Recommended by Greg Mandryk

Much like the celery people, the emotional wallop of YOU SEE THEM IN THE CORNERS OF YOUR EYES creeps up on you. Two close-knit friends enjoy a woodland hangout, but a sense of dread looms over the proceedings. Prillaman’s writing expertly blends chills and heart-touching drama into what would be a worthy entry for any horror-themed festival.

The seven sections of TARTARUS can work independently as self-contained plays, but don't cheat yourself. Scott Sickles's mastery is on display here as he crafts a horrifying tale of twisted evil and lost innocence. That his villain's mindset is a reflection of real-world bigotry lends this work a chilling edge that will stay with you long after the lights come up.

There’s a certain amount of lag in zombie stories between the time the audience has figured out the undead apocalypse is happening and the characters do. Busser mines this for comic gold by introducing us to a trio of hapless survivors (for now) who are way, way behind the curve on flesh-eating ghoul awareness.

Charles Scott Jones captures the uncertainty and awkwardness of waking up in bed with a stranger after a one-night stand. Now that you see your late-night romance in the sobering morning light, should you get breakfast together or file for a restraining order? A cryptic text message from a friend adds to the confusion. Will there be coffee? Should he just put his pants on and leave? What the hell does "POD" mean? You'll have fun finding out.

I would love to see this performed for an audience and watch as each member has their own, individual moment of “Ah! I get it now!”

I’m embarrassed to admit it took until the second to last paragraph for me to have mine.

And now I have that song in my head.

Here’s a fun bit of schadenfreude. Three unlucky exterminators face the challenge of their careers. Sanity gets tested. Hilarity ensues.

This is adorable. Anyone putting together an evening of short plays for young audiences would do well to consider The Monster by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn.

Well, this is perfectly charming with a twist ending I didn’t see coming. (Hint: don’t read the subject keywords.)

This is funny as hell and real enough to trigger your PTSD if you’re a veteran of community theater.

It's a romantic comedy that decides it doesn't really want to be a romantic comedy, rebels, and reinvents itself as crime thriller parody, and I was totally okay with that. Definitely a fun read.