Eleventh Annual Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
Welcome to the Festival
Festival Dramaturg & Playwright Mentor
JASON CANNON is a best-selling and award-winning author and publisher, as well as an award-winning director, actor, playwright, improviser, and teacher. He has an MFA in Directing, a Masters in Drama, and a quarter-century in professional theatre. As an actor Jason has portrayed everything from a rapping dinosaur to a robot and from a hitman to Hamlet. He has written plays about J.R.R. Tolkien and Stevie Wonder, directed plays about hiccuping dragons and foul-mouthed puppets, and once while improvising he was attacked by a stage light.
In December of last year, I had the incredible honor of working with the eight terrific young playwrights whose plays are being celebrated at this festival. Writing is a solitary exercise, and writing plays is even more daunting, because the playwright isn’t writing words to be read on a page, but dialogue to be spoken by living, breathing actors on a stage. The playwright, unlike say a fiction writer, even though working alone, in actuality is a collaborator. But very few playwrights have a closet full of actors they can pull out to read back their work. Playwrights don’t really know if their play is ready until they HEAR it.
Also consider that playwriting is not a craft taught in our schools. Our young playwrights today are more likely to learn the art of storytelling from TV or film, from YouTube and TikTok. From a SCREEN. But theatre is LIVE. And writing for LIVE performance is incredibly difficult without help. Without collaborators.
This is where I was so lucky to be involved! I was able to put professional, outside eyes on these plays, and zoom with these playwrights, and email them notes, and talk with them about what was working and what needed adjusting. Their plays had already been accepted as finalists, but working together we were able to take their plays to the next level, to dig in deep to the characters and settings and dialogues, explore the themes and punchlines.
These young playwrights were a delight to work with. They were open and curious and gracious and full of gratitude, which are qualities abundant in any true artist. And I can’t wait for you to see and hear the results of their work and imagination.
jason
CLICK ON THE TITLES BELOW TO OPEN A PAGE FOR EACH PLAY
by Eve Hare
Cardinal Mooney High School, Sarasota
In Victorian England, a small group of women combine the pastime interests and intricacies of tea, dominoes, and murder.
Director: Leona Collesano
Alice — Ruth Shaulis
Elsie — Julee Breehne
Beatrice — Andrea Keddell
Hattie — Lindsey Nickel
Watchman — Glenn Schudel
Ruth Shaulis (Alice) — Ruth’s favorite credits and local productions include Born Yesterday (Billie Dawn), Mamma Mia (Rosie), Crimes of the Heart (Meg), The Addams Family (Grandma), Exit Laughing (Millie), and most recently The Odd Couple – female version (Florence Unger). Performing is a passion she has embraced in competitive venues including gymnastics and ice-skating—theater is her latest adventure. Her daughter and two grandchildren are performers as well… The ham doesn’t fall far from the can.
Julee Breehne (Elsie) — When not on stage, Julee’s chilling with her husband and daughter and introducing young students to the world of engineering. Previous work with Theatre Odyssey has allowed her to explore a variety of roles from widow to hooker, ten minutes at a time. She would like to thank her friends and family for their encouragement and support. This performance is dedicated to all the young writers who submitted plays. Stay creative and brave!
Andrea Keddell (Beatrice) relocated to Florida in 1998 from upstate New York. She’s a veteran theater performer, and has performed in over 80 productions. Favorite roles performed while in Florida include Mamma Mia (Tanya), Reefer Madness (Mae), Annie (Hannigan/Grace/Lily) and Cats (Jellylorum/Griddlebone). Favorite roles performed while in upstate New York include My Fair Lady (Eliza) and Chorus Line (Maggie). This is Andrea’s first production with Theatre Odyssey and she’s thrilled at the opportunity.
Lindsey Nickel (Hattie) loves to spill the Tea! What better way is there to share stories than through Theatre Odyssey’s student playwriting festival? A 30-year stage veteran, some of her memories include performances as Molly Jones in Let it Be!, Grace in Annie, Irene in Crazy For You, Rosie in Cabaret, Betty in White Christmas, and ironically, Betty White as Rose in a Golden Girls skit. Photo evidence exists.
