Recommended by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

I love a good mash up of unlikely intersections. Add Busser’s hilarious one-liners and you’ve got a real gem of a short play. And all four roles are rich with potential. I laughed out loud just reading it. The audience will LOVE this. Stage it now!

This lightning-fast short play is a fun traipse through multiple, easily recognizable genres. It’s highly physical, too, offering three actors a meaty challenge. But it’s the omniscient Narrator who cheekily controls all their fates. Four fun roles and a quick pace would really deliver a crowd pleaser. Perfect choice for a festival of short plays.

A little unobtrusive history lesson is rolled up in this warm but painful telling of one woman's involvement with the Easter Rising. A beautiful rendering of loss, oppression, and the art that results. Lovely.

Such a unique take on what’s truly important in life. I particularly loved the fragility and value of The Artefact. And that only some people could appreciate it, getting out of it what they put in. Martin has a true gift for writing straight to the heart, and this is another solid short play by this prolific Midwestern writer.

Not your typical witch hunt! Richter upends the genre with their own unique and anachronistic take. Cheeky and charming, this play would be a lot of fun for any short play festival. Wonderful roles, too! Give it a read.

This play had a staged reading at the Midwest Dramatists Conference. Sickles’ treatment of the extraordinary is so heartfelt you forget it’s fantastical. The relationship he crafts in this short are so real, it makes me want to believe in compassionate monsters. I particularly appreciated the imagery and the corresponding sound and set possibilities. A lovely and unexpected love story.

This play had a staged reading at the Midwest Dramatists Conference. I don’t think I’ll ever look at a piano the same way again. I unique take on an amateur musician’s fraught relationship with his instrument. But as in many relationships, sometimes a therapist is needed to sort out the sour notes. A fun short with a bit of music for extra measure ;)

I saw a staged reading of this play at the Midwest Dramatists Conference. So many power dynamics to unpack in this short play. Not to mention the broader implications politically. Each character bares responsibility for their own actions and transgressions. Just like life, there are no easy answers here and the ending is certainly not tidy. And that’s without considering the over reach of restrictive laws. A juicy two-hander that offers plenty for the actors to explore and deliver on.

I saw a staged reading of this play at the Midwest Dramatists Conference. While Florida is in the lead in the race to the bottom with its regressive restrictions, let us all take warning for what may come our way. Middleton Williams takes a satirical skewer to book banning, drag shows, and guns. Such a satisfying treat served with cold dead stare (we’re looking at you governor). So funny. So damning. So necessary. A political middle finger to the current administration. Loved it!

I saw a staged reading of this play at the 2024 Midwest Dramatists Conference. The awkward conversation between strangers is always a solid set up for drama, but Hartley-Kong’s play goes deep and mines an emotional mine field involving births, break ups, and new best friends. I rooted not only for these women’s success, but also for their new found friendship. A funny, heartfelt short play that grapples with a big subject. Just lovely.