2023 Writers Search Semifinalists
2023 Writers Search Semifinalists
SCREENPLAY SEMIFINALISTS
Abe Johnson Every Good Boy Does Fine
“every good boy does fine” follows Ren (trans, he/him) a recently-turned-30 pianist who, after burning out at the top of his career, crash-lands back to his Middle of Nowhere, Georgia hometown for the summer. Avoiding his family to drink and smoke his days away, Ren is content to totally fall apart. Then Jeremy (trans, he/him), the town’s next piano prodigy with his eyes on Juilliard, comes knocking on Ren’s door, determined to pull this small-town legend together.
Abe Johnson (all pronouns) is a multi-genre writer from Georgia, interested in messy queer heroes pursuing strange transformations. Abe is a resident playwright with Triboro Producers Club, a two-time Lambda Literary Fellow, and has produced/developed work with the Tank NYC (Frontera Series), Workshop Theater, and most Atlanta theaters. Prose credits include being named a Tin House YA Scholar and WeNeedDiverseBooks Mentee. This is Abe’s first try at screenwriting!
Follow Abe's journey on Instagram.
JACOB McKEE Spread 'Em
After the sudden death of his mother, a young queer man goes on a road trip with a drag queen and his lesbian best friend to honor her wishes and spread her ashes at the ocean.
Jacob McKee (he/they) is a writer, producer, and director currently based in Atlanta, GA, currently pursuing his MFA in Film & Television at SCAD Atlanta. Spread 'Em is his first feature film script, but he's written several shorts including Ennui (Best Student Film - Nightmare on Broad St. Film Festival) and An Actress Prepares, coming in 2025. He's also in pre-production and seeking funding for his MFA thesis film, My Dear Watson, an LGBTQ YA adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. When not writing, he's busy cuddling his cat, Kiara, and being totally indebted to his Dad and to his wonderful partner, Patrick, for all of their support.
Connect with Jacob on Instagram and check out his thesis film My Dear Watson on Instagram.
BEECHER REUNING Floating to Yonder
A 21-year-old college dropout with a fake P.I. license finds herself in the middle of an end-times cult leader's murder. To prove her innocence, she must untangle the web of mysteries surrounding the eccentric religious group before they depart Earth forever.
Beecher Reuning is a non-binary filmmaker and Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky whose writing often uses comedy to deconstruct oppressive religious systems and gender constructs. They've written and directed six short films that have screened at over 30 festivals, including Nashville, Orlando, Knoxville, Burbank, and won a 2015 College Television Award (Student Emmy's).
Connect with Beecher on Instagram.
MAK SHEALY Against the Current
A grieving angler haunted by their deceased father's legacy must overcome physical limitations and a volatile rival to win a high-stakes bass fishing competition, all while navigating an unexpected romance with their new fishing partner.
Mak Shealy (they/she) is a writer and performer originally from a field in South Carolina. Mak writes nerdy, muscular, darkly comic stories for stage and screen centered on rural life, queer relationships and the thin line between life and afterlife. Mak loves a good dose of niche TikTok drama as much as they are obsessed with turn of the century literature and obscure, ambitious science experiments.
JOE THOMAS All My Exes Are Dead
August, a very sweet man has wanted nothing more than to fall in love, but he feels like he’s “cursed” because every time he dates someone…they die. He tries to swear off dating, but must confront this “curse” when his best friend confesses his loves him.
Joe Thomas is a 24-year-old film studies major at University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is primarily a screenwriter and actor. He loves telling stories focused around queer characters, as he is both gay and nonbinary, using he/they pronouns.
Connect with Joe on YouTube or Instagram.
PLAY SEMIFINALISTS
ROBERT COLES Lithium & Xanas & All Of My Friends
Lithium & Xanax & All of My Friends follows Adam, a young gay man trapped in a cycle of self-sabotage and mental turmoil. As he struggles to finish his long-awaited novel, Adam's friends intervene, forcing him to confront his past traumas, including the scars left by conversion therapy. With themes of mental health, suicide, and LGBTQ issues at its core, this 90-minute, no-intermission production offers a raw and intimate portrayal of a man at a crossroads. In a unique twist, each performance will feature one of three possible endings, with the actor playing Adam deciding the fate of the characters in real-time, a decision unknown to both the audience and his fellow cast members until the final moments.
