Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Audiences will laugh aloud at McGregor's use of logic and physical comedy in this very funny play. The fact that he skewers some extremist beliefs also is pretty terrific.

Even before its shocking twist at the end, Richard Lyons Conlon's short play will quicken the pulse of everyone in the audience.

A bittersweet story, and a situation that probably is true for too many people.

Bravo to Donnelly for showing different relationships -- with society, family, romantic partners, and self -- and how they may or may not evolve over time.

Beck trusts an audience's intelligence to infer the state of the world and the importance of art and ritual in "Mechanicals." There is joy, yes, but also self-sacrifice and heroism portrayed in the most understated of ways. I'd love to see this play produced, especially the end, with its imagery and repetition.

Beck nods to Shakespeare in the title and actions, but it feels that Beckett also has influenced the creation of this science fiction drama. Very well written.

Damn, damn, damn! Self-expression can be a vile, excruciating act. Cooper's monologue shows the character's desperation very well. Audiences will long remember this short play.

Sickles zooms in on the intimate and personal in the midst of tragedy. As with all his plays, Sickles provides details to imbue his characters with another humane dimension. Keep an eye on the flatware.

Regrets and frustrations. A tender, passionate moment between mature men. The final goodbye at the end of a 30-plus-year relationship. Sickles brings all of this gracefully in a way that will tug an audience's heartstrings.

It lasts only a minute, but "Exclusion" may be the most dangerous play I've read. It adds a perspective to a topic that normally is discussed in a single dimension.

This two-character play will appeal to actors and audiences.

When the heart doesn't get what it wants, frustration reigns. And pent-up frustration is set loose in "The Trike, or 'Use Your Words.'" Angus's methods to express his frustration are extreme, but Sickles allows the audience to understand how much that frustration is harming him.

The power of language in the realms of desire, joyously told in a single, sweet-then-sexy minute.