Recommended by Sam Heyman

With The Mama and the Papa, Rex McGregor has created an uproariously divine two-hander. The voices are so specific, the banter practically sings, and the jokes are multiple laughs a minute. It’s no surprise that this short has had so much success! Bravo!

With a title like "REGGIE AND TOMMY BREAK UP", you could forgive me for expecting some homoeroticism from Adam Richter's emotional two-hander. However, the poignancy of this piece comes from Richter's sensitive treatment of his characters' circumstances and the human yearnings underpinning their choices. Reggie and Tommy have had hard lives and there have been some hard earned joys along the way, but their time together has reached its close. Audiences will be hard pressed not to shed a tear.

EXHAUSTED BY YOU is a harrowing examination of the lasting effects of trauma, captured in a theatrical and powerful way by Zack Peercy. It’s a short whose emotional punches are carefully thrown, and they all hit their mark.

A potent satire, taking aim at issues very personal to the playwright and many Americans, particularly those in Florida — How About Them Dodgers highlights how bleak things have gotten for anyone hoping to do more than just retire in the Retirement State. I applaud Philip Middleton Williams for bringing this play to life. A simmering rage lies beneath our civility, and Williams nails it.

The Shape of Water? I hardly know ‘er!

In all seriousness, Imperfect Storms is a powerful, imaginative fantasy that dunks us into the deep end of a star-crossed relationship and the chaos of a natural disaster and only gives us ten minutes to find our sea legs—or arms, as the case may be. I love Sickles’ use of specificity, from the mechanics of Kelian’s biology to the unique heartbreak of Louis being unconscious for one of the last times he will ever be carried. This play will sweep you away, and make you not want to let go.

Like any good actor, playwright Noah Tibbetts makes bold choices. “Materials to Prepare” is a play with a lot to say that shows that silence speaks volumes, and speaking up sometimes still leaves you wanting for an ear. I admire the way that this play wrote its conflicting viewpoints not as straw-men, but as people with understandable worldviews (though not all of them win our respect.) An excellently truthful one-act play.

The worlds you find in Aly Kantor’s plays often resemble our own, but with a twist of something unexpected that helps reveal elements of humanity that are often overlooked. “Tearjerker” hints at a world on fire outside its protagonists’ apartment, but focuses on a couple of good people who are struggling to do their best for a world that only knows how to take. When faced with a hurting, uncaring world, the humanity in “Tearjerker”’s central relationship wins out. A resonant, powerful short.

In “two of hearts,” Sarah Jae Leiber writes with athleticism and authority, weaving a love story within the immersive backdrop of a few rounds of poker. From the play’s specific, well-drawn setting to the way stage directions place the reader (and audience) right into the action, this short has the confidence and savvy to make any theatre lover fold.

BOOM! This squirmy domestic drama packs a punch and has several twists and turns you won't see coming. Deb Cole's DREAM HOUSE stages a modern homeowner's worst nightmare and accomplishes a feat I once thought impossible: it got me to side with a landlord! The characters are sharply drawn and are a treat for actors, readers, and audiences alike - produce this play!!

Your stomach may churn, your heart may beat a little bit faster, maybe you’ll want to run for the hills! But don’t — Aly Kantor’s aptly named Meat Cute is well worth the risk. A meet cute of a darker variety, this play is willing to go to dark places on the way to its surprisingly sweet conclusion. An excellent short play for those with discerning tastes.