Recommended by Dan West

In Joseph Jones’ “Unclaimed”, a man arrives at an airport after a long flight only to discover that is luggage (or perhaps his baggage) has not arrived with him. In his attempts to navigate the airport’s complex and labyrinthine “lost luggage” protocol, he is both assisted and hindered by an airline employee who he is forced to to meet for the first time over and over again. This darkly absurd and Kafkaesque one act comedy will drive you mad and leave you laughing all at the same time.

Another good reason to keep your cats as indoor cats. When Jen and Lilly’s beloved feline, Roger, drags in an injured, baby…something, the two women are forced to figure out what exactly to do with it: Nurture it back to health, put it out of its misery, or toss it back outside. I am not sure what the correct choice might be, but it’s not the one that our two heroines made. Darkly funny and terrifying, this short piece makes great use of both lighting and atmosphere in delivering its story to great effect.

What happens when our smart speakers and digital assistants and AI chatbots start getting to know us better than we know ourselves? When the technology we choose to integrate with starts integrating back? Adam is not a perfect man and he would like to become better. For his own sake. And for the sake of his wife Eve. In this tightly constructed, short science fiction play, we discover what could happen if we hand over too much control of our own humanity to our personal tech and reach the point of no return. It’s scary.

I saw a reading of this comedic “true story” recently and it absolutely hit all the right notes from top to bottom. Roland Carter is the youngest in a long line of medieval brewers who has no talent for ale, and needs to call on different “gifts” in order to win his place in the world and the hand of his beloved. Every one of the characters is richly and fully drawn and great fun for actors and viewers alike. A certain audience pleaser.

The Turing test for machine intelligence was first proposed over 75 years ago, but it has never been so timely as it is right now. In John Busser’s “All to HumAIn”, two researchers place three volunteers in a room with the task of determining through there interactions which of them is human and which is a machine simulation. As the experiment progresses, all three see their “humanity” break down as the scenario devolves into to one no unlike Sartre’s No Exit. A tense and provocative piece with an ending that truly surprises.

This multi-layered meta-theatrical dramatic comedy will keep your audiences on their toes. A pastiche of Chekhov’s plays that has one foot set in the world of Russian Lit while the other appears to explore an area somewhere in between Christopher Durang, early Stoppard, and Paul Auster’s New York Stories. Clever, witty, and literary; “Vanya is Dick” is a play gone wrong that gets it right.

Plays are expected to change (sometimes drastically) from draft to draft; but, when those changes come live and onstage during a script-in-hand reading of a new play, all hell can break loose. In this hilarious meta-theatrical piece, not only to the characters names change during the course of the play; but, so do their relationships, and even their physical bodies. The audience will have to be paying attention to keep up with all at the twists and turns; but, with a piece this tightly (yet ornately) crafted, keeping up with it is a big part of the fun.

Suddenly losing a parent to cancer can be devastating. To discover the betrayal of the remaining parent at the very same moment in time has the potential to be soul-crushing. In Mathilde Dratwa’s “Laundry Day”, the lead character (a young mother) must decide whether to choose spiritual orphanhood or to forgive a father that has done something unforgivable to her lost mother. A chorus of alters/witness supplies sly commentary and witty insights in this comedic drama about what it means to be a wounded child and hurting parent; and both at the same time.

As an autumnal storm pummels the seaside town of Scituate, MA; newly engaged couple Patrick and Kathy feel safely ensconced in her family’s vacation home looking forward to a romantic night alone. When their plans are foiled by a second, less refined couple seeking shelter as they flee from the flooding along the coast; the pair are forced to confront their own feelings and experiences, both past and present. A taut and tightly-crafted psychological drama and takes both the characters and the audience to places least expected.

This short play cycle tracks two seminal moments in the burgeoning relationship of Irv and Sheila, a couple of elderly denizens of the Hebrew Home for the Aged. The first scene focuses on overcoming grief and loss and allowing new doors to open with the second one detailing exactly how far through that open door do you allow someone new to enter. A bittersweet and heartfelt tale of love, and aging, and moving on.