Glenn Schudel (Watchman) has spent more than twenty years in professional and educational theatre, most notably as assistant director and troupe manager with the American Shakespeare Center. He currently teaches Creative Writing at Ringling College of Art and Design. Last summer, he appeared in Greg Burdick’s Sign Here for All that Remains and Connie Schindewolf’s Ancestry in Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. In 2019, his one-man show Asides; or, My life with Will won Outstanding Premiere at the Sarasolo Festival.
Leona Collesano (director) is thrilled to be directing again for Theatre Odyssey. Leona has directed many plays and musicals, including: You Can’t Take It with You, Tony and Tina’s Wedding, and Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival. In addition to directing, she has been seen on stage (and backstage) performing throughout Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Wishing the best to Theater Odyssey on this year’s festival!
Eve Hare (playwright) I am a sophomore attending Cardinal Mooney. As a child, I had a love for words, writing my own fantasy story books. When I couldn’t express emotions through words, I danced, ran, or cheered. Growing older, I was introduced to new genres: nonfiction, mysteries, thrillers, comedy, etc. This only deepened my love and appreciation for literature. Poems by Poe and Frost inspired me to look deep and continue writing, leading to this culmination of my numerous works.
by Patrick van Eyck
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School
A winning lottery ticket brings out the worst (and the best) in those who feel they deserve the rewards.
Director: Bob Trisolini
Dad — Steve Dawson
Jeremiah — Kennedy Cole
Store Clerk — Dylan Jones
Elaina — Madeline Barrett
Cameron — Atticus Pratt
Steve Dawson (Dad) is honored to be a part of this student playwright festival! Actor/director/photographer, Detroit native, B.F.A. Ringling College. Credits (Golden Apple): Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (Littlechap), Oliver! (Fagin), Avenue Q (Nicky, Trekkie). Community: Jekyll & Hyde, Sweeney Todd, The Will Rogers Follies, Barnum, Sunday in the Park with George (title characters) … additional productions span 30 years. Thanks to ‘The Bobs’! Love to actor/wife Dianne and daughter Faith.
Kennedy Cole (Jeremiah) is an 8th grader at Booker Middle in their Visual and Performing Arts Department where he takes technical theatre and drama classes. His acting credits include the Silent King in Once Upon a Mattress, Harold Hill in The Music Man, Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, Rooster in Annie, and many others. He would like to thank all his friends, teachers, and family who have helped him along the way, especially his grandfather.
Dylan Jones (Store Clerk) was the author of the 2017 Ten Minute Play Festival winner, The Best Ten Minutes Ever. He is the owner of Little Grey Hat Productions, producing award-winning shows including The Last Five Years, Copenhagen, and The Remnant: A Vietnam Survivor’s Story. They also offers classes in writing ten-minute, one-act, and full-length plays, as well as on theater history and script analysis. Please email littlegreyhatproductions@gmail.com for more info.
Madeline Barrett (Elaina) was recently part of The Music Man Kids production at Manatee Players. She is currently a member of the drama club at Dr. Mona Jain Middle School, and participated in multiple productions through drama at Rowlett Academy, her elementary school. Favorite hobbies are reading, acting, and roller skating. “I would like to thank my best friend Alora for helping me with everything, as well as my entire family for supporting me, and being helpful and kind.”
Atticus Pratt (Cameron) is a senior at Booker High School and very proud to be a part of the Theatre Odyssey Ten Minute Play Festival for the second year in a row! Atticus was most recently seen in Radium Girls at Booker High School.
Bob Trisolini (director) is a Director Emeritus for Theatre Odyssey and has Directed or Appeared in over 30 plays for the many Theatre Odyssey Playwright Festivals. He is Vice Chairman of CAN Community Health. Bob was part of the Creative Team for the five-time Tony Nominated Broadway Show Romance/Romance and the Drama Desk Winner Off-Broadway Show Olympus on My Mind. Bob was Producer, Show Director and Casting Director for Walt Disney Entertainment. He directed six shows for Celebrity Cruise Line and was Creative Director for the launching of Rhino Rally at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Bob was the Founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative, a Business Theater Agency in the NYC Area. During that time he worked with Sammy Davis Jr, Howie Mandell, Beth Fowler, David Brenner and numerous Broadway Performers.
