WinnersSet For 2011 Samuel French, Inc. Off Off Broadway Short Play Fest

Six plays have been chosen by Samuel French, Inc. as the winning scripts from the 36th Annual Samuel French, Inc. Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival, which concluded Sunday, July 24th in The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row.

The winning scripts are:
- MOUNTAIN SONG by Josh Beerman, the story of a young woman who returns home for her father's funeral only to discover her mother's buried family secrets, and a ghost that haunts them both;
- PLUCK & TENACITY by Daniella Shoshan, where one member of an aspiring rap duo decides to go rogue...in order to write love songs;
- THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS by Daniel Pearle, which takes a look at the aftermath of a scandal in an Upper East Side private school as three mothers and a guidance counselor try to come to terms with their confusion and anger;
- BEDFELLOWS by Adam Peltzman, shows John Adams and Benjamin Franklin on the night where they are forced to share a bed at a crowded inn - a tricky task when your bedfellow is one of the world's most accomplished men (inspired by true events);
- HANKSYLVANIA by Travis Helwig, the story of a professional football coach, and the halftime speech that changed his life;
- MY NAME IS YIN by Tom Swift, where hikers find 140 shoes filled with butter on a Swedish mountain - and absurdity ensues. The scripts will be published as a collection and licensed by Samuel French, Inc., available for sale later this winter.

From a submission base of over 1,000 entries, forty plays were performed in the week-long preliminary rounds of this year's Festival. Thirteen were then selected by a panel of industry judge, including: BEDFELLOWS by Adam Peltzman, CREATE ME PEGASUS by Amy E. Witting,
HANKSYLVANIA by Travis Helwig, MOUNTAIN SONG by Josh Beerman, TAKING THE PLUNGE by Greg Edwards & Amanda Louise Miller, DEAD-NOSED by Oliver Thrun, BEAUTIFUL HANDS by Ean Miles Kessler, CHUN LI by Camilla Maxwell, THE TRUTH ABOUT CHRISTMAS by Daniel Pearle, PLUCK & TENACITY by Daniella Shoshan, THE PAINTER by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, MY NAME IS YIN by Tom Swift and BUBBLE & SQUEAK by Evan Twohy.

The rotating panel of industry judges who advanced plays to Sunday's Finals were comprised of the following playwrights: Adam Bock (A Small Fire, The Drunken City), Cusi Cram (A Lifetime Burning, Fuente) Bekah Brunstetter (Oohrah!), Matthew Burnett (Theophilus North), Lloyd Suh (American Hwangap), and Kia Corthron (A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick). In addition, theatrical agents representing the following agencies and the following artistic directors also judged this year's festival: Jonathan Lomma (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment),
Thomas Pearson (International Creative Management), Beth Blickers (Abrams Artists Agency), Jonathan Mills (Paradigm), Alexis Williams (Bret Adams, Ltd.), Barbara Hogenson (Barbara Hogenson Agency), Paige Evans (LCT3), Mark Hoebee (Paper Mill Playhouse), Susan Bernfield (New Georges), Jeff Zinn (Wellfleet Harbor Theatre), Kevin Cochran (Grove Theatre Center) and Katherine Kovner (The Playwrights Realm).

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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