Festival Of Shorts - Edmonds Driftwood Players

Edmonds Driftwood Players is a volunteer-based nonprofit community theatre based in Edmonds, WA that has been entertaining and educating the community since 1958, making EDP one of the oldest continually operating community theatres in Washington State.

We are pleased to be celebrating our upcoming 15th Annual Festival of Shorts, our annual playwriting festival which provides an opportunity for playwrights to have their works brought to life on stage, as well as gain recognition and potential awards. The Festival this year will be presented in five performances June 25-28, 2026, featuring eight shorts finalists that include eight directors and eight casts. The theme for 2026 is “MILESTONES: markers in time of significant achievements or events” that include both comedic and dramatic stories.

The finalists were selected from 300 script submissions from around the world. Our volunteer readers and judges are local Seattle-area theatre lovers and playwrights. To keep the process as fair as possible, our readers were only given blind copies of script submissions for judging. See submission guidelines below. After the closing performance, we will announce the winners for: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Judges’ Awards and Overall Audience Favorite.

Congratulations to the 2026 Playwright Finalists!

ACT 1

Poll Tax for Sista Blu by Clarence Holmes, Jr (Katy, TX) and directed by Diane Jamieson

After a long day of waiting tables, Sista Blu walks across Pettus Bridge in torrential rain to get to the only precinct where “colored” people are allowed to vote. Because she’s a waitress who gets tips, she is able to pay the poll tax, but the poll worker still has means to keep her from voting–the literacy test. The question is, can Sista Blu answer the difficult questions in front of her, or does she have to go back over the bridge in the rain without having voted?

Hello by Dana Leslie Goldstein (Brooklyn, NY) and directed by Vicki Wicks

Tina makes frequent visits to her parents at their adult living community, but it’s actually two different visits, since her parents haven’t lived together for years. Her visit today just happens to be their anniversary, not that they care about that anymore…

Goats of Olympus Mons by Evan Baughfman (Long Beach, CA) and directed by Kiera Stevens

Cassie visits her father, Walter, a widower and science fiction author, on Christmas Eve. Both are grieving the recent loss of their mother/wife. Walter is not in the mood to celebrate the holidays. Cassie, on the other hand, is more festive, just as her mother always was. During this visit, daughter and father bond through their shared grief, but also through an exchange of unexpected gifts. At story’s end, they are ready to navigate their new “unforgiving” world together.

True Ties by Sheila Strehle (Bothell, WA) and directed by Julie Benner

A fateful decision two decades ago sends a grieving young man to an unfamiliar town. He lands in a government office staffed by a kind public servant who delivers keys to the young man’s past. The facts unlock a mystery but don’t heal the man’s heart. Just when it looks like nothing will, love and connection show up in an unexpected way.

ACT 2

First Time by Dana Schwartz (Los Angeles, CA) and directed by Michael Cimino

On the eve of her departure for college, Agnes and Russell just did it for the FIRST TIME! These two long-time friends talk about all the things, change and growth and fear and bonds, and they realize that growing up can suck a little, but their friendship is important and OMG they just did it for the FIRST TIME!

Waiting On Mom, Who Already Left by John Busser (Avon, OH) and directed by Brandon Jepson

A brother and sister at the funeral home of their recently deceased mother have different ways of dealing with life and death and what comes next.

Two Nights at Casey’s by Jay D Cross (Shoreline, WA) and directed by Thomas A. Glass

A couple is experiencing two important nights in their relationship. A first date and a wedding anniversary decades later. Both nights unfold simultaneously at the same restaurant.

Erstwhile by Jacquelyn Priskorn (Troy, MI) and directed by Kaitlyn Casimo

Daphne and Joy are packing up their father’s belongings, while their mother, Louise gets him settled into his new life in memory care. As they pack, they discover the notes their father left around the house to help him remember things and for some reason, the word “erstwhile” is on several of these notes. The sisters remember who their father was and how all that has changed for their family now.

2026 SCRIPT GUIDELINES:

NEW THIS YEAR: We will only be accepting a total of 300 script submissions and only 1 script per playwright.
Original script that has not been previously produced and will not be produced before June 29, 2026 (a staged or feedback reading is acceptable).
10-12 minutes run time (approximately 1 min./page, adjusting for longer monologues, etc.)
Minimum of 2 characters – maximum of 5 characters
Be sure to incorporate the theme of “MILESTONES” into your story. The term “MILESTONE” does not been to be included in the title or words of the script, but the relation to the theme must be very clear to our audiences.
Can be staged with minimal sets, props, and costumes but storyline can still be followed.
Limited foul language.
Your original short submission should be in Standard Stage Play Format (for an example, please click HERE) with the script and title of the play ONLY. No identifying information about the playwright is to appear in this “blind” copy. All plays which fail to submit a blind copy of their play will be disqualified. The blind copy of the script preserves anonymity in our reader selections to keep the process as fair for playwrights as possible.
- You can only upload a single script file and it must be in PDF format, not exceeding 10mb.
- Please name your document with just the title of your script (ex: This Is My Script Title.pdf)