Robert M. Coles is a Nashville-based playwright, actor, and director. Focusing on LGBTQIA+ theatre in the South, Robert has penned over a dozen productions including the award-winning Lithium & Xanax & All of My Friends, Aunt Sally's Wild Ride, Inheriting Meyhem, Birthright, and Session Notes. Robert also founded Brand Spankin' New Theatre, a Nashville theatre company focusing on bringing new works to life, and is a member of the Artist Co-Op for Theatre 4the People in New York City. Robert is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America.
RHETT GOLDMAN All Delighted People
All Delighted People follows a young artist named Crystal as she creates an experiment to help her understand her lost connection to the divine. Crystal’s experiment is centered around a boy named Henry who is abandoned by his mother in his infancy. Henry struggles to find meaning in his relationship with his father, his boyfriend Aaron, and the world around him and becomes increasingly disconnected from reality as he grows older. As time passes, Crystal and Henry’s stories become more intertwined and result in a catharsis that will be heard from here to heaven.
Rhett Goldman is a theatre artist and filmmaker from Carthage, TX with a BFA in Theatre and BA in Film from SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. Recently, he directed his original play, All Delighted People, at Theatre Three in Dallas before moving to New York. He is passionate about putting queer characters at the center of works that are exciting and accessible. He would like to thank The Del Shores Foundation for fostering such an exciting, accepting community. Connect with Rhett on his Website, Instagram or Facebook.
EDGAR LUCAS The Belles of Birmingham
The Belles of Birmingham, a local charitable women's club, face financial ruin when their trusted treasurer absconds with over six-thousand dollars, leaving the club penniless, just before a sizable charitable donation is due for the local children's hospital. In a panic, the club members must quickly come up with ways to make money and fulfill their financial obligations. After various ideas are discussed, they finally agree upon writing and selling a club cookbook, leading to an entertaining and fun-filled bonding experience in this three-act southern comedy
Edgar (Eddie) Lucas is a baby boomer, retired educator, fourth-generation Floridian, and a Classic TV historian. He is the author of three books: Close-Ups: Conversations with Our TV Favorites, Living Room Legends: Chat's with TV's Famous Faces, and Tales from the River: Recollections of Life on the St Johns River by the Lucas Family of Astor. He is also co-author of Bewitched and Beyond: The Fan Who Came to Dinner. He has recently completed his first stage play, The Belles of Birmingham, and lives with his partner, Fernando in Central Florida.
Connect with Edgar on Facebook.
MALENA PENNYCOOK How Should a Conversation Be?
Terry and Kati live in Denver. It was love from the moment they met at Very Gay Beans Cafe. The trouble is. Five years have passed. Now ten. Now fifteen. And time just keeps moving faster and faster. When a tragedy takes place several miles from their home, Terry and Kati are finally forced to slow down to ask each other, how should a conversation be? That is, how can we establish a profound connection, which feels distinctly available after an act of violence, in our day to day?
Malena Pennycook (she/they) is a writer and performer of new plays. Malena’s plays include How Should A Conversation Be? (Playwrights Realm, Princess Grace Finalist, O’Neill Finalist, Playwrights Center); Diving Board (Seoul International Theater Festival, Crashbox, Teatro Vivo, O’Neill Finalist); Below (Concord Theatricals/Sam French, Take Ten); Two Apprentices (The Kennedy Center KCACTF Latinx Playwriting Award) and their solo show Am I Busy Yet? (Cosmic Cherry Arts NYC, Oregon Fringe Festival). As a performer and deviser, Malena has developed new projects with The Public's Under the Radar, ZACH Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Cloud Tree, The Brick and The Flea. She runs a DIY artist retreat in Austin, Texas called THE SPRINT. MFA Playwriting UT Austin. BFA Drama NYU Tisch Experimental Theatre Wing.
