Recommended by Dan West

When Winston Churchill first said “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” I am sure he wasn’t thinking about whale watching from on board an ocean bound cruise ship. But as far as the short, absurdist Jack Levine comedy is concerned, he mays as well have been. When Burt and Barbara discover the truth behind the book she is reading about time loops, they discover that one of the true blessings of Deja Vu is the joy of getting to see your very first whale time after time after time.

On April 8, 1938; two mysterious and remarkable beings plummeted to earth from the sky. One of them became the most famed superhero of our time. The second was locked away in a high-security location, seemingly inert and left to wait…for something. This is a story about the second of this beings.. A story of hope and faith and restoration. A downright remarkable story and incredibly well told. The wait is over and I am glad I was there to witness it.

On a half-abandoned Earth well past the verge of climate meltdown, two adult sisters come together to mourn the passing of their recently deceased human mother and to discuss how soon that fate might be shared by their planetary one as well. As they debate the merits of staying put versus fleeing to the “the stars”, they soon discover that perhaps not all opportunities are created equal. A brilliantly drawn relationship piece that will leaving you pondering how much we all may be on the verge of losing as well.

Although it is dressed up as a comedic take on AI dating, “Terms and Conditions” played more to me as an incisive treatise on objectification, consent, and the male gaze. Kyle is a man enmeshed with his technology, who summons from it his idealized mate only to discover that the same masculine hang-ups that undoubtedly impact his IRL relationships have followed him into his virtual one. A short AI comedy that may well leave you rooting for the AI. Well done.

No one knows what happened to Amelia Earhart after her plane disappeared over the waves of the Pacific Ocean, so we have no reason to doubt the veracity of this short, absurdist, historical docudrama. Ava Love Hannah’s deft takedown of masculine entitlement and the “sanctity” of all-male spaces is sure to leave you laughing. If you see just one “female historical icon trapped in the belly of a whale as a metaphor for the destructive nature of the patriarchy” play this year, let it be this one.

Art, at is best, serves as a mirror for society; reflecting back the complexities of the human experience, commenting on society, and leading us on a journey towards self discovery. Steven G. Martins short immersive play “An Appreciation” does all this and more in a mere 10-minutes. Bravo, sir. A trip to the gallery well spent.

Ever wonder what it might have been like to have been frozen in time by disaster like the residents of Pompeii? Or perhaps rediscovered approximately two millennia later? Well, I’ve got good news for you, dear reader. Thanks to Steven G. Martin’s brilliant short speculative play “Freeze”, you need wonder no longer. A splendid work of profound brevity to prove that we were not as primitive as they’ll think we were.

Grief is complex. It is a vessel containing a wide range of feelings - sadness, anger, guilt, relief, numbness, loss. But most of all it is heavy. Too heavy a burden to carry alone; and often too lonely a one to share. It’s a bear. One that stalks you, waiting for a moment of weakness. And Neil Radtke’s short play “Ignore the Random Bear” conveys what grief feels like just about as well as any piece I have read or seen. When words are not enough, sometimes what is needed is presence.

As the calendar approaches late fall in America, the common northern Snowbird begins its annual descent upon Miami. This year, Carole Osborne’s migration lands her at her usual roost only to find an unexpected British Tourist, a cop, and her son entangled in some sort of housing arrangement she can’t quite suss out. Hilarity ensues as Carole tries to work out exactly who is cohabiting with whom in time to be ready for Thanksgiving dinner. A wickedly fun satire of 21st century mores and manners.

We live in a world where the political stakes have never been higher. But, in order to make a difference, you have to win your election. In Eric Goudie’s sharp political comedy “Shackled to a Corpse, a candidate for office is asked by a consultant how much they are willing to do to effect a change. Maybe it’s time that we start asking that question of ourselves as well - and at what cost. An incisive and compelling 10-minute satire.