Recommended by Morey Norkin

Besides being immensely entertaining, this play would be a great way to teach about the birds and the bees. I was laughing throughout, but one line about bees and flowers had me doing a spit take. Hopefully Kate will find causes that truly need her energy. And I’d like to add that the point of moving walkways is that you don’t have to move. This is great fun and deserves a life on the stage.

Oops! Sam Heyman gives us a brief, heated customer service call that so many of us can identify with. And the payoff is perfection. This would make a great festival opener with the audience members nodding and whispering, “Yep, been there.”

Three acts in about 10 minutes. And it works beautifully. David Hilder adds some nice comic touches to some of the very real tensions that are bound to occur in any long-term relationship. This was a pleasure to read, including the stage directions (which serves as a note directors and actors eager to cross them out). Great roles for mature actors. Would love to see it staged.

Once you find the right cookie, there’s no need to keep exploring. John Mabey serves up a spicy batch and lets the chocolate chips fall where they may. Brief but delicious monologue.

The creative process, like life itself, is a chain of emotions that we hope will lead to some measure of success. Brent Alles explores this chain as his six characters strive individually and collectively to produce the titular origami bees. I believe that Brent has symbolically, and expertly, presented the playwright challenge of writing multiple plays with this same title. A collective challenge, individual paths to different results, and encouragement from peers. So well done.

Alex and Lee have it rough working a farm that doesn’t seem to yield enough crops. But if Alex’s plan to attract bees works, then who knows? Claudia Haas combines the spirit of hard work, the beauty of origami, and the wonder of nature into a delightful and hopeful story. Perhaps if enough theatres produce this, the bee population could thrive again.

I’m thinking back to my high school days and trying to get the images of any of my teachers (male) engaging in the same activity as Fred out of my mind. I never would have guessed where this story was headed, and the tie-in to the title was both unexpected and hilarious. Mazzepa said “If you’re gonna bump it, bump it with a trumpet.” I guess Fred could say, “If you’ve got a big salami, hide it with origami.” Apologies to Stephen Sondheim and Philip Middleton Williams.

Well if this doesn’t bring a tear to your eyes nothing will. The immediate aftermath of a great loss is a difficult time to navigate. Sometimes you just need to take a moment with a supportive soul. The memories that are shared and the final discovery are moving beyond words. Beautiful work.

What a sweet story of family love across cultures and continents. I love the way Deb Cole infused Japanese culture into this tale, even the title (37 no origami no hachi). And the inclusion of a string of bee puns was a bonus. Delightful!

Well this is just plain hysterical. John Busser takes a prompt and turns it into comedy gold. Filled with plenty of IYKYK jokes and great escalation between a human and his AI support system. Now I just really want to hear the song.