Festival History
The Curtain Players Playwrights Festival was created during the 2002–2003 season by local playwrights within the CP family who each had scripts that were at a developmental point where an audience becomes essential.
Working with Michael Schacherbauer (Artistic Director, 1999–2007), the scribes gathered directors and actors and set to work bringing their words to the stage. In January of 2003, a time when the theater traditionally was dark, the first Playwrights Festival premiered.
The goal of the festival was to mount small, no-budget productions—focusing on the words—and seek feedback and discussion from an audience; feedback that the playwrights would use to better their works and ready them for larger, future productions.
The first festival was deemed a success and a 2nd Annual Festival was planned immediately. With each passing year, the festival grew and began to accept scripts from all across the United States. This annual event has become a local favorite as our audiences flock to the festival to engage the playwrights in thought-provoking dialogue about their works and the future of American theatre.
A Look Back at the Playwrights FestivalPlays are listed in the order in which they premiered.
2008
Separation Anxiety by Jeremy Sony
No Worse for the Wear by Jaclyn Villano
Tabloid Love by Kenneth Nichols
Chasing Ozymandias by Michael S. Parsons
2007
Six Voices by Pat Kessler
Land’s End Café by Ann Marie Shea
The Five-Knob Radio by Milton Cohen
The Replacement by Jacob Appeal
The Cyrano Line by Claude Clayton Smith
2006
Genesis by Thomas Pierce
The Art of Building Bridges by Robert Weesner
When the Cherry Blossoms Bloom by Steven A. Shapiro
White Russian by Michael S. Parsons
Walter Men by P.S. Luhn
2005
The Importance of Being by Vicki Righettini
Library Aid by Mark Fusco
Dear Independence, Love Saigon by Deborah Sandoval
Do They Expedite There? by Jeremy Sony
Mayor Mac by Michael Burgan
Medea’s Nurse by Alan Brody
2004
Timepiece by Martin Jones
(W)holes by Di Felice
The Cosmic Oy by Patty Liszkay
Drop ‘til you Shop by Chris Shaw Swanson
Red Nose, Floppy Shoes by Jim Brosnahan
2003
Take Two by Michael S. Parsons
Temptation by Teri Kistler
The Loft by Jim Brosnahan
Take Two by Michael S. Parsons (2003) was comprised of two related one-act plays, The Brass Ring and Last Call. The Brass Ring represented Curtain Players at State AACTFest 2003, earning Charlie Sloin an Outstanding in Acting for his portrayal of Oscar E. Plishman; The Brass Ring and Last Call were then produced together as the full-length play, Take Two at Enjoy Theatre in the Autumn of 2004.
The Loft by Jim Brosnahan (2003) was produced at Enjoy Theatre in the Autumn of 2003 and later represented Enjoy at the 2004 Regional OCTAFest, garnering the following awards: Excellence in Acting for Amy - Mindy Loveless, Merit for Acting for Charlie - Charlie Sloin, Merit in Acting for Loft/Radio DJ - Emmanueal Buckley, and Excellence in Playwriting - Jim Brosnahan.
Red Nose, Floppy Shoes by Jim Brosnahan (2004) has been picked for publication by Lazy Bee Scripts of Southampton, UK.
Do They Expedite There? by Jeremy Sony (2005) represented Curtain Players at State AACTFest 2005, earning Sony a Merit in Premiering an Original Work while actress Megan Evans took home a Merit in Acting for her role as Laura.
White Russian by Michael S. Parsons (2006) was produced by Little Theatre Off Broadway in Grove City, OH, in June/July of 2006.
If you are a playwright of a previous festival premiere and your show has been produced or featured in a competition/showcase, please let us know!
