Recommended by Sam Heyman

They say that good stories arise when you visit trouble upon your characters. In DC Cathro's after-life doorslammer, "You May Have 6," Roger quickly has trouble up to his chest, as he attempts to navigate his compromised relationships from his previous life and finds obstacles at every turn. What that means for audiences and readers alike is a evening of vicarious awkwardness, inventive world building, and insightful commentary on the human experience. An excellent single setting play!

This multilingual, multifaceted comedy from Steven G. Martin is as its title implies: subtle, sublime, and transformative. With a diverse, multigenerational cast and a relatably awkward protagonist at its center, “Benny V” is destined for greatness and a place at the top of your reading list. Bravo, playwright!

From the way Blevins beats back biphobia to the play's bountiful body horror, there are so many exquisite details that make TOADS!!! worthy of its exclamatory title - readers and audience alike are sure to love this charming, hilarious, yet horrifying effort from Jillian Blevins. You've never seen a nativity play quite like this!

“Nobody wants to be punished anymore!” Oh, to be Krampus in the modern era - Monica Cross hilariously explores this under-sung folkloric figure in “Krampus My Style,” a monologue that will surely be welcome at any holiday festival worth its salt. Santa can’t get all the credit for the success of the Christmas season!

Some anvils must be dropped, and some strikes must soldier on! In "Elves on Strike," Matthew Weaver humorously and inventively uses the format of a ten minute play to take umbrage with Elf on the Shelf and its encroachment on modern Christmas tradition, and it's an absolute joy to read. It's also just the right level of immersive for a ten-minute play festival - producers, take note!

What if Ebenezer Scrooge had access to a jar of Melatonin gummies? It might not have turned out quite like Philip Middleton Williams’ “The Melatonin Miners” but that’s only a testament to Williams’ genius and ingenuity. There is a specificity and wit to this plays elements that are truly inimitable, and a joy to read. Bravo, playwright!

I love any story that incorporates the tarot, and I appreciate the way Hilary Bluestein-Lyons uses tarot reading to reveal character, build tension, and lead the audience and the play's central players to their lovely, affirming conclusion. "An Angel Comes to Brooklyn" is an excellent short piece!

The nefariousness of the participation fee, the hyper conditionality of the payment, the suspect availability of the rehearsal space - these Wise Men should have turned tail and ran!

Jennifer O'Grady skewers the sorry state of modern theater-making, pitting the biblical Wise Men against a shameless theatre-owner. The perplexed reactions of the characters echo the reactions of many playwrights currently embroiled in the game of play submissions, and speaking as one of those playwrights, reading this script was very cathartic. Excellent short piece, speaking truth to the gatekeepers.

“Is the opposite of a Steve Martin play a Daniel Prillaman play?”

“You Need Nutmeg In Fishkill” is a wild ride from start to finish - from the twisted sitcom tropes to the mumbly, Arthurmachen demon to the knock-out punchline-a-minute closing pages. There’s a lot to love and laugh out loud at in this play, just come armed with a sick sense of humor! Steve’s got plenty to spare - bravo, playwright!

Brenton Kniess has a knack for the unexpected. None of the five plays contained in The Five Stages goes quite the way you expect them to, and in subverting our expectations, Kniess disarms us and allows us to feel the messages and ideas being conveyed. There is a great amount of power and poignancy to the writing in these plays -- Clockwork and Luck of the Draw are standouts from the collection, speculating and imagining horrific scenarios while also expressing a belief in the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love. Excellent, impactful work.