A selection of 40 short plays, chosen from over 700 submissions by playwriting workshops, university theatre programs, and professional companies from the US and abroad will be presented at the 34th Annual Samuel French Inc. Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival on July 14th at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre (416 West 42nd Street).
The week-long festival features a full program of plays. Each night, one or more will be selected to move on to the finals by a panel of judges made up of a New York theatrical agent, a Samuel French playwright, and a prominent artistic director.
The finals will be held July 19th, the final day of the Festival. From the finalists, six will be selected for publication and licensing by Samuel French, Inc. The final judging panel will be comprised of Samuel French editorial staff.
The 40 plays being presented this year are: Airborne by Laura Jacqmin, American Royal by Gabe McKinley, Amphibians by Casey Wimpee, (baptism) by Harrison David Rivers, Barron, CA by Jessica Hinds, the bus that got cut over its eye by Matthew Paul Olmos, The Cooking King by Sharon E. Cooper, Diving Kitty by Suzanne Bachner, Doll Play by Tony Glazer, The Dorsal Striatum by Trish Harnetiaux, Drop by Pete Barry and J. Michael DeAngelis, The Education of Macoloco by Jen Silverman, Foreclosure by George Cameron Grant, Free Play by Michael Niederman, Generation Graffiti by Janine Nabers, Gilbert, or Death by Obituary by Michael Vukadinovich, H.R. by Eric Coble, The Hardly Wonder by Jason Gray Platt, Humble Pie by Leslie Gwyn, I Can Tell Your Handbag is Fake by Dean Lundquist, Just Knots by Christina Gorman, Laying Off by James McLindon, Metro Psalm by J. Julian Christopher, Mom Was a Carney by Andrew Podell, Monday by Gloria Williams, The Monster by Eric Fallen, Nine Point Eight Meters Per Second Per Second by Pete Barry, realer than that by Kitt Lavoie, Slutty Slutty Butterslut: Three Pieces About Baking by Lucy Alibar, with music by Lucy Alibar and Portia Krieger, The Student by Matt Hoverman, Survival by Dano Madden, Teddy Ballgame by Caitlin Mitchell, This is Jeopardy by Killian Beldy, Thucydides by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola, A Time Ripe and Rare by Sue Bigelow and Carol Davis, Toad Suck by Rebecca Cohen, Up With (Some) People by Joshua Conkel, We Appear To Have Company by Greg Freier, We Semi-Solids Melting Into Air by Jon Kern, Yes Yes Yes by David Johnston.
The Off Off Broadway Festival started in 1975 and is New York City's oldest continuous short play festival. Over 400 theatre companies and schools have participated in the Festival's first thirty-three years, including companies from coast to coast as well as abroad from Canada, UK and Asia. By requiring authors to collaborate with a producing organization and present their work in performance, Samuel French seeks to encourage the collaborative and creative process of playwriting. Over the years, 181 submitted plays have been published, and many of the participants have become established, award-winning playwrights.
For more information about the Festival, plays, playwrights and participating companies, please visit the official festival website at www.samuelfrench.com/oobfestival or the official festival blog at samuelfrenchoobfest.blogspot.com.
Samuel French, Inc. was founded in 1830 with offices in New York City, Los Angeles and London, and retail bookstores in Hollywood and Studio City, making it the oldest and largest publisher and licensor of plays in the world.
The producing entities are as follows: Airborne-At Play Productions, American Royal Shoot First Theatre Co., Amphibians Working Man's Clothes Productions, (baptism) At Play Productions, Barron, CA The New School for Drama, the bus that got cut over its eye woken' glacier theatre company, The Cooking King Sharon E. Cooper, Diving Kitty John Montgomery Theatre Company, Inc., Doll Play Choice Theatricals, The Dorsal Striatum Morningline Productions, Drop The Porch Room, The Education of Macoloco Fusion Theater Company, Foreclosure HeArt Theatre Company, Free Play Crosstown Playwrights, Generation Graffiti The New Voice Project, Gilbert, or Death by Obituary Red Tie Productions, H.R. Algonquin Productions, The Hardly Wonder Columbia University, Humble Pie WorkShop Theatre Company, I Can Tell Your Handbag is Fake Crash Test Drama Singapore, Just Knots The Public Theater, Laying Off James McLindon, Metro Psalm The Public Theater, Mom Was a Carney Naked Angels, Monday The Royal Court Theatre, The Monster Playwrights Unite!, Nine Point Eight Meters Per Second Per Second The Porch Room, realer than that The CRY HAVOC Company, Slutty Slutty Butterslut: Three Pieces About Baking Youngblood Playwrights Group, The Student Algonquin Productions, Survival Dano Madden, Teddy Ballgame HB Studio, This is Jeopardy The New School for Drama, Thucydides Geek Ink, A Time Ripe and Rare Artistic New Directions, Toad Suck LAByrinth Theater Company, Up With (Some) People Youngblood Playwrights Group, We Appear To Have Company Emerging Artists Theatre, We Semi-Solids Melting Into Air Youngblood Playwrights Group, Yes Yes Yes Blue Coyote Theatre Group
