I love writing short plays and often approach them like a good crossword puzzle. Creating a story with a full arc in less than a dozen or fifteen pages provides a unique set of challenges — how to plunge the audience into a quick understanding of the characters and their dilemma. It's a wonderful way to explore time and place and how the social/political/economic exigencies of a period color the story.
It's also a rewarding way to show work and many of these have been semi-finalists or finalists in short play festivals.