Winners have been revealed for the 47th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, with all six winning plays set to be published and made available for licensing by Concord Theatricals through its Samuel French imprint.
This year's winners are Too Much Lesbian Drama: One Star by Jessie Field, Chemistry by Ben Hollbrook, Georgia Rose by Onyekachi Iwu, Bugs by Alex Moon, Shark Week by Erika Phoebus, and If All You Take From This is Courage, I've No Regrets by Nicholas Pilapil.
Winners were chosen by a panel of judges from this year's finalist works, selected from more than 750 entries worldwide. This year's panel included playwrights Dennis A. Allen II, Eboni Booth, Karen Hartman, and Bryna Turner, along with National New Play Network Executive Director Nan Barnett, dramaturg Ken Cerniglia, New Dramatists Artistic Director Emily Morse, City Theatre Miami Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford, Classic Stage Company Artistic Director Jill Rafson, Playwrights’ Realm Associate Artistic Director Alexis Williams, and Playwrights Horizons Associate Artistic Director Natasha Sinha.
“This year was our first in-person Festival in three years, and we were excited and nervous to be back at it," says OOB Festival Artistic Director Casey McLain. "We started out a bit timid, unsure if it was too soon to be back in-person. However, it was just like riding a bike—and when we heard the audience cheer and applaud for the first performance, we knew we were in the right place at the right time. It was truly an honor to spend this week with these 30 amazing plays and playwrights."
Established in 1975, the Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival aims to introduce the next generation of great playwrights. Writers internationally are invited to submit short works, which are traditionally performed in rep at an Off-Broadway venue—last year's festival was adjudicated via online readings due to the pandemic. Past participants include Audrey Cefaly, Martyna Majok, Bekah Brunstetter, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Sheila Callaghan, khat knotahaiku, Gracie Gardner, Jeremy O. Harris, Shirley Lauro, Theresa Rebeck, Jen Silverman, and Steve Yockey.
