Recommended by Samara Siskind

Holy Mother of Dragons, I adored this one-minute fractured fairy tale that delivered so many layers, an oh-so-satisfying twist, and a closing stage direction that melted my heart.*

Whoa. In one minute, Nathan Christopher managed to convey an entire family history while making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up with an ending that is nothing short of perfection. Economic writing at its best. I would so love to see this staged live.

inValidated spoke to me on so many levels. On what it's like to be a woman. What it's like to be a daughter. What it's like to be betrayed by a partner/parent/sibling. The broken family dynamics and constant gaslighting are almost as painful for us to endure as it is for Katherine. The meta-aspect and spoken word devices provided a fresh sense of theatricality and innovation. Beautifully crafted.

I have never wanted to save a character more, as much as I wanted to save Joey. As a parent, this play destroyed me, breaking my heart into a million pieces. The fact that the story is true devastated me even more. Ingeniously crafted, each quiet yet complex scene can stand perfectly alone but together form an opus. The horror is in its depicted abuse. The beauty is in the bravery and resilience of our protagonist and playwright.

Love can be found in the strangest and saddest places, as seen in Paul Donnelly's bittersweet short, The Pity Mourner. I was immediately charmed by these two characters, from Margaret's grave circumstances and solitude to Archie St. Claire's graceful random act of kindness. So achingly endearing, honest and hopeful. Mother would be proud.

Aly Kantor's Body Horror is an uproarious slice-of-life/coming-of-age short that explores religion, female body awareness, and the divine ecstasy that can only be fully realized on your father's Skymall massage cushion. This sincere, straight-shooting sleepover captures the voices of two middle school besties to absolute perfection as they traverse the transition from girlhood to womanhood with endless laughs throughout.

I recently enjoyed a reading of this side-splitting senior-friendly short where tech-savvy Gabby tries to introduce her Mom to the wonders of WhatsApp. Marj O'Neill-Butler's scenario is as amusing as it is relatable to anyone with a parent who still prefers a landline to Facetime. I would love to see this staged with Becky projected on a large screen. Favorite line: "So, that’s like electricity right. It comes out of the wall?"

What a fierce, fascinating, funny, and magical play.* I didn't know anything about the Cone sisters prior and am intrigued to learn more. Arianna Rose has crafted a striking interweaving of language, history, memory, and art. Not to mention brilliantly rich roles for five, count 'em five women(!) I really hope to see this live with all its elements of stage magic one day.

I was fortunate enough to see Sugar performed live over a year ago, and still find myself affected by its simplicity and perfection. Two strong roles for women, check. Skillfully crafted plot, check. Ultimate high stakes and urgency? Double check. It gave me fear and brought me hope.

I'm not sure what I found funnier, Andrew smacking the fork out of his date's hand or the fact that Selene refuses to leave this disastrous date until she's finished every last morsel on her plate. Wholly original and satisfying, down to the last bite.