Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Blatt's short play pits jaded, selfish cynicism against naïve, altruistic optimism. What's especially terrific is that both Jill and Cathy are given equal voice; Blatt understands her characters' points of view so well.

Goldman-Sherman masterfully uses action to create character in this short monologue. The audience recognizes the protagonist by her activity: nonstop washing and drying of dishes.

With that as a baseline, the dialogue accents even more strongly her anger, irony, disgust (sometimes comic), and demoralization.

This is an intricate, emotional journey. DeVita's skill at characters, plot and structure is key to this drama. Phillie's relationships with friends and family are strengthened, dissolved, exploded, and reformed.

Weaver's one-act has a sprawling scope: nothing less than the earliest history of Homo sapiens. There's misery, struggle, and violent death. It's also intimate; the audience is treated to the story of the first romantic couple. All without a line of dialogue.

An adventurous director, cast, and design team would jump at the opportunity to produce this play. "Very First Kiss" has a high level of difficulty, but it would make for a long-remembered performance.

The setup, the conflict, the deadpan punchline. "Planning Ahead" is quick, comic and delivers a little social commentary in a minute.

"Begging the Question" is the kind of one-minute play I love -- it challenges an audience's assumptions and expectations, and it will bring a smile to their face. Tautly written, every syllable is essential to this back-and-forth bantering comedy.

Greg Vovos is a humane writer. Even his short plays, which sometimes have fun trimmings of absurd humor, always have genuine emotional understanding at their core.

"House Manager," for all its charm and humor -- and there is plenty of both -- is about assuaging fear and grief. It's easy to produce, there's good give-and-take with the dialogue, and it's pro-imagination and pro-theatre.

Laura Pittenger's short play dramatizes Grace's first steps not to be completely free from grief, but to continue her life with the understanding that grief will be a part of it. This is a quiet drama, but the stakes are very high.

With "Misfit, America," Diaz-Marcano crafts a story that only theatre can tell. One plot, several stories; of the quest for identity and belonging, of revenge and redemption, of greed and selflessness, of standing your ground and looking to the future. This is epic, this is intimate, and this is a script that will challenge and reward everyone involved, including an audience.

Love and acceptance from those we love and accept, including God and our parents. What else is there? For Mona, it's everything. Audiences will root for these characters to listen to and understand one another in this subtle, emotional drama.