Winner And Finalists Announced for City Theatre's National Award For Short Playwriting Contest 2018

City Theatre, now in its 23rd season, is the only professional theater in the country that produces 10 minute plays and musicals in a variety of year-round programming. The City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Contest furthers the Company's mission to identify, acknowledge and award excellence in dramatic writing. City Theatre Artistic Director Margaret M. Ledford said, "This year's Winner and Finalists were selected from a fierce pool of over 800 talented writers from around the country. The plays are an exciting mix of dramatic storytelling, some of which are plays we are already producing, or we will be presenting as readings, that we will recommend to our arts partners, and otherwise promote to bring visibility to the writers and this uniquely theatrical and versatile genre."

The National Award winning play is guaranteed a production in the Annual Summer Shorts Festival; the playwright is awarded a $1,000 cash prize, receives royalties, and an invitation to Miami for the festival. The 2018 National Award Contest winner is Ken Weitzman for his play, COVENANT (...or bagels and butchery), which was a 2017 National Award Finalist, and is now receiving its World Premiere Production in Summer Shorts 2018.

In addition to the Contest recognition, many of the Finalist plays are considered for additional City Theatre production opportunities. 5 of the National Award Finalist plays are currently being performed in Summer Shorts 2018, 3 plays had productions in City Theatre's December 2017 Winter Shorts, 2 plays were produced for City Theatre's Short Cuts 2018 middle-school tour that performed for 25,000 young audiences throughout Miami-Dade County, and1 play has been included on City Theatre's Shorts on Ships.

Finalist playwrights are invited to Miami to meet the City Theatre staff and artists and see the Summer Shorts Festival, and take part in an Industry Weekend, including professional public readings of their works performed by the City Theatre ensemble of actors and directors. The Winner and Finalist plays are also automatically submitted fee-free to City Theatre Arts Partner Samuel French for consideration in its annual OOB Festivals. This year, City Theatre selected 30 finalists and one winner from over 800 submitted scripts.

2018 Winner: COVENANT (...OR BAGELS AND BUTCHERY) by KEN WEITZMAN

2018 Finalists:
Sheila Cowley Duck*
Audrey Cefaly Bloodbath at the Fillmore*
Scott Gibson Ailurophobia*
Greg Edwards/ The Almost In-Laws*
Andy Roninson
Eric Pfeffinger Melto Man and Lady Mantis*
Ian August Frozen Foods
Lindsay Joy The Cleaners
Ross Maxwell Don't Turn Around
Brent Englar Wednesday's Child
Emmeline McCabe Shivaree
Becca Schlossberg The Story of Golem and the Pathetic Girl
Tracey Smith Meet the Pets
Alex Dremann Precipice
Phillip Hall The Nurse
Emily Kaczmarek American Kids***
Andrew Heinze The Bar Mitzvah of Jesus Goldfarb
Monet Hurst-Mendoza Work it, Bitch
Justin Warner Ghost Lite****
Lauren Gunderson Damsel & Distress
Gina Femia Fly, Baby**
Jeff Bouthiette Birthday
Amanda Keating this movie**
Ashley Lauren Rogers Becky's Christmas Wish**
Rachel Bublitz Swallowed
Greg Smith Schrodinger's Gun
Leslie Ayvazian Smiling at You
Mark Harvey Levine Oh, Tannenbaum
Preston Max Allen/ Franklin Pierce: Dragon Slayer
Will Buck
France-Luce Benson Melanin***

*Produced in Summer Shorts 201