Patrick van Eyck (playwright) is currently a Junior at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School, and in his third year of Theatre Studies. Changing Fortunes is Patrick’s second play to be produced, after last year’s The Last Colony (Runner-Up in last year’s festival) for which he is for which is both grateful and delighted.
by Kayla Moran
St. Petersburg Catholic High School
A depressed man is brought to happiness by a mysterious sprite, given three wishes and becomes a changed man.
Director: Ann Morrison
Jake — Joseph Smith
Sprout — Amy Goldman
Ted — Nick Schroeder
Co-worker — Claire Timney
Joseph Smith (Jake) is proud and excited to once again be a part of the Theatre Odyssey plays. A native of Illinois, he is a translator and editor who presently divides his time between Bradenton and Germany, where he is also active as an actor, director, and playwright.
Amy Goldman (Sprout) has appeared as lead vocalist at The Pierre, Eleven Park, and Valbella, NYC, as well as many other venues. She is currently the lead vocalist at the Sarasota Polo Club, performing the national anthem regularly. Television stints for Spotify, National Geographic and a global ad for Punchie have been memorable experiences. Amy is overjoyed to be performing at the Cook Theatre under the direction of both Ann Morrison and Blake Walton. Love to Carlo Thomas, always.
Nick Schroeder (Ted) Originally from Lima, Ohio, Nick has been involved in performing in local theater since he was 12. Nick mostly performed at Encore Theatre in Ohio, playing various roles. When not performing, Nick often contributed behind the scenes as part of the stage crew. He enjoys comedy-based plays most of all. Nick has held roles in Rumpelstiltskin, Help! I’m Trapped in a High School! and Bells are Ringing.
Claire Timney (Co-worker) is excited to be performing with Theatre Odyssey for the first time. She’s a senior at Booker High School’s Theatre VPA program. She previously was an ensemble in Greek Freaks and SOB Sister in Radium Girls. She would like to thank her fellow cast mates and Ann Morrison for giving her this wonderful opportunity.
Ann Morrison (director) has been a director, writer and professional theater actress for over 35 years, and an acting teacher, coach and mentor for two decades. Her directing credits include: Leading Men, Trevor’s Fire, The Secret Garden, On A Clear Day, Merrily We Roll Along, Smoke on The Mountain and Hair. She was Creator and Artistic Director for theater programs for persons with developmental differences, Kaleidoscope and Random Play. She wrote and performed the “Living Room Theater” pieces Aimee and The Xymox and A Grail Knight Named Christopher, and solo plays Discourse of A Maid, Movements of A Modron, Annie’s Celtic Kitchen, Out of A Three-Legged Pot and most notably Linda Lovely Goes To Broadway, Trevor’s Fire, and Word Painting: Soliloquies Around An Easel, all of which have been published online at indietheaternow.com. Ann has been collaborating with Blake Walton for three decades, their greatest production being their son, Huck Walton.
Kayla Moran (playwright) is a senior at St. Petersburg Catholic High School and she is extremely excited to see her play produced by Theatre Odyssey! This is her first play produced by the company. At her high school, Kayla participates in basketball and softball and is very musically active, playing the guitar, bass, and ukulele. She hopes to continue working in the field of writing in the future.
by Seamus Kehoe
Home-Schooled
Two mythological deities, Athena and Poseidon, compete to become Patron of the kingdom of Attica by offering the ruler their unique gifts.
Director: Blake Walton
Queen — Donna DeFant
Athena — Lucinda Schlotterback
Poseidon — William Ashburn
Donna DeFant (The Queen) is also Stage Manager for this festival. A Board Member and VP of Theatre Odyssey, she has worked with Theatre Odyssey since 2013 on stage and off. She is delighted to work with Blake Walton on this play, and thanks Priscilla Boyd for working with her as Co-Stage Manager.
