The Playwright Next Door Sarasota has a rich history of supporting the arts, especially the theater. For the
past eleven years, an important part of the local theater scene is a small producing company called Theatre Odyssey, which produces both a Ten-Minute Play Festival and a Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival. Both festivals feature plays written by authors from Tampa Bay to Naples. Among them are always local Sarasota and nearby playwrights…maybe one of your neighbors! So just who are some of these local playwrights? What are their plays about and why is Theatre Odyssey special and important to them? SCENE has all the scoop.
Larry Parr Arthur Keyser Connie Schindewolf Julien Freij George Loukides Bernie Yanelli Ron Pantello Sue Lynn
Larry Parr has written hundreds of plays and many have been produced around the United States. His ten-minute play, A LINE OF MALARKEY, was produced by Theatre Odyssey and in dozens of similar festivals across the country. Arthur Keyser was last year’s Best Play winner of Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play Festival with his play, HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. Arthur’s new book, SHORT PLAYS BY THE DOZENS, is now available. Connie Schindewolf is a multiple winner of Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festivals; her most recent Best Play winner was A BOTTLE OF VODKA in 2014. She has also been a finalist at The Players New Play Festival; her plays have been produced around the country. Julien Freij is the Best Play winner of both the 2015 and 2016 Theatre Odyssey Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival. He is a student at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. George Loukides is the founder of the Sarasota Area Playwrights Society, an organization dedicated to making plays better. George’s plays have been produced locally as well as nationally. Bernie Yanelli has written seven plays that have been finalists in Theatre Odyssey’s Ten-Minute Play festival. His Play, A LITTLE HELP, won the festival in 2013. He has also won the Best Play award at The Players Theatre New Play festival on three occasions, most recently with NOT OUR TIME. Ron Pantello is a three-time finalist at Theatre Odyssey and a two-time finalist at The Players Theatre New Play Festival. Many of his plays continue to be produced in other localities. He is also a screenwriter. Sue Lynn is the current president of Theatre Odyssey and former Mayor of Anna Maria. April 2016
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