order (a one minute play)” is a witty short play of the essence of the ‘marriage decisions’, made explicitly or implicitly, of what each wants and what they will settle for. I love the setup and the ending.