Illinois Playwright Wins MCC’s 10-Minute Play Contest PRESS RELEASE 

 

The inaugural 10-Minute Play contest, organized by Muskegon Community College’s Sigma Kappa Delta (SKD) English Honor Society chapter, culminated on March 26 in Overbrook Theater, where the audience members chose their favorite from a live reading of all six finalists. 

 

Nearly 80 patrons filled the theater and voted “Sidewalk Psychic” by Illinois-based Dana Hall as the winner. In all, 30 entries were submitted by playwrights living in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. SKD narrowed the field to 10 semifinalists and the MCC Theater Department faculty trimmed the number to six finalists. 

 

A playwright, actor, and mental health therapist, Hall enjoys writing pieces with a blend of heart and humor. She dedicates her work to her children who keep her grounded, thankful, and hopeful for a brighter future. 

 

Recently, she took home a Best of Fringe Award at the Women’s Theatre Festival in North Carolina for her examination of social disparities with the play, “No Justice.” Her self-performed monologue, “Sound Mind,” was the 2021 Hear Me Out Monologue Competition Finalist Winner in New York. She won the 2022 Femuscript Monologue in Florida performing her original piece “Snowglobe.” Her Halloween-themed comedy, “Don’t Lose Your Head,” was published with HEUER 2022.  New York Journal recognized her as one of 50 under 50 most influential creators during the pandemic in 2022.  

 

The 10-Minute Play Contest submissions were comedic or dramatic plays, with two to four characters, that fit this year’s theme of “Brains and Beauty.”  

 

“Sigma Kappa Delta and the MCC Theater Department thank all playwrights who shared their works with us, as well as all the actors who read, the SKD members who helped out, and the community members who attended,” said English Instructor Sean Colcleasure. “Without you, this night could not have happened. We cannot wait to do this again next year.” 

 

Dana Hall’s “Head Over Heels” was also among the finalists in the 10-Minute Play Competition, as was “Avavah” which she co-wrote with by David Lipschutz, a Chicago-based artist and company member of Hell in a Handbag Productions. 

 

The other three finalists were “A Pigment of the Imagination” by Hannah Ricke of Wisconsin, a full-time paper collage artist and writer who still considers herself new to playwriting; “Ask the Witch” by Deborah Ann Percy and Arnie Johnson, who live in Kalamazoo and South Haven, MI, and whose individually and collaboratively written plays have won over 300 productions and readings on stage, screen, and radio, as well as numerous awards and publications across the country and internationally; and “Tidepool” by Alice Zhou of Wisconsin.