Recommended by Morey Norkin

In three short pages, Melissa Milich provides some romance plus a glimpse of America’s complicated feelings towards the military during the Vietnam war. Using the unseen Angry Neighbors, Milich creates a scene that at first appears almost comic, until an underlying hostility towards the young soldier is revealed. The marriage proposal is sweet, but we are left to wonder if the soldier’s cap left behind will be returned to its owner or serve as a memory of what might have been. Well done!

OMG! Mrs. Lovett, eat your heart out! Hilda and Ernest are such a sweet couple. Tending to an intruder’s injuries. Preparing a lovely dinner. Yeah, about that dinner. Paul Smith mixes the politeness of the couple with a dash of tension. The perfect recipe!

Sometimes it’s a song. Sometimes a place. And sometimes an object, like a bench, that holds our special memories of a love past but always part of us. Brenton Kniess captures this feeling beautifully in this moving monologue. So much for an actor to work with. Hope someone gets the chance.

Is it too late to get the band back together for a reunion tour? If anyone would know it’s The Fifth Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This short sketch, which is brimming with Jacquie Floyd-Priskorn’s trademark humor, makes me think of The Ruttles or Spinal Tap. I can certainly see this being expanded into a full-fledged mockumentary!

Who doesn’t love Lucy? And in this delightful look at 16-year-old Lucille Ball, Jennifer O’Grady presents a young woman doubting her talent because she was sent home from a prestigious acting school. The reason? She was too shy! Because of the support of her wise mother we know how things turned out. But what a wonderful lesson no matter your aspirations: believe in yourself and don’t let others define you. A wonderful chance to once again say I Love Lucy!

Through the dusty haze of an unusual event in Olympic history, Lee R. Lawing finds a sure path to comedy gold. The visual of marathon runners stumbling into one another and unable to figure out which direction to run is sure to be fun for directors, actors, and audiences. On your mark, get set, produce!

A lifetime is exquisitely expressed in, what, a minute?! Paul Donnelly manages to do just that in this humorous and moving monologue about multiple marriages. A great piece for either an audition or performance. Either way a great opportunity for a mature female actor.

This is such a clever comedy. A queen’s routine task of handing out last names comically intensifies as she must struggle between the call of nature and the unusual request from an earnest young man. Funny dialogue and the opportunity for physical humor will no doubt make this an audience favorite. Clinton Festa manages to save one of the best laughs for last. Well done!

An actor prepares… in the craziest way imaginable. His poor wife, with encouragement from her sister, considers leaving before she quacks up. But love will find a way, bringing us one of the funniest and most adorable duets ever! The final line is brilliant and needs no translation!

Communication is challenging under normal circumstances, but when someone is dealing with grief it can be difficult for others to find the words, or to know if any words are appropriate. In TRYHARD, Emily Elyse Everett presents a socially awkward situation where the three main characters struggle to communicate. Everett’s natural dialogue is breathtaking. She manages to convey so much humor and character insight simply through brief utterances, half-spoken thoughts, and pauses. Completely engrossing right through to the very moving climax.