A One-Night-Only Short Play Festival!
The Cary Playwrights’ Forum was selected for the first-ever Raleigh Fringe Festival! We’re showcasing seven theatrical pieces by North Carolinian Playwrights!
More info on Raleigh Fringe Festival!
Meet the Voices behind the Tales!
April Giancola
April’s “Buckle Up” was one of two pieces to snag her the Grand Prize of our 2018 “Grandchild of Playslam” event.
“I wrote this piece because air travel has become so ridiculous that I thought this was a theme we could all relate to, and laugh over. I mean I’ve never been lucky enough to fly first class — but now that I’ve flown Frontier Airlines — I can relate to our character and how he feels!”
Doug Simpson
Doug first wrote the energetic, hilarious “Galactic Frontier” for our “The Best of Yet to Come” fundraiser in 2022.
“‘Galactic Frontier’ was a fun little piece that I knocked out based on a much more serious short story I have in mind.”
He is the author of both the “Great Big World” and “Maxim Ultra” series of novels. Co-Host of The Hodgepodge Podcast, Doug has just released the latest “Maxim Ultra” novel, “The Old Flame,” the second in the series. He resides with his family in North Carolina but has never forgotten his New Jersey roots.
Steffi Rubin
You may remember Steffi’s tale of two very different sisters (and one very impressive shoe closet) from our 2018 NC 10X10 production with OdysseyStage.
“The pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535-475 BCE) famously noted that ‘no one ever steps into the same river twice.’ It’s the same in a family. A firstborn encounters rookie parents, while a second-, third, or fourth-born child grows up in a very different situation. ‘The Closet’ contrasts the memory and experience of sisters who have very starkly contrasting ideas about the Mom they each knew.”
Jordan Beswick
Audiences loved this monologue about a Catholic woman rattled after trying to flirt in our 2022 “It’s Been One Week” monologue competition. Come see why on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m., when we present “7 Tales from 7 Voices: A Cary Playwrights’ Forum Retrospective.” Only during the Raleigh Fringe Festival.
“I loved the way Joanna LaForgia performed my piece under my direction, but I am very excited to see it restaged for the Fringe Fest.”
Clinton Festa
Several talented playwrights competed for the title of Audience Favorite in our “PLAYSLAM! – The Sketch-tacular 2023” production with Oak City Tonight, hosted by ComedyWorx. Clinton Festa’s “History in the Making” emerged victorious.
“‘History in the Making’ is one of several of my plays that started with a question my son asked me, like the time he asked if I thought Area 51 had a bring-your-kids-to-work day. In this case, he asked if history books really were written by the winners. I started to wonder what it would be like if the winner of a war literally had to write a historical account once the fighting was over.”
Mac McCord
Mac McCord’s “The (Dog) Park” first tugged at heartstrings during our 2019 Radio Play Contest. So much so that it won Best Production.
“‘The (Dog) Park’ came to me almost as a fully realized short play — once the man and his invisible dog showed up, the rest fell into place easily. I think it is one or maybe THE best thing I have ever written. I have loved and worked with dogs all my life and could not ever imagine a world without them. I have been thrilled to see it staged and heard it as a radio play!”
Ash Curry
We’re proud to be re-staging the monologue “Sloth” by Ash Curry – the audience winner of the first Cary Playwrights’ Forum Monologue Competition, “It’s Been One Week!”
“It’s Been One Week” launched in 2021. All the monologues were filmed remotely – so the 2024 Raleigh Fringe Festival will be the first time “Sloth” will be performed live! You can watch the original production for free on YouTube.
