The winners of the 2nd Act Players spring new script competition, 2021 isn’t 2020, or is it? include award-winning playwrights, returning 2nd Act Players’ competition winners, and the first winner of a 2nd Act Players’ new script competition who resides outside the United States.
Both Craig Gustafson and John Mabey had scripts performed by the 2nd Act Players last winter in its 60 is the New 40 Festival of new plays. Rex McGregor resides in New Zealand and has had plays performed on four continents.
“The quality of authors our compeittions attract has steadily increased year after year since our first call for new scripts in 2017,” says 2nd act Players Cofounder John N. Frank. “This year’s list of winners is truly impressive and we are honored to be giving life to their words.”
The winning playwrights are:
Cathrine Goldstein (What Good Did We See Today? ) is an award-winning playwright, and a bestselling author of gritty, real-feeling plays, novels, short stories, and poems. She has a Master’s Degree in Theatre History, and a Bachelor’s Degree in English/British Literature. Her work has been featured on many national television and radio shows, and she’s also an experienced 500 RYT yoga instructor, wife, mom, and chocolate addict.
Craig Gustafson [Brackets] is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. His plays have been performed locally at Chicago’s Yippiefest, GreenMan Theatre Troupe, Wheaton Drama and Riverfront Playhouse, which produced an evening of his plays, Fasting Cougars. Anthologies containing Craig’s plays: Lending a Hand in Best Ten Minute Plays of 2019 – Smith & Kraus, A Cheap Maid in Chasteside in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2020 – Smith & Kraus, Save Me, Myron Glick! in The Best New 10 Minute Plays of 2021 – coming in November from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
Donna Latham (Lunch Lady) is a feminist playwright from Chicago whose plays have been produced coast to coast and around the world. A recipient of the Kennedy Center David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award, she’s a script reader for Houston’s Alley Theatre and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
John Mabey’s (Second Acts, Second Helpings) plays have been published and produced across the United States and Europe, and this year his work is included in Smith & Kraus Best 10-Minute Plays and Smith & Kraus Best Women’s Monologues. During the past decade, he’s lived in New York, London, and Amsterdam. He now resides in Atlanta. In addition to writing, he’s a certified mental health counselor, improviser, and true storyteller around the world.
Rex McGregor (The Birds Are Feeding Me) is a New Zealand playwright. His short comedies have been produced on four continents from New York and London to Sydney and Chennai. His most popular play, Threatened Panda Fights Back, has been produced over a dozen times.
Cindi Sansone-Braff (To the Zoom and Back) is a member of the Dramatist Guild, has a B.F.A. in theatre from UCONN, and is a playwright, author, actor, dancer, producer, director, and the co-founder of Tomorrow’s Classic Theatre Company.
Germaine Shames (Love in the Time of Covid-19), a Kilroys List playwright and recipient of her state’s Literary Fellowship in Fiction, is author of the award-winning novels, Between Two Deserts and You, Fascinating You. She collaborates across art forms and genres with world-class directors and composers and has celebrated premieres in NYC, Chicago and Minneapolis.