William Ashburn (Poseidon) is excited to be making his Theatre Odyssey Debut. He was most recently seen in Miss Holmes at the SCF Theatre where he graduated in the fall with his Associate in Arts. Past roles include Joe (The Shawdowbox), Adam Webster (The Psychic) and Smee/Mr. Darling (Peter/Wendy).
Blake Walton (Director) returns to the Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival after directing Bloodline and Fermata (Best Play Runner-Up) in 2021, plus The Unspoken Problem and The Real World (Best Play) in 2022. This season he directed the world premiere of Katherine Michelle Tanner’s solo play Mann’s Last Dance; Lynne Bernfield in her solo play with music Bashert; Sharon Ohrenstein in Rhapsody for Golda; What Are You Looking At? for Theatre Odyssey’s One-Act Play Festival; and was Creative Consultant for Ann Morrison: Merrily from Center Stage. Up next: Katherine Michelle Tanner’s Nineteen and Heather Massie in Hedy! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. An award-winning actor and playwright, he is a proud member of AEA, The Dramatists’ Guild, and is Co-founder and Managing Director of SaraSolo Productions.
Seamus Kehoe (playwright) is mad for Mythology. Becoming enamored with myths at an early age, he has torn through anything about World Mythology he can get his hands on. You can find him in a tree, reading a book or weaving new worlds, or bunny wrangling (with four rescue bunnies and a big dog who think she’s a bunny). He loves traveling and studying languages. Seamus has been homeschooled since first grade and is in the equivalent of ninth grade. Seamus is training in Aikido for his brown belt and assists his Sensei as a Senpai. He has been in Venice Theatre acting classes since age 7, and writing plays is a new endeavor.
by Jaylen Benony
Booker High School
Steven Fields is on his deathbed. His adult children learn valuable truths about relationships in their final moments with him.
Director: Bob Trisolini
Steven Fields — Mark Shoemaker
Scott Fields — Dylan Jones
Daisy Fields — Vanessa Russo
Brandon Fields — William Ashburn
Mark Shoemaker (Steven Fields) is counting his blessings, working on a great new play with a wonderful cast, crew and director. Although this is his first time on stage with Theatre Odyssey, his previous on-stage adventures include Art, Play On, The Odd Couple, I Ought to Be In Pictures, Blithe Spirit, The Psychic, Harvey, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Rabbit Hole. Under the direction of Bob Trisolini, Mark has been seen in Titanic and My Fair Lady, amongst others.
Dylan Jones (Scott Fields) was the author of the 2017 Ten Minute Play Festival winner, The Best Ten Minutes Ever. He is the owner of Little Grey Hat Productions, producing award-winning shows including The Last Five Years, Copenhagen, and The Remnant: A Vietnam Survivor’s Story. They also offers classes in writing ten-minute, one-act, and full-length plays, as well as on theater history and script analysis. Please email littlegreyhatproductions@gmail.com for more info.
Vanessa Russo (Daisy Fields) B’way Credits: Billy Elliot (National Tour), Billy Elliot (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Billy Elliot (Muny, North Shore Theatre & Fulton Theatre), West Side Story (Asian/European Tour), Oklahoma (National Tour), Radio City Christmas Spectacular, BDL with Josh Prince. St. Pete Opera’s Kiss Me, Kate, Merry Widow, Rigoletto, Semele, Soldier’s Tale, Don Giovanni, Tales of Hoffman. Feature Film: Across the Universe. Choreographed for: St. Pete Opera, Venice Theatre, MPAC, Sarasota Players, CANDance, and SAA.
William Ashburn (Poseidon/Brandon) is excited to be making his Theatre Odyssey debut. He was most recently seen in Miss Holmes at the SCF Theatre where he graduated in the fall with his Associate in Arts. Past roles include Joe (The Shawdowbox), Adam Webster (The Psychic) and Smee/Mr. Darling (Peter/Wendy).