HANK RION The Bleachers
In a small Southern high school, a close-knit group of misfits gather at the bleachers every day. With graduation only one month away and emotions running high, things take an unexpected turn when Mal makes a bet with his best friend Beau. As the group navigates the aftermath, their bonds are tested, and long-held secrets come to light. The Bleachers is a heartwarming homage to 80's teen comedies, exploring the enduring aspects of friendship, growing up, and the ever-evolving landscape for teens.
Hank Rion is the Artistic Director of Peach State Summer Theatre and an Associate Professor of Theatre at Valdosta State University. Previously, Hank was the Artistic Director at The Henegar in Melbourne, FL. During his tenure there, he updated and premiered a production of the Musical, Cry Baby, with composer Adam Schlesinger, which is now being licensed around the world through MTI. As a playwright, his original play truth is… was the winner of the New York Play Script Awards, Finalist in the DSF Writers Search, TNT Pops, New Works at Playhouse on the Square and ScreenCraft Stage Play Award with readings at Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance and Playhouse on the Square in Memphis. The show will have a 29 hour reading in NYC, January 2025 starring Christiane Noll.
SHORT/WEB SERIES SEMIFINALISTS
DAVIN GRINDSTAFF Dangerous Spaces
The series takes place during the fall of 2019 at Winston College, a small, liberal arts university in New England. When Professor Alex Williams, a scholar of legal rhetoric and social movement theory, allows one of his more conservative students to present a speech arguing that homosexuality is a sin, it triggers a campus-wide protest and a national scandal. The events that follow quickly transform Winston College into the latest flashpoint for our increasingly polarized national debate over the freedom of speech.
Davin Grindstaff has written three plays: Dangerous Spaces (which inspired the series pilot episode); The Bachelor Party (Best Play Finalist, Del Shores Foundation Writers Search, 2023); and Open: A Queer Comedy (Pride of Lavender Award, Lavender Fest, 2024). He also created, wrote, and produced the Atlanta-based webseries, Walter Frisk Lets Go (available on Vimeo). Connect with Davin on Facebook.
ANDRE MELGACIO Family Heritage
After their father passed away, estranged siblings, Renato and Marcia, reunite after a long period of silence. The brother, a gay man living openly, and his sister, a mother in a straight relationship, revisit a past filled with family drama and prejudice. This unexpected reunion forces them to confront their unresolved issues and potentially embark on a journey of reconciliation and renewed connection
Andre Melgacio is a Brazilian-born actor, writer, and producer based in Atlanta, GA. With extensive on-camera and stage experience, his credits include featured films, short films, TV shows, theater plays, and commercials. He currently stars as a series regular in the TV series called “The Dirty A”. Andre is dedicated to increasing diversity and representation in the entertainment industry, and seeks collaborative opportunities that amplify underrepresented voices.
Connect with Andre on Instagram.
MAK SHEALY Many Happy Returns
A young writer returning to their hometown for court-ordered community service uncovers a dark secret that their family and local law enforcement will go to any length to bury.
Mak Shealy (they/she) is a writer and performer originally from a field in South Carolina. Mak writes nerdy, muscular, darkly comic stories for stage and screen centered on rural life, queer relationships and the thin line between life and afterlife. Mak loves a good dose of niche TikTok drama as much as they are obsessed with turn of the century literature and obscure, ambitious science experiments.
ROBBIE ROBERTSON To Be A Man
As a domineering middle-aged man deals with losing his transgender son, he soon discovers that he's slowly losing touch with nearly every aspect of his life.
Robbie Robertson is a playwright, screenwriter, and graduate of UCLA's professional screenwriting program. His feature comedy, JUST IN TIME, is in development with DEAL Productions and his romantic comedy, ONE NIGHT STAN, has been optioned by SilverScreen Pictures. Robertson’s latest short film as writer/director, COMMON AS RED HAIR (about the body autonomy rights of children who are born intersex) has won international acclaim at over 30 film festivals around the globe and has been screened at several international embassies.
Visit Robbie's website HERE, or connect Instagram.