Ensemble Theatre Announces Winners Of 2021 Demaline Playwriting Competition

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati has announced the winners and finalists of the third annual PLAY/write: The Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition.

The annual collegiate competition nurtures local aspiring dramatists who are helping to shape the future of American theatre and provides a $2,500 juried cash award to support the early work and career of each winner along with staged professional readings of their scripts. This year marked the most submissions received since the inception of the competition for regional undergraduate and graduate student playwrights. Impressed by the overall strength and breadth of this season's entries, the panelists have decided to name two winners as well as recognize two finalists.

The winners of this year's prize are Megan Ledford (Wright State University) for her play Hi! Maintenance. and Skye Robinson Hillis (Ohio University) for her play Bury the Rest; each of their plays will receive a full-length staged professional reading streamed through ETC's YouTube Channel. This year's finalists are Christin Cato (Indiana University) for her script Stoop Pigeons and Steven Strafford (Ohio University) for his play Greater Illinois; each will receive a short staged reading excerpt of their play, running approximately 10 minutes, that will also be available to stream online.

Excerpts of the finalists' pieces will premiere on May 12 (Greater Illinois) and May 19 (Stoop Pigeon) with the winning full-length professional staged readings to premiere on May 26 (Hi! Maintenance.) and June 2 (Bury the Rest).

Additionally, the panelists have selected three other playwrights as honorable mentions: 30 Seconds by Jayne Deely (Indiana University), Goodbye Babylon by Trevor Browning (Northern Kentucky University), and Tell Me About the Other Side by Eleanor Alger (Miami University).

"This year's competition was very close as many entries were well-constructed and each had a unique voice and point of view," says Programming and Events Manager Jared D. Doren. "This competition is a testament to the younger, local writing talent that is being cultivated in our schools today. We are excited to share some of these works, some comedic, some serious, but all worthy of recognition."

The competition commemorates the life and work of writer, critic, and theatre enthusiast, Jackie Demaline. A passionate arts advocate, Ms. Demaline served as an important catalyst for change in the theater community and was an entertainment writer and editor for numerous publications. Her legacy lives on through this competition, providing professional development for emerging writers, amplifying new voices and perspectives, and kick-starting arts careers.

About the Plays

Hi! Maintenance. by Megan Ledford

Andy is very content with her life. She may live in one of the most broken apartments New York has ever seen, but she and her roommate, Harper, get by just fine. However, when their trusted maintenance man breaks a hip and Charlie, his replacement, takes over, Andy is forced to let a new person in her life. As this newcomer offers a fresh perspective on Andy's seemingly perfect existence and her way of thinking, Harper makes decisions that spell rapid change for their relationship and Andy's life as a whole.

Bury the Rest by Skye Robinson Hillis

Following the death of their daughter Lucy in a mass high school shooting, exes Margot and Colin find themselves at a moral impasse that leaves Colin's new wife, Laura, on the outside and their other daughter, Samantha, to navigate this brave new world on her own. Each member of the family tumbles deeper into a rabbit hole of devastation, loneliness, and anger as Lucy confronts the truths of her short life while facing the reality that is her death. As they navigate their relationships and rebuild themselves as a family, it may, in fact, be Lucy who decides their fate.

Stoop Pigeons by Christin Cato

Stoop Pigeons takes place in the early 2000s when the Bushwick area of Brooklyn began radically gentrifying, spanning a decade that illuminates the cultural changes of the neighborhood and the people who inhabit it. As the demographic changes and introduces a new clientele, it's the poor Black and Brown folks who are still severely affected.

Greater Illinois by Steven Strafford

Donielle and her husband are offered money (and ultimately threats) to leave their apartment in the South Side of Chicago to a new government-sponsored suburban community. One year later, Patrick, a gay man who is being moved into the same South Side apartment is suddenly met with obstacles when a mysterious person arrives at his door. Greater Illinois is the story of the decisions we make to fight, flee, or freeze.

These virtual readings can be streamed for free through ETC's YouTube Channel, which can be accessed through the theatre's main website.

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