Recommended by Brent Alles

A fascinating prison piece on the level of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Longest Yard," Tennant does an excellent job of making you feel for these characters and their situations. The irony of "the great American pastime" being the only way these men can pass the time is not lost here. That's the beauty of sports, I think, is that a writer can use it for deeper examination of American society as a whole. That's at work here, and the history is bracing as we experience it for ourselves.

Admittedly, I kind of knew where this was going as I started reading it. But that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the ride a hell of a lot on the way there. Some witty back and forth between the two main characters that gets gleefully twisted at the end by the revelations that occur. A dark, delicious scoop of theater madness!

This was an excellent, tense 10-minute piece. The dialogue rings true, and you can just feel the hurt from these two people as they unfold their situation to the audience (we happy voyeurs, right?). The ending was the perfect way to bring this to a close. The best part of "short theater" sometimes is taking the audience through a whirlwind, and Radtke accomplishes that here as we hurt, we regret, and we ultimately hope for a certain resolution that may or may not occur. This would be perfect for any 10-minute festival that would have it!

This was just a devastating read. The situation is sadly and entirely plausible in terms of where we seem to be going sometimes in terms of medicine, insurance, society, etc. Anyway, as this narrative flows, you just have a tightening, lurching pit in your stomach as you feel so many emotions for poor Hadley. And you can feel for Micah too... as she's not quite a villain either. In a way, perhaps she's as trapped as Hadley is even if the mechanism of the trap is totally unique. This play's going to stay with me for a while... excellent work.

This was just terrific. A "meet cute" before a catastrophic storm? Sure, why not? Eating "phallic snacks" to begin the bonding? Of course! I absolutely loved the back and forth between the characters here. The piece is tremendously funny, of course, but there's depth here as well. And, believe it or not, honest-to-god romance! Aly's one of the few writers to make me imagine having a romantic interlude with hurricane-force winds closing in and be absolutely thrilled with the prospect. Would love to see this on stage at some point!

I can't imagine this was an easy play to write, and Rachel definitely met the assignment of 29PL in terms of a play that's designed to offend. However, even if you're offended by the situation presented here, you have to admire the construction of the scene. What's saddening is that the situation presented here is very real in certain corners of the world. A chilling, cautionary tale comes out of this effort, and it's unfortunately easy to see why people like Matt are "sucked in" by the words of pathetic people such as Carl.

Loved this piece! Somewhat depressing as far as where we might be these days in terms of overall attitudes and circumstances. However, that's certainly not a bad thing when it comes to the overall "construction" of this funny 10-minute. There's a creeping horror throughout that works very well. The final pieces of dialogue definitely have an impact. This is a great contemporary examination of being careful what you wish for when it comes to potentially making changes in your life. Take it from this homeowner... this cautionary tale is definitely grounded in reality! Great piece to come out of 28PL!

I loved much about this piece. First, we'll start with the Shakespearean aspects, which is always an easy sell with me. Then, the allusions to show tunes? Check two on the "it pleases me verily" checklist. Beyond that, however, you have sharp and witty dialogue between all three of the "sisters," and you get to be amused, horrified, and sometimes both as we somewhat merrily roll along. A unique and hilarious ten minute that would do great in festivals around a certain time of year, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. Really enjoyed it!

This piece hits hard. Swenson lets us in on the situation before the scene begins, so we're not surprised by what's going on here, at first. What we are surprised by, however, is the depth of emotion that is revealed between these two characters, especially through the touching and moving lyric poetry towards the end. A tremendous amount of connection can be felt not only with the characters but also with the situation. A lovely little lyrical cloud of a play, occasionally white and fluffy but not afraid to be dark and rainy when it needs to be either.

A wonderful little piece of "cringe" comedy, and I mean that in the best possible way. I loved the ending of this ten minute, and this work is another example of why I'm happy to not be in the dating scene. Or maybe I could get more chocolate volcano cake out of it if I was, which, well, might be worth it. That being said, this was a nifty twist on the typical "cafe date" ten minute and Donnelly pulls off the comedy effectively throughout the piece.