Recommended by Jarred Corona

I think when someone watches Inception and is all built up with the action and their theories and they're bursting from Being Too Much, they should watch a production of this and giggle their way back to being a person. We can't save others from their fears of their dreams. We can try. We can help, but it's up to them. Meanwhile, we can joke. We can try to smile. We can look around us and chase our dreams. This is a lovely piece that I'm quite glad to have read and I would very much to see it performed.

I don't often get shocked much anymore, but the end moments of Whirlpool had me sitting with my hand over my mouth. I won't spoil that ending, yet I have to commend Ross Tedford Kendall for throwing such heavy suspense, action, and emotion into such a short time. Maybe it's because the play proper before sets up wonderfully full characters snapping through a quick paced, heavy-hitter of a show. There aren't comfortable lies offered up in this show. Being sexually assaulted and then questioning if you were, it's hell. Kendall opens up that pit and shows us the pain underneath.

In these pages, Vince Gatton builds a world filled with vibrant and distinct characters written with the care of a writer whose brain has let them live a hundred lives. With amazing dialogue and storytelling, Gatton weaves the thread of tragedy through each of these pieces and comes away with a patchwork quilt filled with beauty. Here, he punches you and then hands you ice cream. You sit amused until the horror grips you and then you relax your shoulders with the tufts of hope, and it repeats. This is a lovely read. My personal favorite was Cassie Strickland.

Goodness. Perhaps it's partly because I recently consumed Midnight Mass, but this play had me on the edge up through its end. "Something absolutely horrible is going to happen," I thought. Religion plays a rough and weird spot in my life. To put it simply, even though it isn't labeled as such and has an ending not of the genre, for me, this is one of the best pieces of horror I've consumed in a while. With great dialogue and characters, Baker has made what I'd call a masterwork. Topical, horrifying, and yet, somehow, hopeful. Love can carry over hate.

Oh that poor Mary! Though I'm sure with such a group of letters, I suspect she's surely used to the dark humor and teasing of her husband. The notes are fun and terribly dark (in a good way). To the end, I wasn't sure if there'd be a twist of him pulling her leg or if he was truly joking and torturing this poor woman to really ease the blow (or worsen it depending) of his parting. Well done!

This was featured on the home page today. Let me say, it well deserves that. I've no interest in spoiling what happens, but Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn builds a world of such warmth that a sort of hope makes you forget about the tragedy tag. It's the warmth that brings the chills as the end rolls in. It's the warmth that doesn't kill hope when the play ends. Hope is still there, somehow. Fantasy and reality blend majestically. Sometimes you read a show and think, "I must direct this one day." It's beautiful. And the images it gave me are beautiful too.

My longest and deepest desire in life is for a love that won't vanish. One that battles against the misfires of brain that overthinks every moment and tries to yell that the end is coming. Love that persists. I needed this show. What form does this love take? It doesn't matter. Because it persists. Because it holds when the times get rough. Because it batters and bruises and embraces regardless. Thank you, Scott Sickles, for this play. It's lovely.

Were Oscar Wild to get inspired by the wonderful film Knives Out and choose to write a short dramedy, I think it'd be a bit similar to this wonderful ride from Vivian Lermond. Twists and jokes come with quick ease and quicker smiles. It's a wonderful read and I'm sure an even better listen. I think if you take a gander, you'll be hard pressed to resist reading more Lermond.

I didn't look at the length when I started reading this, and when I realized it was ten minutes I was a bit disappointed - I wanted it to keep going and going and going. I don't begrudge it though, because it's a wonderfully paced short play with fantastic characters. Also, I hereby nominate Alice Josephs as writer of all title-based jokes. There are several in here, and every single one tickled me silly. I'd love to get to see this one day!

I had the great joy to be a puppeteer and musician for a performance of Aglaonike's Tiger at Western Kentucky University, and I can say without a doubt that it was one of the absolute most enjoyable theatre experiences I've ever had, certainly as an actor. They dance the tango in these pages, and that's a great way to describe this show. It's a floating, beautiful dance from start to finish, and a show I fully believe is a must see. It was a joy to read and an even bigger joy to be a part of!