Recommended by Kelly McBurnette-Andronicos

Artful ambiguity is a theme in Partain's works. A psychological, horror drama with more than one interpretation, this play would be a visual treat in full production. Designers will have wonderful challenges bringing this short play to life. Partain knows her voice, and I look forward to reading more of her writing.

'Choose your reality.' Odd to have stumbled onto this vivid nightmare/play while my brain is so feverishly working to make sense of the pandemic. Sickles' reality switches are so effortlessly done, so clever, I can never anticipate what's around the next corner. In fact, you can't even anticipate the corners until you're already around them! Time is murky, reality much more so. Highly theatrical, I would love to see this play in all its full production glory. Insanity really well done.

Sharp, acerbic commentary on how we justify the hostility we aim at what we fear. A wonderful short short highlighting humanity's irrationality.

So much I want to know about these two, mysterious women - Helen and Margaret. Martin packs in an entire, untold history in this one-minute play, while at the same time conveying so much.

I saw a wonderful reading of this short play - that slides gracefully into a monologue - at the Mid-America Theatre Conference. Both funny and devastating (a hallmark of Gonzalez' semi-autobiographical work), a father tries to come to terms with his own shortcomings while reconciling a difficult history with his own father. More than a "father play", this piece speaks to the angst of all parents.

This play was fun to see read at the Mid-America Theatre Conference. I enjoyed the multiple dilemmas and interpretations the audience is led to grapple with and ponder. Partain does a good job of building not one but two worlds in this short play, which encompasses the best of the sci-fi genre - futuristic without losing it's footing in humanity. Well done.

Ten-minute plays don’t often have the kind of vivid imagery this one does. Nor do they often have the time to switch from one world, to another, and back again. There’s a lot of story packed in this short play. I saw a reading of it at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, and it left me wanting to see a full production. A lovely short with some appropriately sharp edges.

A fast paced play with clearly defined characters, offering complex and comedic roles for women. What a welcome relief to have such characters to root for in a play that upends so many stereotypes. Gill confidently and consistently delivers strong women’s roles (see “The Mimosa War”) in situations we often don’t see them in but should. An authentic look into the unique marital-like relationships between band mates, this play would be so much fun to see live. I especially enjoyed the dramatic pressure from the riotous audience we never see.

Molly Wagner writes interpersonal relationships really well, and TIDE is no different. Selfish agendas, some rooted in religion while others are rooted in vanity and success, make for interesting conflict. Wagner does a good job of setting the tone and feel for the place she’s set the play as well. You can almost hear and smell the beach. A nice four-person play that would be easy to produce.

This play will change you on a molecular level. You may think you’re sitting passively through a one-man show, and you’ll be wrong. Intensely personal, this self-exposé forces the unwitting listener to serve as witness as Gonzalez lays his soul bare in an attempt to disrupt the curse of ancestral faults. It’s theatre cast as a spell, paletas de coco is the charm, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Highly recommended.