Semi-finalists Set for 36th SAMUEL FRENCH OFF OFF B'WAY SHORT PLAY FEST

Semi-finalists Announced for 36th Annual SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL July 19 - 24 at The Lion Theater at Theatre Row

SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL announces the 40 semi-finalists for its 36th annual season. Chosen from over 1000 submissions by playwriting workshops, university theatre programs, and professional companies both in the U.S. and abroad, these 40 plays will be presented July 19th - 24th at the Lion Theatre in Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street). Out of these plays, six finalists will be chosen by the Samuel French, Inc. editorial staff to receive publication and licensing contracts.

This week-long SAMUEL FRENCH INC. OFF OFF BROADWAY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL features a full program of selected plays performed for audiences and a panel of judges comprised of established playwrights, literary agents and artistic directors who nominate one or more of each evening's plays as finalists. The "Final Forty" (with its corresponding producer/producing organization in parentheses) are:

• Assisted Living by Jeffrey Neuman (Emerging Artists Theatre)
• Beautiful Hands by Ean Miles Kessler (Ean Miles Kessler)
• Bedfellows by Adam Peltzman (Adam Peltzman)
• Blood Grass by J.Stephen Brantley (Hard Sparks)
• The Body Washer by Rosemary Frisino Toohey (Rosemary Frisino Toohey)
• Bubble and Squeak by Evan Twohy (Pipeline Theatre Co.)
• The Burglar by Kevin V. Mead (Melge Media)
• Cabfare for The Common Man by Mark Harvey Levine (Sweet And Tart Productions)
• Chun Li by Camilla Maxwell (Boat Drinks Ink, LLC)
• Create Me Pegasus by Amy E. Witting (Awe Creative Group)
• Dead-Nosed by Oliver Thrun (Theater For The New City)
• The Empirical Eskimo by Arlitia Jones (Lucy Tyger Productions)
• First Breath After Total Devastation by Victor Lesniewski (New York
Artist's Community)
• Flight Risk by Caron Levis (Infinite Nutshell Productions)
• Girls Play by Masha Obolensky (The Huntington Theatre)
• Golden Ticket by Jennifer Barclay (A Collection Of Shiny Objects)
• Grapple by Sarah Young (The Opposite Of People Theatre Company &
Plaid Couch Productions)
• Hanksylvania by Travis Helwig (Travis Helwig)
• Hiding From Adults by Greg Kalleres (Fusion Theatre Company)
• HMS Headwind by Michael Gordon Shapiro (Michael Gordon Shapiro)
• Honey Mushroom by Gabrielle Reisman (The NOLA Project)
• Mountain Song by Josh Beerman (The New School For Drama)
• Mr. Crossover by Mohammad Yousuf (Mohammad Yousuf)
• The Muse by Cassie M. Seinuk (Cassie M. Seinuk)
• My Name Is Yin by Tom Swift (Tom Swift)
• The Painter by Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Stacy Osei-Kuffour)
• The Perfect Cup of Coffee by David Loughlin (HB Studio)
• Pluck & Tenacity by Daniella Shoshan (Daniella Shoshan)
• Queen Elizabeth of Factory Fifteen by Tariq Hamami (Marmaduke Theatre Co.)
• Run. Run. Stop. by Stacy Davidowitz (Stacy Davidowitz)
• Screen by Nick Gandiello (The New School For Drama)
• Spats by Adrian Singleton (Adrian Singleton)
• The Story Of Oh (Revised and Abridged) by James Colgan (James Colgan)
• The Sun Turns Black by Margaret Hoffman (Margaret Hoffman)
• Taking the Plunge by Greg Edwards and Amanda Louise Miller (Lively
Productions)
• Tower of Toys by Jackob G. Hofmann (The Aurora Theatre Ensemble)
• The Truth About Christmas by Daniel Pearl (The New School For Drama)
• We Happy Animals by Andrew Kramer (Factory 81)
• Why Pluto is a Planet by Darragh Martin (Darragh Martin)
• With a Shrug by Nicholas Priore (Nicholas Priore)

The Off Off Broadway Festival started in 1975 and is Manhattan's most established short play festival. Hundreds of theatre companies and schools have participated in the Festival's first thirty-five years, including companies from coast to coast and abroad. This Festival has served as a doorway to future success for many aspiring writers. Since its inception, 187 plays from the Festival have been published, and many of the participants have become established, award-winning playwrights including Theresa Rebeck, Shirley Lauro, Bekah Brunstetter, Steve Yockey, David Johnston and Sheila Callaghan.

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