Samuel French's Short Play Festival Winners Announced

Samuel French has announced the six winning plays from the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival (OOB Festival), the nation's premiere short play competition, which concluded on Sunday, August 10th at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre.

Selected from an original submission pool of 1385 plays, six new short plays will be published in a collection by Samuel French in its 39th Off Off Broadway Plays collection -

Taisetsu Na Hito by Leah Nanako Winkler
et·y·mol·o·gy by Jennifer Jasper
The Logic by Will Arbery
A Wake for David's Fucked-Up Face by Skylar Fox
John, who's here from Cambridge by Martyna Majok
MANDATE by Kelly Younger

From August 5th to August 8th, thirty plays by a variety of emerging playwrights were performed. Twelve OOB Festival judges, 3 each night of the Festival, determined which plays moved on to the Saturday Festival Finals, where Samuel French Staff selected the six winning plays. Judging panels were comprised of the theatre industry's most-celebrated professionals, including artistic directors and major playwrights. 2014 judges included Keith Josef Adkins, Leslie Ayvazian, Neena Beber, Rick Burkhardt, Adam Greenfield, Alex Kilgore, Dave Malloy, Emily Morse, Christian Parker, Maria Striar, and Susan Westfall.

"This year's collection of winners offers a range of playwriting styles and voices, and is perhaps more varied play-by-play than ever before," said OOB Festival co-Artistic Director and Samuel French Literary Manager Amy Rose Marsh. "Our Finalists all displayed unique talented and voice, but we're very proud of the way the six winners work as a collection."

Originating in 1975, the Festival is New York's most established short play festival and has attracted the attention of applicants from not only the U.S., but international dramatists as well (Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, etc.). The OOB Festival is unique in that it requires applicants to collaborate with a producing organizing or to self-produce their work. Additionally, the winning plays are published in Samuel French's acclaimed OFF OFF BROADWAY FESTIVAL PLAYS series and licensed to theatre producers around the world.

The 39th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival ran from August 5-10 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street). For more information about the 2014 OOB Festival, including playwright profiles and interviews, please visit oob.samuelfrench.com.