New York, Chicago, Madison Authors Win Snowdance Comedy Festival

RACINE, WI — Two playwrights from the Midwest and a third from New York were honored for 10-minute play submissions in the 2018 Snowdance 10-Minute Comedy Festival at the conclusion of the festival's five-week run.

Playwrights from across the U.S. submitted their scripts to Over Our Head Players in Racine, Wis. in late 2017. The local theater company staged several of the plays, and audience members voted their three favorite plays throughout the five-week run, which ended Sunday.

The Best in Snow winning entry was "Walking Dead Dave" by Joe Thompson from Madison, Wis. Second place went to "Bowl of Trouble" by Jeff Taylor, Chicago, Ill. Third place went to "The Crass Menagerie, or Why Amnesiacs Shouldn’t Write Memory Plays" by Rich Orloff of New York, NY.

The $500 first place Best in Snow award went to Snowdance regular contributor Thompson for his entry, Walking Dead Dave, which featured Dave from Accounting as the unlikely "life of the party." Thompson previously took home Best in Snow in 2006 for The Optometrist; Thompson’s Shopko (2008) and Don’s School of Dance (2014) previously placed second and third, respectively.

Second place was awarded to Taylor for "Bowl of Trouble," a play about a teen's experimentation with illegal cereal. Third place went to Orloff for The Crass Menagerie, or Why Amnesiacs Shouldn’t Write Memory Plays in which a frustrated playwright shares the evening he brought a Gentleman Caller home to his mother. Second place received $200, and the third place award was $100.

Managing Artistic Director Rich Smith reflects on this year’s Snowdance and notes that the foundation is the key to success, “We are so proud to make Racine the home of the 10 minute comedy competition. This year, we were overwhelmed that 388 playwrights submitted entries," he said. "After 14 years, it is rewarding to hear from our audience, ‘It was so hard to choose.’ It is so rewarding to know that our formula still works, and audiences still enjoy what we are doing. We hope to continue enjoying Snowdance for a long time.”

Submitted Photos, Published With Permission