14th Annual Festival of Shorts at Wade James Theatre

Please join us for our 14th Annual Festival of Shorts! The festival this year will be presented in five performances June 26-29, 2025, featuring 8 shorts finalists that include 8 directors and 8 casts. The theme for 2025 is “CROSSROADS: a choice or event that changed courses.” We received 635 script submissions for this year’s festival, and the finalists were selected from submissions from around the globe.

Our volunteer readers and judges are local Seattle-area theatre lovers and playwrights. To keep the process as fair as possible, our readers were given blind copies of script submissions for judging. Our annual playwriting festival provides an opportunity for playwrights to have their works brought to life on stage, as well as gain recognition and potential awards. After the closing performance, we will announce the playwright winners for: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Judges’ Awards and Overall Audience Favorite.

Congratulations to our 2025 Playwright Finalists: ACT I

Wine DNA by Erin Osgood: Sorella and Jonah try to connect over their love of wine on an obligatory blind date. What could go wrong?

Changing Colors by Keith Whalen: A sick chameleon brings Todd and Cassie back together, making them accept the reality of their son’s death and tackle how to move forward.

A Gentle Lift by Steve Apostolina: A harried young woman gets some remarkable advice from a mysterious older woman in a stalled elevator – a gentle lift.

Love in the Time of COVID by Rick Davis: Alan and Melanie are running out of time and money. Melanie has a plan and Alan resists. Together they face a decision that could lead to a secure future…or to jail.

ACT II

In the Same Boat by Domenick Scudera: A random encounter allows a drag queen to help a woman who is at a crossroads in regards to her relationship with her daughter.

Priceless by Samara Siskind: Two people barter at a garage sale only to realize that friendship is the most prized of all possessions.

The Christmas Letter by Alice Burke: Muriel is stuck writing her yearly Christmas Letter, longing for an exciting life to brag about. Her son helps her understand what’s important and how to solve her problem.

Art Imitates by Rory O’Neill: A first date at the museum is getting so awkward that two paintings have no choice but to step in.