The Oswego Players, Inc. has announced the winners of its 2024 Donald J. McCann Memorial One-Act Play Writing Contest. The contest is an opportunity for budding playwrights eager to see their creations brought to life on stage.
Winning the first-place, $250 prize this year was Michael Brumm, of Ardsley. His “A Matter of Measurements: The Uncut Version.” is a farce about a fictional meeting between Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Brian Leahy Doyle, of Hastings-on-Hudson, received $150 for his second-place play, “Maybe Tomorrow,” a tender look at a budding romance between two mid-life colleagues.
Two plays are tied for third place and each playwright will get a $75 prize. “Like Clockwork” by Andrada Angileri, of Brooklyn, sparkles with the repartee of an urbane couple and then gives the audience an emotional, surprise twist at the end. “Birthright” by Lydia Merritt, of New York City, explores the fear of letting go of the familiar and the excitement of emerging into something new in a poetic piece of theater.
All four plays will be produced by the Oswego Players, March 7-9, 2025, in the Frances Marion Brown Theatre at the Oswego Civic Arts Center at Fort Ontario. Presentations of contest-winning plays in previous years have attracted sold-out audiences.
Members of the volunteer judging committee read 90 submissions from writers throughout the state. This is the most submissions the Donald J. McCann Memorial One-Act Play Writing Contest has received in one year.
“Especially noteworthy this year was the breadth of subjects and styles. It was a daunting task, but the plays were inspiring to read,” said committee member Mark Cole, of Oswego. The committee named 11 finalists and from that group, selected the winners.
Other finalists were “Fifty-four Years” by Andy V Ambraziejus, “Merely Players” by Danielle E. Moore, and “The Dry Line” by Joe Nelms, all of New York City; “G Is for Grief” by Kate Hertz, formerly of New York City and now of Colorado Springs, Colo.; “Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup” by Taylor Maxim, of Painted Post; “Justice Served” by Ed Friedman, of Peekskill; and “Mistaken Identity” by Richard Weill, of Katonah;
“The Don McCann One-Act Playwriting Contest has become a cornerstone in the Oswego Players’ mission to encourage and spotlight new voices in the world of theater. The organization’s dedication to fostering the creation of original plays remains as strong as ever,” said Norman Berlin III, president of Oswego Players and chairperson of the contest.
The Oswego Players, founded in 1938, remains one of the oldest, continually active community theater groups in America.
Directors of the winning plays will be named soon, Berlin said. Tickets for the performances will go on sale in January. For information, call (315) 343-5138 or visit www.oswegoplayers.org.