Recommended by DC Cathro

It certainly lives up to the title! This solo romp would be great fun for an actor to sink her teeth into. Funny from beginning to end and full of snappy dialogue that sounds like it was taken verbatim from the town gossip. A delight!

Martin has such a talent for painting vivid, visual, and emotional pictures before the dialogue even begins... Then he can take your breath away in just half a page. Powerful, even visceral. Just half a page. Amazing.

Folks have very different ways of dealing with stress. Me? Like the characters in “Bright Side,” I use humor to cope. 2020 taught all of us new ways to handle pressure, and this short play captures the essence of many Covid dilemmas. The safety, the shopping, the shortages... LeBlanc uses the video medium (thanks again, Covid) to great effect. In fact, I feel this play would be more effective on video than live on stage, and that’s no easy feat. Relatable characters and quippy dialogue. Hoping it will be relegated to the term “period piece” soon. Excellent.

Fame is fleeting but the internet is forever. A funny and intriguing short about online notoriety and the positives and negatives that can come from a moment captured on film. You’ll feel for Milo, whether you agree with him or not, and that’s one of the strengths of the piece. Natural dialogue and relatable characters make for an effective and enjoyable script.

Hilariously creepy! You’ll never look at geese the same way again. This delightful foray into mayhem is a “Twilight Zone”-esque short, full of great dialogue and fun for actors and audiences alike. Thumbs up!

Brutal and, unfortunately, oh so relatable. Martin has an incredible knack for capturing an emotion, boiling it down, packing it into a grenade, and throwing it directly in your face... All in just a page or two. Verbally vulgar and visual, this is a powerful and incredible short piece. Wow.

The “wonderful” thing about this piece is the way Lothan captures the tone and characterizations of the familiar cast of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and propels them forward in a way that’s natural but shifts the focus onto Mary, who becomes the centerpiece. It’s fun, funny, strong, emotional, and obviously feminist but in a way that works so naturally you’ll be rooting for her from the first page. I had the pleasure of participating in a reading, and it was a delight. Lovely work!

Wow. A powerful, haunting piece with a gasp-inducing turn of events that will hit you like a punch-in-the-gut. I’m not usually a fan of breaking the fourth walk, but Aurelio uses this technique expertly and the effect is brilliant. The way they build the tension is frightening and so effective, you’ll really FEEL this piece as you read it, emotionally and physically. Eye opening and, sadly, important work. Read it.

A truly powerful, deeply layered, and emotional piece. The dialogue is pitch perfect and the histories of the characters, and even those they only speak of, is so deeply embedded that the clarity of these people shines through. Visual, funny, sad, Gatton does an exceptional job at hitting many notes (literally and figuratively) in this play. Stunning work, beautiful.

The hidden heartbreak that the son portrays in this piece is what really hits me, and what a wonderful challenge for an actor to sink their teeth into, especially compared to the gruff bravado of the father sitting across the table from him. Poignant and lovely, sad and hopeful, this tale of the quiet ravages of dementia will stay with you. A beautiful piece.