Recommended by Matthew Weaver

"You think a lot of things are in that box." I had the pleasure of watching this be wonderfully produced and performed over the course of 24 hours as part of Stage Left Theatre's LeftOvers festival in Spokane, WA. Canfield plays with audience expectations over the box shared between brothers Len and David, building our anticipation and masterfully subverting them. A gifted writer, Canfield does so much in a very short amount of time - both in the time to tell the story, and the time it took her to write it. Audiences will reflect on her words long after.

Sickles puts his gifts for outrageous characters and scenarios, exposing rigidly religious hypocrites and asking the bigger questions of humanity on full display in this charming, sexy, zany one-act play. The unlikely combination platter of Aimee Semple McPherson and Lucrezia Borgia and the actual devil, Nicky, allow Sickles to write one heck of a morality play, with a Nativity play as a backdrop. I was most struck by Lucy's ad-lib (it's fitting that she be the one to ask this), "What about YOUR room, Innkeeper?" Devilishly delightful and destined to unsettle the pearlclutchers.

Martin immediately elevates the one-minute play by raising the stakes and plunging the audience fully into the action. Blunt in the greatest possible way, and all too true. An absolute must for any one-minute play festival.

That sound you hear is cries of glee over a new Michelle Tyrene Johnson full-length going up on NPX! Here, she gives us a rich setting, with an irresistible heroine and loads of family history intruding on the present. ECHOES OF OCTAVIA is the best kind of soap opera - smart, witty, heartfelt and full of strong women and multiple generations all trying to get along under the same roof. If you ever loved RYAN'S HOPE, boy is this a play for you! It's family, it's romance, it's old hurts and new hopes seamlessly tied together, and Johnson's writing soars.

I had the pleasure of watching this play at Stage Left Theater's Fast & Furious one-minute play festival in Spokane. This was a delightful piece, one of my favorites from the event, which reminded me of the writing of David Ives (very much a compliment in my eyes and hopefully for Mr. Vermillion, too). Exquisitely timed, and plays with a well-known writing rule while adhering to it. Smart and witty and just pure, absolute fun. If Vermillion is this good in just a moment, on one page, I can't wait to see what he does with more time!

I had the pleasure of watching this play as part of the Fast & Furious one-minute play festival at Stage Left Theater in Spokane, WA. Costa does a masterful job both capturing what our military men and women must go through as they return to the U.S. after an injury, and as a storyteller, hooking the audience and then delivering one hell of a powerful final moment, one which immediately prompts a revisiting of everything that's come before. PHANTOM PAINS is an exquisitely crafted short story.

I had the pleasure of watching this as part of Stage Left Theater's Fast & Furious one-minute play festival in Spokane, WA (both as a performance, and as a piece used to audition actors) ! Hayet puts a clever spin on The Wizard of Oz and the delicate dance performers play when the cast list goes up. Best of all, if you never before paid any attention to the part of Tree No. 1 in that famous story, after experiencing this play, you will never forget the important role that figure plays. A smart offering that's both hilarious and genuine.

This was an amazing, solemn part of the Fast & Furious one-minute play festival at Stage Left Theater in Spokane, WA! Carnes's FRIEND character asks simple questions while we the audience are all too aware of the hidden depths beneath the words. This play was forged because of a real-life violent act, but Carnes tells it in a way that embraces peace, and yet asks all of the questions we stumble around lost, seeking answers for. There is great beauty in the world; Carnes never loses sight of the tragedy of those no longer here to see it.

This was one of my favorite plays during the Fast & Furious one-minute play festival at Stage Left Theater in Spokane, WA! Baughfman does a fantastic job with a GREAT premise, showing us the inner thoughts of two friends competing in what seems like a simple staring contest. In just a minute, Baughfman delivers secrets, heartache, tragedy and, best of all, a genuine belly laugh. BLUNK is my first experience with Baughfman's writing. It certainly won't be the last. Do yourself a favor and start here, too, and then we'll see what else this talented writer can do.

A timely message from Rinkel, and an impressive feat, fitting in virtually the entire span of existence over the course of a single minute. But he doesn't stop there. He asks the question: Do we have any time left? A surefire offering for any festival with an environmental bent. I had the pleasure of watching this as part of the Fast & Furious one-minute play festival in Spokane, WA!