Recommended by Ricardo Soltero-Brown

Spooky fun perfect for any one-act festival or for college students ready to perform a solid dialogue-driven, lite-set piece.

Eytan Deray has written a short brimming with the unseen history of two friends experiencing an intimate, truthful, vulnerable moment together. Idiosyncracies, emotions, and levels of self-esteem are all clear and playing out until their unique love which is now being put to the test either has the life taken out of it or proves it can support them both.

Rachael Carnes uses her talents of crafting modern parables, anxious dialogue, and eye for unusual theatrical settings to meditate on the brutal circumstances which engender ennui. Two plastic moles in an arcade whack-a-mole gaming machine do their best to improve their prison into something at least somewhat resembling a home through aspiring for a mere modicum of comfort, but as their efforts are constantly in threat of (quite literally) reality coming in to hit them on the head, they ponder on a life after escape. Whether they come to thwart their dreams by daydreaming is where the acting can soar.

Matthew Weaver's 'Matthew Weaver's First Kiss' is as much of a meta-play as Matthew Weaver has ever written a meta-play as ever a meta-play written by Matthew Weaver can get. What begins with enthusiastic flourish quickly amends expectations with narrative sleight-of-hand, suggesting exciting potential to become a sly game, with comedy coming from character elements variously dark, mischievous, naive, but differing in degrees depending. Matthew Weaver continues to explore the universal and timeless rite of passage that is a first kiss, and here he muses so close enough that his play kisses the moment's both lack and abundance of meaning.

A sly, subversive, sensitively focused modern take on the classic, timeless, and universal dynamics between a group of people gathered at a countryside estate. Certainly the existential and romantic tribulations are updated in a way to engage those unfamiliar with Chekhov, but will also prove to be a worthy translation to those versed in his devastating play. The central relationship of Con and Nina packs the crucial, poignant, relevant themes of love, loss, and sadness; however, the role of Masha gets a considerable opportunity to present a rejuvenated and deeply moving juxtaposition to the audience for them and the rest.

Wyndham's 'Vulture Girl', written to be performed by a child actor, stumbles upon a girl asserting her right to choose what she wears for Halloween. Confronting her mother - who decided earlier upon a different costume - leads to larger issues regarding identity, expression, and autonomy. The daughter makes a case so grand, I'm not sure she's aware she's making it; it seems beyond her years, yet here she is saying every word and each one is true. (Well, there's a mistake, not a lie.) Genuinely upset in moments, her own costume ends up helping her intimidating, err...impressive argument.

A wry comedy about the solipsistic, impulsive urges suburbia often exhibits in its residents, people so easily overcome by the desire and ability to attain whatever they wish instantly like, blind to any modicum of gratification, completely unable to gauge their satisfaction. Spasmodic characters go up against visitor, a rock of introspection and moral philosophies. Carbajal wraps it all up, arguably packaging it as a farce. Audiences will find themselves at the end of a tickle attack, later ruminating on the more subtle commentaries and observations of middle class life.

A clever play about three people so lost in the drudgery of their lives that, despite the accident taking place on the street, the whole piece feels like a cubicle office drama. A smart blend of characters resigned to ennui, but somehow maintaining an ember of hope that things may now finally change.

A sly work about a man seemingly set on achieving something extraordinary, but ultimately (potentially) being recognized in an unexpected way.

A play that feels genuinely worried as much about the printed word as it is with what those words can spark in the imagination. Filled with Carbajal's signature social commentary and Beckett-meets-Bart Simpson situations, the play is a substantial entertainment for younger and older audiences.