Bob Trisolini (director) is a Director Emeritus for Theatre Odyssey and has directed or appeared in over 30 plays for the many Theatre Odyssey Festivals. He is Vice Chairman of CAN Community Health. Bob was part of the Creative Team for the five-time Tony Nominated Broadway Show Romance/Romance and the Drama Desk Winner Off-Broadway Show Olympus on My Mind. Bob was Producer, Show Director and Casting Director for Walt Disney Entertainment. He directed six shows for Celebrity Cruise Line and was Creative Director for the launching of Rhino Rally at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Bob was Founder and CEO of The West Bank Creative, a Business Theater Agency in the NYC Area. During that time he worked with Sammy Davis Jr, Howie Mandell, Beth Fowler, David Brenner and numerous Broadway Performers.
Jaylen Benony (playwright) is a junior at Booker High School. His leadership includes being an ambassador for the college and career center, as well as a founder of the literacy club. He enjoys writing plays and poetry. He has performed his poetry on the radio and for several events. This is his second play to place for Theatre Odyssey. He plans on attending a four-year college to focus on his craft so he can become a professional writer and hopefully write scripts for many movies and tv shows.
by Elaina Bayard
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School
An inventor learns that the success of his time travel experiments may not result in the outcome he had hoped for.
Director: Leona Collesano
The Inventor — Eric Henry
The Man — Shawn Genther
The Agent — Glenn Schudel
Eric Henry (The Inventor) has been a community-theater set designer, master carpenter and on-stage performer for nearly two decades. On-stage roles have ranged from Shakespeare to Stoppard; recent credits include Arsenic and Old Lace, The Diary of Anne Frank, Dial M for Murder and The Miracle Worker.
Shawn Genther (The Man) Originally from Easton, Penn., Shawn came to Florida in 2003. He soon started acting in local theatre and has been in several productions. Favorites include The Rainmaker (Jimmy), Greetings! (Andy), The Sensuous Senator (Jack), and The Pirates of Penzance (Samuel). He also appeared in Macbeth (Ross) and in True West. Now focusing mostly on local film work, he has appeared on Shark Week and a few local commercials. Several of his short films have won awards at local film festivals as well. You may have seen him on the Venice stage in Cat on Hot Tin Roof, Born Yesterday, and To Kill a Mockingbird. His day job is in Sarasota at Zenith Insurance as a Desktop Engineer.
Glenn Schudel (The Agent) has spent more than twenty years in professional and educational theatre, most notably as assistant director and troupe manager with the American Shakespeare Center. He currently teaches Creative Writing at Ringling College of Art and Design. Last summer, he appeared in Greg Burdick’s Sign Here for All that Remains and Connie Schindewolf’s Ancestry in Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. In 2019, his one-man show Asides; or, My life with Will won Outstanding Premiere at the Sarasolo Festival.
Leona Collesano (director) is thrilled to be directing again for Theatre Odyssey. Leona has directed many plays and musicals, including: You Can’t Take It with You, Tony and Tina’s Wedding, and Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival. In addition to directing, she has been seen on stage (and backstage) performing throughout Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Wishing the best to Theater Odyssey on this year’s festival!
Elaina Bayard (playwright) is a senior at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. This is her third year as a finalist in the competition. Elaina has been reading and writing since she was young and plans to keep doing so for the rest of her life. Beyond her own work, Elaina tries to stay involved in the writing and theater community by editing for the literary magazine Polyphony Lit and interning with Florida Cultural Group. She’s excited to see what all the other finalists have in store and wants to thank Theater Odyssey for this opportunity!
by Damion Clifford
Lake Gibson High School
An author gets inspiration for his murder mystery novel from his noisy neighbors, which turns out to be against his (and their) better interests.
Director: Blake Walton
Sebastian Bitterpaine — Anuj Naidu
Sabrina Cape — Amy Goldman
Mr. Wineman — Joseph Smith
Mrs. Wineman — Lucinda Schlotterback
Anuj Naidu (Sebastian Bitterpaine) is an actor, writer, and musician originally from Barbados. At the age of sixteen he moved to South Carolina where he discovered his passion for acting, writing, and film. Anuj was most recently in the one act play What are You Looking at? produced by Theatre Odyssey and also The Odd Couple (female version) at the Island Players Theater.
