Shawnee announces winners of Original Playwright contest

Each year the Shawnee Playhouse encourages local playwrights to submit their original and unpublished works for a chance to win the annual Shawnee Original Playwright Series contest.

This spring, each submission was read by volunteer actors over several weeks. The public was invited to listen to the readings of the original plays and had a chance to vote and comment on each work.

When the executive committee reviewed the ratings, the tabulations revealed that three plays scored closely, so it was decided all three full-length winners as well as the six short play winners would be produced and performed by Worthington Players in 2016.

Times News correspondent Rich Strack was one of the winners in the short play category. Strack was a winner this past season with his short play, "The Waiting Room."

Full-length winners

• "The Two Georgias," a dramedy by Brian McDermott will be on stage Jan. 22 through Feb. 7, 2016

• "Home Shopping," a comedy by Lisa Ellex will be on stage Sept. 23 through Oct. 16, 2016

• "Scary Scary Night," a comedy by E. Michael Lumsford will be on stage Oct. 21 through Oct. 30, 2016

Short play winners

In addition to Strack's play, the other short play winners include:

• "The Bureaucracy of Existentialism" by Elizabeth Kennedy

• "Errant Souls" by Robert S. Robbin

• "Absolution Green" by Paul Kodiak

• "Angel on the Yellow Couch" by K.K. Gordon

• "The Counterfeit Dick" by Zanne Hall

All six short plays will be staged together Jan. 2-17, 2016.