Blog
2023 Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
Elaina Bayard wins Verna Safran Prize Festival Production Manager Preston Boyd commented that the work by students this year made the competition, judged by Dr. Valerie Barnes Lipscomb, Benny Sato Ambush, and David Covach, particularly challenging. And he noted that for the first time, Theatre Odyssey retained dramaturgy services from award-winning playwright Jason Cannon for... Read More
2022 One-Act Play Festival
“The Mockingbird’s Nest” wins $1000 Verna Safran Prize Nellie O’Brien and Betty Robinson in “The Mockingbird’s Nest” The Mockingbird’s Nest Elderly shut-in Daisy suspects her daughter and live-in caregiver, Robyn, isn’t what she seems to be. Playwright Craig Bailey Craig Bailey wrote, produced, and published his first one-act while he was a teenager. In the... Read More
2022 Ten-Minute Play Festival
“SIGN HERE FOR ALL THAT REMAINS” Wins Verna Safran Prize Greg Burdick’s poignant play about a widow receiving an unexpected delivery was judged Best Play at the 17th Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival. SIGN HERE FOR ALL THAT REMAINS was directed by Alan Brasington and featured performances by Sue Bachman and Glenn Schudel. Greg, from Lakeland,… Read More
2022 Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
BEST PLAY: THE REAL WORLD THE REAL WORLD—Tony Boothby, Ann Morrison, Jude DeMaio, Owen DeMaio and director Blake Walton. The play by Jake Pettingell was awarded the $1000 Vernon Safran Prize. The first Verna Safran Prize ($1,000) was awarded to Jake Pettingell, a Sarasotan who attends Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School, for his play THE REAL... Read MoreThe 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… Read More
