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Please note: We are not associated with Actors’ Equity Association and do not participate in union contracts. We are a volunteer-based organization and actors may receive small stipends to help offset transportation costs associated with participating in our productions.
Audition Dates
Saturday, May 2, 2026 (between 11:30am and 2:30pm)
Sunday, May 3, 2026 (between 5:00pm and 8:00pm)
Audition appointments are five minutes each and must be reserved ahead of time.
Callbacks (by invitation only)
Each short has an assigned 45-minute time slot, as shown below. You may be called back for multiple Shorts.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Audition & Callback Location
Edmonds Driftwood Players Rehearsal Annex located at 200 Dayton Street, Edmonds
Rehearsal Dates
Rehearsal Location
Edmonds Driftwood Players Rehearsal Annex (200 Dayton Street, Edmonds) and/or Wade James Theatre (950 Main Street, Edmonds)
Performance Dates
June 25-28, 2026 for a total of 5 performances (Curtain times are listed below). Call times TBD, but will be no more than 90 minutes prior to curtain.
Performance Location
This production plays at The Wade James Theatre, home of Edmonds Driftwood Players, located at 950 Main Street, Edmonds (Free lot & street parking)
Volunteer Stipend
This festival is a completely volunteer-based production and there are no stipends offered to actors at this time. The cast and crew will each receive two comp tickets as well as a 20% off Friends & Family discount to share and use on additional ticket purchases. Edmonds Driftwood Players is not associated with Actors’ Equity Association and does not participate in union contracts.
Show Synopsis
Please join us for Edmonds Driftwood Players’ 15th Annual Festival of Shorts! Our annual playwrighting festival 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 8 shorts finalists that include 8 directors and 8 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 submissions from around the world, and our volunteer readers and judges are local Seattle-area theatre lovers and playwrights. To keep the process as fair as possible, our readers were given blind copies of script submissions for judging.
After the closing performance, we will announce the following playwright winners for: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Judges’ Awards and Overall Audience Favorite.
Audition Requirement
Copies of the scripts will be available for you to review on-site at auditions and callbacks. Please plan accordingly if you’d like to read any before/after your scheduled time. We will not be distributing them digitally.
Casting
We are casting a maximum of 22 actors (actors are limited to participating in two shorts each): 9 male-presenting roles and 13 female-presenting roles. Actors of all ethnicities, gender, identity, and ability are encouraged to audition. Any gender identities listed are referring to the characters in the play and the pronouns used in the script. Please see individual show descriptions below for synopses, character descriptions, and schedules.
Show #1: Poll Tax for Sista Blu by Clarence Holmes, Jr
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?
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Tuesdays/Thursdays 6:45pm-8:15pm
Show #2: Hello by Dana Leslie Goldstein
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…
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Tuesdays/Thursdays 8:30pm-10:00pm
Show #3: Goats of Olympus Mons by Evan Baughfman
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.
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Tuesdays/Thursdays 8:30pm-10:00pm
Show #4: True Ties by Sheila Strehle
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.
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Mondays/Wednesdays 6:45pm-8:15pm
Show #5: First Time by Dana Schwartz
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!
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Tuesdays/Thursdays 6:45pm-8:15pm
Show #6: Waiting On Mom, Who Already Left by John Busser
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.
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Mondays/Wednesdays 8:30pm-10:00pm
Show #7: Two Nights at Casey’s by Jay D Cross
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.
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Mondays/Wednesdays 8:30pm-10:00pm
Show #8: Erstwhile by Jacquelyn Priskorn
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.
Characters:
Rehearsal Schedule: Mondays/Wednesdays 6:45pm-8:15pm
To reserve your audition time: Click on the “Audition Survey” button below and you will be taken to a Google Survey so that we can collect your contact information, conflicts (have your calendar ready), and the roles you are interested in. Be sure to double-check that your email is entered correctly in the survey, as that is what will be used for all callback/casting communications. When you complete the survey, you will be given a link to reserve your audition appointment.
Signups will close at 12pm (noon) on Friday, May 1 so that staff can prepare audition materials for the production team.
