SPF BOO 2026 Short Play Festival Names VAMPIRE PIZZA Week Three Winner

Last weekend, Week 3 of Be Bold Productions 15th annual Players Theatre Short Play Festival BOO! concluded the festival at Players Theatre in the West Village. Four original spooky short plays by four different playwright were presented.

Last weekend's audience-selected winner was 'Vampire Pizza', written and directed by Anthony DeFeo.

In 'Vampire Pizza', a couple (Troy Sorensen and Kaya Celeste Smith) are settling in to watch a monster movie marathon while waiting for their delivery pizza. When it arrives, the pizza delivery man (Pawel Lewczuk) awkwardly finagles himself an invite to come in and take pictures of the couple's crown molding. After he leaves, they begin watching their movie while unbeknownst to them, the pizza guy (who is actually a vampire) sneaks in thanks to their invite and is planning to kill them. A series of slapstick events follow, hilariously thwarting the vampire's efforts before culminating in an epic takedown.

'Vampire Pizza' premiered among three other spooky one-acts.

My Crazy Vampire Husband', written and directed by Matthew Cade, features husband Alan (Ty Norris) waking up in a cardboard box while his wife Bella (Anna Kaliuzhnaia) tries to comfort him. She has turned him into a vampire like herself in order to save him from his cancerous tumor. Unfortunately, Alan is having trouble adjusting and seems to have kept his mental health struggles, so Bella calls in Yelga (Yule Donald), an expert in vampire transitioning, to assist. Together they help Alan comes to terms with his new state of being.

'Flooding with Binky', written by Darlene Elizabeth Joiner and directed by Audra Zook, takes place in a therapists office where Pearl (Darlene Elizabeth Joiner) is seeking help for her intense fear of clowns. Her therapist takes an exposure approach by dressing as a clown and proceeding to scare the living daylights out of Pearl. It seems to be working, until he pushes just a little too far and discovers for himself just how dangerous a psyche on the edge can be.

'Spellbound', written by Hunter Corbett and directed by Alan Cordoba-Diaz , begins mid-bachelorette party, where Grace (Hunter Corbett), Danielle (Meghan Martin) and Michelle (Veronica Murphy) are celebrating Michelle's upcoming nuptials. Unfortunately for Michelle, Grace is obsessed with magic and has invited a magician to perform tricks - a magician that happens to be Michelle's ex-boyfriend. It is soon revealed that the magician has more than just magic scarves up his sleeve when he casts a love spell intended to make Michelle fall in love with him. It instead causes Danielle to fall in love with him, and then the tables are turned when Grace get ahold of the spell book and turns the magician into a frog.

Submissions are now open for the 2027 Players Theatre Short Play and Musical Festival LUV, which features short plays or musicals revolving around the theme of love. For more info or to submit, please visit: https://shortplaynyc.com/submit/