Recommended by Aly Kantor

What do you do when dealing with life changes, including a recently empty nest? If you're Bruce, you find a bird to put in that nest! This piece is filled with similar sweet wordplay and sneaky clues that lead us directly to the charming and unexpected conclusion! This piece may be short, but it's filled with a sense of genuine humanity, honesty, and care.

It's amazing how some people can spend so much time praying for a sign only to ignore the many crystal-clear signs in front of them. This short play is a story of a couple who ignored the signs until approached by a messenger from their past.

I really like the way the play handled fear, featuring a diametrically opposed father and son: one whose impulse is to stay no matter what and one who chose to run. I'm so glad they met in the middle! It's a high-stakes story of reunification that handles real-world extreme mindsets with delicacy and kindness.

Turning a "list play" into a dramatic, dynamic piece of theatre is a hefty challenge... but when it's done right? Wow! This quick, clever, fast-moving, action-driven play is a simple, well-executed romantic rollercoaster that would be a blast for audiences. It's also something a little different, which is lovely to see in the ten-minute format! This would be a fabulous final exam for anyone interested in intimacy direction and/or an absurdly fun vehicle for a real-life couple. Stick it in your back pocket for your love-themed or Valentine's Day festival!

This short play is filled with such delicious specificity, turning an intimate, isolated story of the pandemic into a universal, relatable piece. I may not have kids, but as a pandemic-era teacher, I can absolutely relate to living my life "theme to theme" and "holiday to holiday." Ultimately, the play is a short, effective ode to anyone who has ever experienced burnout, whether it was during the pandemic or otherwise. It's simple, sweet, and a wonderful time capsule from an incredibly specific moment in history. We should all be lucky enough to have a Steven in our lives!

This is a sweet little horror-themed friendship comedy, perfect for a trio of charismatic teens and an ambitious team of designers! The friendships at the center of the story feel genuine and authentic. I also love how the playwright planted little clues and deployed them seamlessly, from the initial campy horror movie references to the theatre manager's voice acting career! It was very clever to use the horror theming to address the benign fears that surround growing up. The things that scare us most so rarely involve creatures and ghosts, after all. Teen actors will relish playing these colorful roles!

Have you ever fallen in love with a play before you've read it? This one had me at the character descriptions - and certainly lived up to its clever premise! I love the goofy, anachronistic setting, the heightened, stylized dialogue, and the Shakespearean references throughout. There are so many laugh-out-loud silly beats, making this a great vehicle for a duo of goofy teens with a knack for comedic timing.

I love when I get to a moment in a play where the threads start coming together and think, "Oh, I see what you're doing!" Reading this play was like watching a painting of a human being come together in real-time.

This messy, complex, emotionally-fraught character and relationship-driven piece was an incredibly satisfying read. I am in awe of the structure and the subtle, significant twists that kept the story moving forward. Ultimately, it is an intimate, complex meditation of what it means to truly love other people: those we've lost and those in front of us. Gorgeous.

If you look into the discourse surrounding nearly any political topic, from gun violence in schools to police brutality, everything comes back around to violent video games - but do video games make young men violent, or are they merely a reflection of our world? If they're merely a form of "harmless wish fulfillment," what does that say about how men wish they could treat women? In our increasingly digital world, this short piece shines a light on what goes on in virtual spaces and how violence casually bleeds into our everyday lives. It's funny, compelling, and very effective theatre!

This holiday short is the perfect comedic vehicle for two high-octane hambones (or the kosher equivalent) over 70! It is full of laugh-out-loud, blink-and-you-miss-it zingers. As silly as it is, there is some genuine heart and emotion at the center of this little Hanukkah love story - and even the hint that another Hanukkah love story might be kindling. The dialogue is the star of the show, so even a barebones production would sing on stage. I am sure audiences would fall in love with this new Hanukkah classic!

I LOVE a seance on stage. The inherent theatricality and ritualistic nature of the process make it ripe for storytelling. This short piece is a hilarious subversion of the typical Ouija board story, with a laugh-out-loud reversal that audiences won't expect. This is such a wonderful setup, with an efficient, satisfying pay-off. My only complaint is that I wish it was longer!