8th Annual Emerging Playwright Competition
The Emerging Playwright Competition attracts talented playwrights from a 100-mile radius of the Phillips’ Mill Community Association. The goal of the competition is to encourage new work and bring it to the stage. Every year, six short plays are selected by a jury to be read on stage, with talkbacks with the audience following the readings.
2025 Winning Plays
Last Dance - Kevin Brofsky
Easter Island - Lisa DeAngelis
Guess Who’s Coming to Cocktails - Jim Lindheim
The Untitled Spinster - Patricia Lynn
Echo and Narcissus - John McDonnell
The Second Original Sin - Domenick Scudera
Kevin Brofsky
"Last Dance"
Kevin Brofsky’s plays have been performed in New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles and Dublin, Ireland. He has had three off-Broadway productions: the book for the musical “Northern Boulevard” (AMAS Theater, Rosetta LeNoire, artistic director), “The Matinee Ladies” (Greenwich House), and “Claymont” (Emerging Artists). His many one-act plays have been performed in festivals all over the country, including “The World Is Lit by Lightning,” winner of Best Play in the 2020 Secret Theatre Short Play Festival, and now a film that has won many awards at festivals.
Lisa DeAngelis
"Easter Island"
Lisa DeAngelis, soon to be Lisa Haeber, is a columnist for the Bucks County Herald. Her column, “It’s a Living,” appears weekly. In 2021, her historical novel, “Angels Unaware,” was published by Regal House. In 2023, she was the recipient of the de Groot Foundation’s Courage to Write Award. Two of her stage plays, “Slain July” and “The Inconvenience of Death and Friendship,” won Best Comedy in screenplay form at the Houston International Film Festival.
Jim Lindheim
"Guess Who’s Coming to Cocktails"
Jim Lindheim is a retired public relations executive who has written multiple 10-minute plays, a number of which have been produced. In his retirement years, he has served on the boards of a theatre, a chamber music festival and a symphony. In addition to plays, he has written a novel, plays the piano, and works with immigrants in New York City. He is a culture vulture, attending a lot of theater, chamber music, symphony and ballet.
Patricia Lynn
"The Untitled Spinster"
Patricia Lynn (she/her) fancies herself to be a gothic feminist; she loves to subvert the classic genre by creating new provocative plays inspired by traditional gothic stereotypes. Her plays have been developed at Triad Stage, New Perspectives Theatre Company, A.R.T./New York Theatres, The Secret Theatre, The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Rogue Theater Festival, Manhattan Repertory Theatre and Elephant Room Productions. Recently, Patricia was a National Semi-Finalist for the Gary Garrison 10-Minute Play Award. Patricia holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. www.patriciamlynn.com
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John McDonnell
"Echo and Narcissus"
John McDonnell’s comedic plays have been featured at theaters in England, Ireland, Alabama, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington. John has published seven books of his “Funny Shorts” plays. He is also the author of 26 books of fiction, including the “Rose of Skibbereen” series about Irish immigrants to Philadelphia. All of his books are available on Amazon at amazon.com/author/johnmcdonnell. John has an MA in English Literature from Villanova University. He lives in Doylestown, PA.
Domenick Scudera
"The Second Original Sin"
Domenick Scudera is Professor of Theater at Ursinus College, where he co-founded the Theater & Dance Department, directs plays, and teaches courses in performance, directing, and theater history. In 2023, his short play “Broken Vessel” was chosen as a winner in Phillips’ Mill’s Emerging Playwright Competition. “The Half of It,” his original full-length play inspired by Vaudeville drag pioneer Bert Savoy, was produced as Phillips’ Mill’s Premiere Showcase production in 2024. “The Half of It” was recently chosen as co-winner of Carnegie Mellon University Press’s New Play Competition and will be published by CMU Press in 2026. Domenick’s full-length adaptation of “Gilgamesh” is available through Gitelman & Good Publishers. His short play “In the Same Boat” is published in the Smith & Kraus anthology “We/Ourselves: 10-Minute Plays Celebrating Gender Diversity.”
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