Dubuque Fine Arts Players
Produces Winning One-Act Plays – From Its 36th Annual National Contest
August 22, 23 and 24, 2013 – 7:30pm
Nation’s oldest one-act play writing contest presents three prize-winning dramas on Mindframe’s stage.
World premiere performances of three outstanding new theater works will be presented by Dubuque Fine Arts Players in its 36th Annual National One-Act Play Festival on August 22-24.
The performances are winners in Dubuque’s contest, the longest established one-act playwriting contests in the nation. Since 1977, the Dubuque Fine Arts Players (a theater wing of the Dubuque County Fine Arts Society) have sponsored a national one-act playwriting contest and have offered productions of the winning scripts.
The contest is a unique theater tradition. Every year playwrights from around the US and several foreign countries submit unproduced original one-act plays to the contest. Each script goes through a rigorous screening process in which scripts are read by a panel of volunteer script readers. What makes the contest unique is that the readers represent people from all walks of life in the community. After multiple readings, the top ten scripts from this process are then evaluated by a panel of directors and final judges who select the 3 prize winners and determine which plays will be produced and staged by local volunteer actors, directors, and technicians.
For a second year, the productions will be at Mindframe Theaters in Dubuque, through a partnership with Mindframe. Special lighting and stage embellishments and the availability of refreshments will make this a memorable evening of live theatre for Festival patrons. This year’s plays are powerful statements about survival, life, and death:
- First Prize: Like Music by Eleanor Kennedy of Chatham, NJ. This is a thoughtful play about missed connections, and making choices when everything on the menu looks good. Directed by Danny Fairchild, the cast includes Valerie Heitzman, Nicholas Johnson, and Aaron Pozdol.
- Second Prize: Last Days of Wonder by Tess Light of Los Alamos, NM. Near the end of her counter-cultural life, a mother finds ways to connect with both of her daughters. This drama directed by Jill Heitzman features Michele McKinlay, Maggie Pickering, and Mary Schreiber.
- Third Prize: The Favor by D.C. Savadge of New York, NY. In this insightful drama directed by Matt Zanger, two women at the beach realize their time has come. The cast includes Lisa Anderson and Marion Roberts Lubinski.
Performances of this year’s one act plays will be August 22, 23 and 24(Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) at 7:30 pm at Mindframe Theaters, behind Kennedy Mall in Dubuque. An opportunity to meet the directors, actors and possibly some playwrights for discussion will follow the performances each night. Tickets are $15.00 at the door, $10 for college students with ID and younger. More at www.dbqoneacts.org.