Finalists Announced In National One-Act Playwriting Competition

Theatre Odyssey is pleased to announce the finalist winners of its inaugural One-Act Play Festival. The selected one-acts were chosen from 12 semi-finalists that were reduced from 100 plays submitted from over eighty playwrights in twenty-six states. The four finalists will be presented to the public as fully-produced plays at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center November 1-4, 2018 where they will be adjudicated by a distinguished panel of judges who will determine the winner of Best Play ($1000) and Runner-up ($500).

Founded in 2006, Theatre Odyssey has produced an annual Ten-Minute Play Festival for the past thirteen years, and seven years ago launched a Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival. With over 160 plays successfully produced, bringing light to local professional, amateur, and student playwrights, Theatre Odyssey saw an opportunity to grow its program and promote playwrights and new works on a national scale.

"It was very exciting to widen our scope in the One-Act Play Festival," said Theatre Odyssey President Leona Collesano. "We grew from ten-minute plays to producing one acts and extending our call for submissions nationwide."

The call for entries for Theatre Odyssey's first annual One-Act Play Festival was launched May 1st and was limited to the first 100 plays submitted. After the competition was shared largely through social media, the call was met by July 14, over two weeks prior to the anticipated deadline.

Anonymous readers read and scored the plays. The readers were given scripts which did not contain the name of the playwright, nor were they made aware of who the other readers were. The twelve semi-finalists were then presented as readings to the public with three adjudicators who scored and determined the top four plays for the finalist production.

The four finalist plays are listed below and include the playwright and their home state:
Motherless Child, Peggy Aultman, Louisiana
Tagged, Jim Moss, Florida
Sounds from the Merry-Go-Round, Stephen Stewart, Texas
Raw Fish, Emma Mercier, California

The three distinguished judges for the finalist production will include Dewey Davis-Thompson, Playwright and Regional Representative of Dramatists Guild of America; Peter Amster, Director and Choreographer at Asolo Rep; and Judith Tilton, Director of Cultural Affairs for Manatee County. Directors for the four plays include Bob Trisolini, Carole Kleinberg, Michael Newton-Brown, and Ren Pearson.

The Finalist plays are being presented November 1-3 2018 at 7:30pm and November 4 at 2pm at The Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Sarasota.

Glenridge Performing Arts Center is located at 7333 Scotland Way, Sarasota, FL 34238. Tickets are $25. Student tickets are $10. More information and tickets for Theatre Odyssey's One-Act Play Festival is available at www.theatreodyssey.org. More information about the finalist playwrights, including bios and videos, can be found on the Theatre Odyssey Blog.

The 2018-2019 Season Presenter for Theatre Odyssey is CAN Community Health-Sarasota. Executive Producer for the One-Act Play Festival is the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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