Thank you to the winners and to everyone who entered our 2023 playwright competition.
This year’s winning full-length play is “Candy Kid and the Hobo King” written by Flora Doone and Kari Floren. Flora began working on “Candy Kid and the Hobo King” after hearing a news story about the Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa and the annual crowning of the Hobo King. She originally wrote a young adult novel before partnering with Kari to adapt her novel into a screenplay. They then adapted the screenplay into the script that found its way into our competitions winner’s circle. Kari and Flora have a long list of published and winning writing, both individually and as a team. They plan to travel to Britt, Iowa this fall to go to the Hobo Convention.
The story is that of a 13-year-old boy who hops a train with his uncle in post-WWII America and finds himself immersed in the world of hobos. Part of what drew Flora to the subject was the hobo cultures’ various ways of covertly communicating and passing information amongst themselves. As a hearing child of two deaf parents, this unique style of signs, symbols and messages spoke to her and was incorporated into the script.
This year’s one-act winner is “The Strand that Beads You” by Allison Fradkin. The characters in this short play are a trio of beads in a summer camp’s arts and crafts station. Allison sought to embrace inclusivity with sensitivity, creativity and festivity and make the point that when it comes to being receptive to and respectful of the ways in which individuals identify, variety need not be cause for anxiety.
In “The Strand that Beads You” while waiting for the campers to arrive, the three beads discuss important issues of gender identity, inclusion and what kind of craft they will ultimately end up being a part of. This is Allison’s first award for her writing, but not her last. In fact, “The Strand that Beads You” won a second competition after she submitted it to MCT’s competition.
Congratulations to the winners of our 3rd Annual Playwright Competition!