Amy Goldman (Sabrina Cape) has appeared as lead vocalist at The Pierre, Eleven Park, and Valbella, NYC, as well as many other venues. She is currently the lead vocalist at the Sarasota Polo Club, performing the national anthem regularly. Television stints for Spotify, National Geographic and a global ad for Punchie have been memorable experiences. Amy is overjoyed to be performing at the Cook Theatre under the direction of both Ann Morrison and Blake Walton. Love to Carlo Thomas, always.
Joseph Smith (Mr. Wineman) is proud and excited to once again be a part of the Theatre Odyssey plays. A native of Illinois, he is a translator and editor who presently divides his time between Bradenton and Germany, where he is also active as an actor, director, and playwright.
Lucinda Schlotterback (Mrs. Wineman) is honored to be a part of bringing these young voices to life. When not teaching Engineering and Tech at Laurel Nokomis Middle School, she can be found working in some aspect of theater. Recently she had the privilege to be in Miracle on 34th Street with her granddaughter.
Blake Walton (Director) returns to the Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival after directing Bloodline and Fermata (Best Play Runner-Up) in 2021, plus The Unspoken Problem and The Real World (Best Play) in 2022. This season he directed the world premiere of Katherine Michelle Tanner’s solo play Mann’s Last Dance; Lynne Bernfield in her solo play with music Bashert; Sharon Ohrenstein in Rhapsody for Golda; What Are You Looking At? for Theatre Odyssey’s One-Act Play Festival; and was Creative Consultant for Ann Morrison: Merrily from Center Stage. Up next: Katherine Michelle Tanner’s Nineteen and Heather Massie in Hedy! The Life and Inventions of Hedy Lamarr. An award-winning actor and playwright, he is a proud member of AEA, The Dramatists’ Guild, and is Co-founder and Managing Director of SaraSolo Productions.
Damion Clifford (playwright) is a senior and theater student at Lake Gibson Senior High, contributing three years helping as a technician, has acted in Clue as Colonel Mustard and is now currently in playwriting class. His love for stories blossomed from rudimentary comics he made as a young child, now likes to practice his creative mind to dungeons and dragons campaigns. He is ecstatic to have an opportunity with Theatre Odyssey to have his own play The Deadline live on stage.
by Sawyer Girgis
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School
A handsome, self-centered gentleman finds himself in a triangle involving the interests of an older and a younger woman.
Director: Ann Morrison
Anya — Peg Harvey
Pomona — Annabelle Dorsett
Igor — Charles Agurcia
Peg Harvey (Anya) After voicing Marushka in Dancing in the Elevator in the 2021 Ten-Minute Play Festival, Peg is excited to appear LIVE with Theatre Odyssey. She recently portrayed Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn in The Music Man and Miss Maudie in To Kill a Mockingbird. Up next is Peace and Harmony, the February concert with The Venice Chorale and a trip to NYC for a 39th anniversary reunion of Staten Island Civic Theatre’s Annie — the one we played at Lincoln Center!
Annabelle Dorsett (Pomona) is a senior at Booker High School VPA and is incredibly grateful to be a part of this show. She recently played Fiona in Shrek, Serena in Legally Blonde, and Mrs. Fryer/Ms. MacNeil in Radium Girls. She would like to thank Ann Morrison for being an amazing director, mentor, and guide during the process of this show. She hopes you enjoy extraordinary performance!
Charlie Agurcia (Igor) has recently joined the Sarasota stages, having performed in Rabbit Hole and Miracle on 34th Street (the musical) for The Players Centre last year. A former diplomat, he has performed in Belgium with the Brussels Shakespeare Society, the English Comedy Club and the European Theater Company.
Ann Morrison (director) has been a director, writer and professional theater actress for over 35 years, and an acting teacher, coach and mentor for two decades. Her directing credits include: Leading Men, Trevor’s Fire, The Secret Garden, On A Clear Day, Merrily We Roll Along, Smoke on The Mountain and Hair. She was Creator and Artistic Director for theater programs for persons with developmental differences, Kaleidoscope and Random Play. She wrote and performed the “Living Room Theater” pieces Aimee and The Xymox and A Grail Knight Named Christopher, and solo plays Discourse of A Maid, Movements of A Modron, Annie’s Celtic Kitchen, Out of A Three-Legged Pot and most notably Linda Lovely Goes To Broadway, Trevor’s Fire, and Word Painting: Soliloquies Around An Easel, all of which have been published online at indietheaternow.com. Ann has been collaborating with Blake Walton for three decades, their greatest production being their son, Huck Walton.
