For the 41st consecutive year, theater publishing company Samuel French will celebrate the art of the 10- to 30-minute play.
Taking place Aug. 9–14 at Classic Stage Company’s East 13th Street Theater in New York City, the 41st annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival will feature staged readings of pieces under 30 minutes in length, from this year’s 30 semi-finalists. A panel of judges made up of professionals active in the theater community will select 10–12 finalists, six of which will be announced Aug. 14. Their plays will be published in print form in Samuel French’s “Off Off Broadway Festival Plays” series.
READ: “How to Become a (Successful) Playwright”
This year’s honorary festival playwright is two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Tina Howe (“Painting Churches”). For information on tickets to each round of play presentations, visit oobfestival.com. For a list of this year’s lucky 30 and their plays, see below.
The country’s premier short play competition, the OOB Festival originated in 1975 as an initiative for emerging playwrights. In 41 years, over 500 theater companies and schools have participated, helping launch the work of writers including Theresa Rebeck, Shirley Lauro, Sheila Callaghan, Bekah Brunstetter, Steve Yockey, and Saviana Stanescu. Samuel French, the world’s leading publisher and licensor of theater, has been committed to working with playwrights for over 180 years. For more information, visit samuelfrench.com.
Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival semi-finalists:
“Easter at the Entrée Gold” by John Minigan
“The Woman American” by Samantha Cooper
“Uniforms” by Jeffrey James Keyes
“Dust and Ash” by Alex Rubin
“The Cleaners” by Lindsay Joy
“Clarity” by Korde Arrington Tuttle
“That Kid” by Jane Willis
“The Mysterious Life, and Even More Mysterious Death, of That Guy Who Lived Below Max and Beth” by Mark Staufenberg
“Welcome to The Fall” by Angela Santillo
“The Duet” by Gwynn Ballard
“Los Demás” by Perry Guzzi
“Missing Karma” by Timothy Huang
“Depths” by Sharon Farrell
“Ambush!” by John Connon
“Human Resources” by R. Eric Thomas
“Tight Curls Today” by Jennifer Barclay
“Mama's Seeds” by Pia WIlson
“Risen from the Dough” by France-Luce Benson
“28 Years Later” by Uma Incrocci, Nicole Greevy, and Erica Jensen
“Monsoon Season” by Lizzie Vieh
“Bleed” by Renee Calarco
“Madeline 14 Billion Jumps the Track” by Kellen Blair
“The Journey” by Keith Burton
“Grandpa and the Gay Rabbi” by Jonathan Josephson
“A Sari for Pallavi” by Sunita Deshpande
“Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” by Seamus Sullivan
“Wedding Bash” by Lindsey Kraft and Andrew Leeds
“Room 313” by Carey Crim
“Green Card” by Mustafa Kaymak
“Mama's Eggnog” by Angela Stern
Looking to participate in a reading of a new play? Check out our theater audition listings!