Recommended by Dan West

Running into an ex years later can such an awkward experience. Especially when you consider yourself “The King of the gods” and she doesn’t exactly recognize you. (Maybe don’t show up as a cow next time). This short comedic play hits all the right notes both as a send up of the Ancient Greek Myth and as a more serious commentary on rape culture, toxic masculinity and the modern dating scene.

Jonna and Jack have struggled as a couple throughout the years. Throughout 500 years and three different lifetimes in fact. After their most recent failed romance, the couple is confronted with the Akashic Record of their times together, and are left to see if they can finally figure the whole soulmate thing out before the next go. Arianna Rose has written a compelling and emotional authentic yarn about two star-crossed lovers that can’t quite get it figured out over multiple lives, but seem committed to keep trying.

What happens when parents stop parenting their children and instead start living vicariously through them? Robert Macadaeg has created a richly realized world in which children can harness their boundless joy and imagination to take flight; but the adults are unable to accept it as the childish “flight of fancy” that it is. A well executed and scarily profound indictment of toxic parenting and our competitive youth sports/pageant parent culture.

What is meant to be a “family dinner” held by widower Harry in order to bring his girlfriend Julia and his teen daughter Harper closer together is thrown off course by the unplanned inclusion of Harper’s schoolmate Ruby. What is already an unsteady balance tumbles ass over teakettle into chaos when it appears that the two girls may be more than “just friends”. An excellent bit of Kitchen Sink realism with some of the best, most naturalistic dialogue that I have read in ages,

I love plays about liminal spaces, and the diner in Larry White’s eerie short work “Still Time” is just such a place. From the very first line, we (and the characters) are left to figure out on our own what exactly is happening..and why. And when it hits you, believe me, it’s a gut punch. A well earned (and rewarding) one.

A haunting comedy/thriller about two young lovers, a mysterious wishing well, and a ghostly curse (or is it a blessing.). Nothing is quite as it seems in this short, genre-subverting piece. Would make a great addition to any evening of short works, Halloween themed or not.

A wonderful ten-minute piece about friendship, anxiety, and the existential anguish of being treated as laundry. Lottie is used to being pushed around and Priya is happy to provide the well-intended pushing - that is until Lottie's childhood pal Bluebeary (not Blueberry) has see enough. What follows is a masterful bit of magical absurdity.

Today is the day. Today is the day that Felix and Nick finally put down the game controllers and collaborate on that screenplay that is sure to make them rich and famous. All they need is an idea…and some burgers….or maybe kebabs? This smartly written and absurdly funny comedy about two slackers on a mission to make something of their lives before dinner arrives is sure to leave its audience in stitches.

What starts as a community theater post-mortem session after a fraught production breaks down into an airing grievances before becoming a full on whodunnit in this genre subverting dark comedy that examines the egotistic fragility of adult “theatre kids” and the damage they can cause, not just to each other, but to all those that dare enter their world. Erica Tatum’s deft use of humor mixed with episodes of Shakespearian verse make this far more than just a richly witty peek into backstage politics, but a poignant indictment of those unable to relinquish the spotlight.

Finley of Morris Island is no one’s fair maiden. And when almost legendary pirate Captain Jason Montgomery and his crew seize her and take her onboard their ship the Dawn Chaser to join them, it is up to Finley to show them the error of their ways. With rollicking sea shanties and thrilling swashbuckling (along with a bit of magic), this adventurous one-act comedy is sure to bring smiles to audiences both old and young.