Sawyer Girgis (playwright) has been involved in the performing arts since his passion for acting first sparked in the second grade. Sawyer is now a freshman attending Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School and is exhilarated for his first Theatre Odyssey submission and to see his own work come to life on stage. Recently, he most prominently appeared as Angie in Gypsy: A Musical Fable, Amos in Chicago, and Ren McCormack in Getting to know Footloose the Musical. Sawyer would like to thank his parents, friends, and teachers who supported his love for theatre.
Festival Production Manager — Preston Boyd
Production Coordinator / Stage Manager — Donna DeFant
Performance Stage Manager — Priscilla Boyd
Lights — Chris McVicker
Sound — Ren Pearson & Tami Vaughan
Backstage Crew — Lynda St James (Props), Liam DeMaio, Ginny Garrison, Kennedy Cole, Avery Cole
SPECIAL THANKS
The Players Centre for Performing Arts
The Center for Arts & Humanity
Melliss Kenworthy Swenson
Floyd C. Johnson & Flo Singer Johnson Foundation
ADJUDICATORS
Valerie Barnes Lipscomb, PhD
Valerie is a Professor of English at the University of South Florida who specializes in modern drama. She has published two books and numerous academic articles about theatrical representations of age. Current projects include serving as lead editor for the forthcoming Palgrave Handbook of Literature and Aging.
Benny Sato Ambush
Benny is Artistic Director at Venice Theatre. He has provided artistic leadership for theater companies around the country, including Oakland Ensemble Theatre, San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater, and Florida Stage. He was Associate Artistic Director of Anna Deavere Smith’s Institute on the Arts & Civic Dialogue at Harvard University. Ambush has directed with numerous professional regional theaters including Old Globe Theatre; Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Geva Theatre; Playwrights Horizon; Lincoln Center Theater Institute; Lyric Stage Company of Boston; and Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Ambush has a BA in Theatre Arts and Dramatic Literature from Brown University and an MFA in Directing from the University of California, San Diego. In 2020, he was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre.
David M. Covach
David is thrilled to be a part of the 2023 Theatre Odyssey Student Ten Minute Playwriting Festival. David has had a 40 year career in theatre, with a small stint in front of the spotlight and the remainder of his work behind the scenes as a costumer. David currently manages costume production for Sarasota’s Asolo Theatre Company – but also freelance designs for theatre companies across the country. David has had the honor of adjudicating student work on several occasions and looks forward to this opportunity as well. He would like to thank Scott Keys, his partner of 37 years, for his constant support both onstage and off.
THE VERNA SAFRAN PRIZE
Theatre Odyssey is honored to have received a substantial endowment from an anonymous donor honoring the memory of Sarasota resident Verna Safran, who passed away in 2017.
This generous donation will be used to fund the first place scholarship and prize money for all three of Theatre Odyssey’s annual playwriting festivals for many years to come and will be named “The Verna Safran Prize” in her honor.
Verna held a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Dramatic Literature from Columbia University and was a member of the Dramatist Guild. Her play, Just Fooling, was a finalist in Theatre Odyssey’s 2014 Ten-Minute Play Festival. She also wrote A Wedding at the Brothers and Sisters Coffeehouse, which won the 2007 Best Play of the Year at Players Theatre of Sarasota and The Rogue’s Gallery, produced at Southampton Cultural Center. Her short play The Throne is included in the collection Ten Short Plays by Ten Top Playwrights.
A former high school English and history teacher, she also authored three successfully produced musical shows for children: The Legend of Paul Bunyan, Hiawatha, and The Prince and the Pauper.
In addition to her extensive writing career, Ms. Safran served on the board of the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and was active in the Unitarian/Universalist Church of Sarasota.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
SEASON PRESENTER
