As we hit the last month of summer, a few of our MFA students are gearing up for the culmination of their summer work. 

Two students, Julissa Mishay Norment (MFA Abbott Musical Theater Collaboration) and Peter Chansky (MFA Playwriting), have plays appearing in the 48th annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, running from August 8-12th. Their plays appear alongside 28 others, and six of them will win a publication and licensing package from Samuel French. All pieces will be read at The Vineyard’s Dimson Theatre in New York City. 

In Julissa’s piece, Dugout Daisies, two benchwarmers kill time during the longest inning of their lives by chatting about the things that matter most to them: why they are on the sidelines. Dugout Daisies was originally written during Julissa’s time in undergrad and was inspired by her time playing softball in Texas. 

Peter’s play Camouflage begins when a husband returns home from hunting, bearing a token of love for his wife. When she refuses his offering, his status as provider is threatened. Peter originally wrote the piece for a playwriting class here at Temple, after being assigned to write a piece inspired by a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His inspiration was ‘Mr. And Mrs. John Naylor with a Keeper and a Dead Stag,’ painted by Richard Ansell. 

Meanwhile, across town at New World Stages, fellow Musical Theater Collaboration student Jaime Jarrett’s musical Wonder Boy is being performed at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s (NAMT) 35th Annual Festival of New Musicals. In Wonder Boy, Jackson is recovering from a breakup, growing apart from his twin sister, and attempting to find a new normal in his identity as a transgender man. When he ingests an experimental drug and transforms into a superhero, he learns that protecting others is more complicated than he thought. 

The Festival of New Musicals runs October 26th and 27th. You can learn more about NAMT here and the OOB Short Play Festival here. Congratulations to Jaime, Peter, and Julissa on all their hard work!