THE SHAWNEE ORIGINAL PLAYWRIGHT SERIES Festival to Return to Shawnee Playhouse

The Shawnee Playhouse, celebrating its forty-eighth season, will present The Shawnee Original Playwright Series Theatre Festival, for one weekend only, from August 21st through August 23rd, 2026. One ticket includes admission to the entire weekend festival.

The Shawnee Original Playwright Series (S.O.P.S.) is a three-day, summer theatre festival that showcases a variety of award-winning, world premiere productions of short, one-act, and full length plays and musicals, that are exclusively produced, directed, read, and performed at The Shawnee Playhouse, under the executive direction of veteran thespian, Midge McClosky. Each year, The Shawnee Playhouse produces original submitted works of local and surrounding area playwrights.

Friday, August 21, 2026

3 PM – STARS Camp World Premiere Play!

6 PM – 2026/2027 Finalists

One-Act Play Reading – 30-Minute Segment

Ring Around the Peonies by Karen Campion

Short Play Reading – 10 Minutes

The Wedding Topper by Dan Borengasser

7 PM – World Premiere Productions & Finalist Readings

World Premiere Production – Honorable Mention, One-Act Play

Leviathan by Kevin Stuart Brodie

World Premiere Production – 3rd Place, Short Play

Really? This is it? by Caroline Lapinski

Pennsylvania Premiere Production – 2nd Place, Short Play

Sugar by Jennifer O'Grady

2026/2027 Finalist – Short Play Readings

Once an Actor by Eric Wiley

Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush by Rich Strack

Saturday, August 22, 2026

1 PM – 2026/2027 Finalist

One-Act Play Reading – 30-Minute Segment

Creature Comforts by Joe Kelley

2 PM – World Premiere Productions & Finalist Readings

World Premiere Production – 1st Place, Short Play

Goodbye by Ryan Fogler

World Premiere Production – Honorable Mention, One-Act Play

ABANDONED by Bara Swain

2026/2027 Finalist – One-Act Play Reading

The Fish and the Floater by Bara Swain

2026/2027 Finalists – Short Play Readings

The Girl on the Beach by Rose-Mary Harrington

Stuck Fast by Rex McGregor

Dinner Break

6 PM – 2026/2027 Finalists

One-Act Play Reading – 30-Minute Segment

Ruthie's Apple Pie by David Margolis

7 PM – World Premiere Production & Finalist Reading

World Premiere Production – 3rd Place, One-Act Play

Rain or Shine by Joe Kelley

2026/2027 Finalist – One-Act Play Reading

Mail Order by Rachel White

Sunday, August 23, 2026

12 PM – 2026/2027 Finalists

Full-Length Play Reading – 30-Minute Segment

Bones of Contention by Keith Burridge

2 PM – World Premiere Productions

World Premiere Production – 2nd Place, One-Act Play

The Portrait by Alan D. Maislen

World Premiere Production – 1st Place, One-Act Play

Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud Walk into a Bar by Dan Borengasser

3 PM – 2026/2027 Finalists

Full-Length Play Readings – 30-Minute Segments

I Do Not Love You Margaret Drearwood by Madge Storm Beletsky

James Hemings by Gino DiIorio

Saranac 1931 by Kathy Kafer

Summer Theatre Festival Schedule & Tickets

The Summer Theatre Festival will run from 3-9 PM on Friday, August 21; 2-8 PM on Saturday, August 22; and 12-5 PM on Sunday, August 23.

Tickets are $30 for the entire three-day festival.