A sequel to a 2024 playwriting contest winner has taken top honors in the Oswego Players 2025 Don J. McCann Memorial One-Act Play Writing Contest.
Brian Leahy Doyle, of Hastings-on-Hudson, penned last year’s second-place play, “Maybe Tomorrow,” about a budding romance between professional colleagues. This year, he submitted “And We Danced,” which presents those colleagues fully into their relationship. A panel of 18 volunteer judges praised it for its flow of dialog and richly developed characters. Doyle receives a $250 cash prize.
Garnering a $150 second-place prize is David Adam Gill, of Brooklyn, for “The Bay of Fundy (or Amaranthine).” It’s a story of loss, renewed love, and sad hope.
There was a tie for the third-place prize. Chris Woodworth, of Geneva and Keith Whalen, of Peekskill, will each receive $75. Woodworth’s “Gun Shy,” examines the effects of gun violence on a college student and a seasoned gun dealer. Whalen’s “Good Guys” is a very funny comedy about just what makes a guy good.
The four plays will be produced by the community theater, March 6-8, 2026, in the Frances Marion Brown Theatre at the Civics Arts Center at Fort Ontario, here. Presentations of contest-winning plays in previous years have attracted sold-out audiences.
Judges from Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio, as well as from Oswego County read a total of 146 submissions by writers from throughout New York state.
They named 14 finalists and, from that group, selected the winners. Other finalists were “For Better or Worse” by Kirk McGee, “Life Will Be Better the Third Time Around” by Maeve Aurora Chapman, “Napalm/Sequins” by John P. McEneny, and “Powerless” by Dana Leslie Goldstein, all of Brooklyn; “Nothing New Under the Sun” by John Doble, “Nothing Serious” by Duncan Pflaster, “Problem at Sea” by Richard Weill, and “Saint James” by Corliss Parker, all of New York City; “Home for Christmas” by Rebecca Kane, of Astoria; and “Something in the Air” by Ruben Carbajal, of Lansing.
“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, 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, and audition dates will be announced shortly after directors are selected. Tickets for the performances will go on sale in January. For information, call (315) 343-5138 or visit www.oswegoplayers.org.
CUTLINES: First place: “And We Danced” by Brian Leahy of Hastings-on-Hudson
Second place: “The Bay of Fundy (or Amaranthine)” by David Adam Gill of Brooklyn
A tie for third place: “Good Guys” by Keith Whalen, of Peekskill and “Gun Shy” by Chris Woodworth of Geneva