Recommended by Neil Radtke

Scott Sickles’ Tropes I Hate: The Title of the Play We’re In is a witty and accessible short play that will resonate with writers and theatre lovers alike. The script balances humor and emotional stakes while delivering a clear, playful meta twist. An easy-to-stage piece with strong audience appeal.

Maggie Lou Rader’s Alice in the Hundred Acre Wood is a smart, accessible piece of theatre for young audiences that treats emotional literacy with care rather than condescension. The blending of Carroll and Milne feels playful and intentional, never gimmicky. A warm, well-crafted script that understands how stories can help kids navigate change.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Jessica Noel understands that its power lies in presence, not proclamation. By asking the audience to sit with repetition, loss, and fractured identity, the play becomes an act of witnessing rather than instruction. A demanding and deeply theatrical piece.

Existing somewhere between memory and imagination, You Bloody Man uses projections and fluid time shifts to explore the lasting impact of family trauma. Julie Grixlen’s play creates a haunting, liminal dreamscape where grief and tenderness coexist.

I really enjoyed The Weasel by Kaily Anderson. It takes a familiar afterlife premise and twists it into something smart, unsettling, and surprisingly funny. The final turn definitely leaves you thinking about how often we accept meaning just because it’s handed to us.

The Happy Incident on Aisle 5 of the Delicioso Food Market & Deli at 11:47 P.M. is a sweet, wordless little burst of joy that sneaks up on you. In just a minute, it captures how a shared smile or moment of silliness with strangers can quietly make the world feel lighter

Forgotten turns deadline panic and creative amnesia into a clever, character-driven comedy that never loses its momentum. The final twist is dark, satisfying, and feels earned through the play’s internal logic. So good!

Dallas Ray-Macke’s Millard Fillmore Was the 13th President is a sharp, funny, late-night relationship comedy that transforms a trivial question about a two-dollar bill into something unexpectedly intimate and charming. The banter is quick, warm, and wonderfully human, capturing the rhythms of a couple who tease, support, and exasperate each other in equal measure. A delightful, tightly written piece that proves even Millard Fillmore can inspire sparks in the right hands.

Tricked by Arthur M. Jolly is a smart, sly horror piece built on a premise I absolutely love. The play moves effortlessly from light teen banter to a genuinely unsettling supernatural turn that sneaks up on you. And the ending delivers a perfectly dark, satisfying payoff. Excellent!

I was totally absorbed by the characters and the quiet hope in their journey, and then this play reminded me how dangerous hope can be. The twist is sharp and deeply satisfying. Bravo!