Recommended by Claudia Haas

A fable for our times. Beware: This play will unite conspiracy theorists! And make you watch the skies. And ... leave your phone at home... and cancel your Amazon subscription. Don’t believe me? Read it and then check what ads are targeting you... drones are everywhere. (It’s also a lot of fun.)

An evergreen ... err ... timeless play for the holidays. Forget Santa. Tannenbaum should visit every home in December giving true comfort and joy. And if you’re in the market for a Christmas tree/Chanukah bush - you’ll be looking for an artificial one after reading this play.

Kaplan gives us a fantastical look at the Bronte siblings and their legacy. We get a welcome glimpse into a writer’s life that is highly theatrical with none of the “cliched writer scenes” that pepper many plays. In childhood, Branwell’s imagination and generosity fueled his sisters’ talents. It’s especially poignant to see the changes in their positions from childhood to adult. Meticulously researched, the play offers us a look at a family of artists coping with loss, success, and jealousy - wrapped in love.

Sly prayers, sports prayers, heartfelt prayers - an anthology could be created on the notion of prayer to individuals (and yes, insects). McClain touches on what prayer is for different people and what it does for them. I love how each prayer reveals more about the person (and insect) praying than about the prayer itself. There’s a welcome variety here told with wit and compassion.

I am immersed in McClain’s short, thematically related plays. Igniting brings us to scary places. Places we may not want to visit but must. There’s danger. There’s loss. And they are unavoidable. The characters question themselves and right or wrong - they do not give in to what’s easy. McClain’s ability to give us a glimpse of a complicated character in one minute is a wonder.

What was. What is. What could be. What will be. Three very short plays that encompass our human desires are brought before us. McClain wraps us into her divining world. She offers us remembrances of the past as well as glimmers into a future. There’s light everywhere. And it’s most welcome.

Rinkel really amps the "struggling" in "struggling artist." Everyone struggles: the artist, the gallery owner and the buyer. Nobody in the hierarchy of the art world escapes Rinkel's eye. Smartly written and cleverly plotted, the play navigates three points of view with an eye on the absurd. Dare I say it? There's some fine artistry in this artsy play.

The invention! The contents of Jane’s purse! Bubbles and the ocean! What’s not to like? Sweet and tangy, Floating Bubbles is a delicious confection for a play festival. Dick and Jane both have a lovely arc and give the actors something strong to play. The audiences will love the surprises.

Get your sillies on and read this. It’s chock full of belly laughs, and “oh no!” chuckles. In the vein of “what can go wrong,” this play delivers a non-stop farce of mayhem. If you like your romance peppered with giggly chaos, O’Neil-Butler is giving it to you. A treat tor audiences and actors.

Boyle ends his pice with “Imagine if he continued” and I am left imagining this play if it continued. Maybe chess mirrors life. Maybe chess mirrors what you wish was life. Boyle brings up “what is a life” again and again. You must supply the answers.