Recommended by Steven G. Martin

This is an elegant and witty telling of the Cinderella fairytale through the actions and adventures of the mice. Claudia Barnett's terrific short play shows that human nature extends into the animal world, too.

DC Cathro knows relationships, the conflicts that splinter them, and the dialogue that reflects the pain and unease caused by the splintering. "A Gun or a Paycheck" is another fine example of what DC Cathro does oh so very well.

This is farce done very well. The conflicts quickly build upon one another to a ridiculous extreme. "The Great Tinsel War of 1979" tweaks small family holiday conflicts and earnest documentary narration in a swift, funny 10 minutes.

This one-act play is like a dovetail joint: Adam Richter's story about Jacob Marley and Ebenezer Scrooge aligns perfectly into what readers know from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

Richter casts the two characters in a different light than Dickens' original. The audience sees the character arc that ultimately leads to the Scrooge in Dickens' tale and provides motivation for Marley's need to visit.

The results are eerily theatrical and emotionally vibrant.

This short play is a very funny mixture of the mundane, the mysterious and the macabre. Caitlin Cieri's wonderful dialogue includes some lines that I never would have imagined possible.

Beautifully written.

The audience understands the depth of the conflicts in "I'm Not Wearing the Green Dress" slowly, which I like a lot. That also shifts perceptions of these characters, too. Jillian Blevins has done beautiful work with this script from world building (what isn't said provides a lot of information), character depth, and the use of action and visuals. This story about siblings would be terrific for a holiday festival.

Williams' satire is a perfect play for Christmas- and holiday-themed festivals. It's a refreshing, sour look not at the holidays but rather human greed that provides a strong opposition to treacly sweet stories.

Scott Sickles has created one of the most benign, accommodating, low-key personifications of death on this or any other plane of existence. What I love even more is the character of Michael: uncertain, wanting to know, afraid but accepting. There's a chemistry between these two that's lovely: heartbreaking, comic, compassionate.

"You May Have 6" has a really terrific character arc for its protagonist; this full-length dark comedy could be subtitled "Education of a Selfish Asshole."

DC Cathro's skill with backstory, character development and dialogue is on full display here. I was part of a reading of this play; I'd love to see a full production.

This one-act play is strange, delicate, affirming, mysterious, emotional. It's very of this moment when it feels like so many people feel alone and detached, but cannot bring themselves to say that.

Credit Greg Vovos for writing two distinct, wonderful characters and for making them relatable rather than oddly fantastical and cloying. Petal and Man are rich in their many layered emotions in "Deep Breath."