Recommended by Steven G. Martin

Well, that's one way to address sibling rivalry: murderous intent.

Lee R. Lawing has written a jet-black comedy that uses the classic Three Little Pigs story to showcase annoyances, character conflict, and figurative backstabbing on a grand scale. It's a shock and a laugh in less than a minute.

You will care about a refrigerator. Jennifer O'Grady's skill at characterization, dialogue, and humanity will make audiences CARE ABOUT A REFRIGERATOR. Terrific play.

The story is romantic and the spectacle is a perfect visual metaphor: breathtaking, direct, buoyant. Rebecca Kane's "Just Like Falling" is just lovely.

I love Bethany Dickens Assaf's "Angel" for several reasons. It takes a deep, nuanced dive into its plot and themes -- there are many layers being navigated from the initial setup to the metatheatrical climax. It's a very thoughtful, intelligent script with a passionate point of view, but it's not until the final line and action that everything falls into place. And it will be very satisfying to audiences when that happens. "Angel" is terrific and it deserves a robust production history.

This is a very well-plotted short play.

Ryan Kaminski creates tension from the opening action, builds it through introducing a new character and expands it through backstory and world building. But the marvel of this play is the back-to-back reveals that change the power dynamic between Vivian Howard and Arthur Nelligan. And every moment of it is beautifully set up from the beginning of the script.

"The Deal" is very well written and very worthy of its robust and diverse production history.

I love that Sunita, the protagonist in this short play, ultimately stands up to the blasé, yet blatant and constant belittling of The Man With The Power. It feels like a victory for her, and I'm certain audiences will feel the same. "Civics" takes aim at power, America, and uncivil methods trying to belittle and minimize others.

This short play's easygoing, affable charm is the direct result of Miranda Jonte's skill at creating appealing characters. Her protagonists have a decidedly doggy point of view, blended with a flair for superhero melodrama. "Captain Flash & Major Bang" is a lovely, self-contained series of vignettes that audiences will adore.

Baughman's "Truth Juice" is a fun concoction of rhyming verse and mother-son dynamics. It's jaunty one-minute play with an unexpected ending.

Miller's "Fireflies" is a beautiful, image-laden reflection on nostalgia: idyllic memories of first loves and infatuations and, I think even more broadly, childhood. This is a succinct reminder that things change.

Daniel Prillaman knows how to get audiences to react: put characters through the ringer by creating the strangest circumstances imaginable, like a rehearsal date with far too much spaghetti and a gloriously over-the-top raccoon with an Eastern European accent.

"Lady and the Raccoon" is a joyously silly and messy addition to the Terrence & Ling-Ling Adventures series. Trashy Carl's brash, loud voice boldly shoots through this world, but it's a wonderful complement to Terrence's timidity and Ling-Ling's/Candace's sweet awe of the world.

Situation, characters, physical humor, gross-out humor, and genuinely sweet setup make "Lady and the Raccoon" a comic winner.