EDGE Fest

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Birdhouse Theatre, Milledgeville’s own theatre company started by husband and wife duo Jimmy Holder and Iona Holder Sun, will host the first-ever EDGE Fest at Georgia College’s Campus Black Box Theatre at 8 p.m. May 27 and 28.

Tickets for EDGE Fest may be purchased in advance for $7 at Blackbird Coffee in downtown Milledgeville or the day of the event for $10.

The festival will feature seven, 10-minute plays that will all be shown both nights and were chosen as winners from the 127 entries that were fielded by the local company. Submissions for the competition came from as far away as Australia, Italy and Great Britain and from all across the United States.

“To be able to bring people’s work from all over the world to right here in Milledgeville is a neat opportunity,” said the company’s artistic director, Jimmy Holder. “We were pleasantly surprised by the interest.”

Holder said he and his wife have both entered and won playwriting contests like EDGE Fest before, and thought it would be good idea to hold one locally.

“We’ve visited a lot of them and have just thoroughly enjoyed attending them, regardless if one of our plays are in them or not,” said Holder. “We just thought it was a great way to bring some more recognition to downtown Milledgeville, but also to kind of enrich the culture scene that’s down here.”

Judging of the 127 entries was done blindly, meaning the judges read the plays without knowing who had written each one.

The seven winning plays and their playwrights are: “A Dog Dreams” by Jeffrey Fischer Smith; “Already Forgotten” by Tony Pasqualini; “Ava Maria” by Anne Flanagan; “Chisholm Trail” by Olga Humphrey; “Little Black Dress” by Bara Swain; “The Nude” by W.L. Newkirk; and “The Third Person” by Dan Borengasser.

“When we discovered we had selected some of America’s best current playwrights, we were thrilled,” added Holder in a press release announcing the winning plays. “To be able to produce their works in Milledgeville is special and something we are all looking forward to.”

All of the winning playwrights have had their works produced all over the country and Holder said that a majority of the winners have expressed interest in attending EDGE Fest. Winners are from all over the United States including two from Los Angeles, two from New York City, two from Arizona and one from Florida

Casts are almost filled and will consist of Georgia College professors, students, alumni and other local actors.

Birdhouse Theatre hopes to make EDGE Fest an annual event and is also looking at the possibility of adding a separate festival of one-act plays. 

Each production will be directed by Birdhouse’s own Iona Holder Sun who said in the press release, “Directing new plays has always been at the forefront of my pursuits and to direct seven new plays in a spectacular evening of theatre is incredibly rewarding. These plays are deeply touching and represent a great portrait of our American landscape, rich with laughter and tears.”

After Saturday night’s productions are finished, judges will select a winner for best play, with the winning playwright receiving $100. The audience also gets a say, as event-goers get the opportunity to vote for their favorite play at the end of each night. The Audience Choice Award winner will also receive $100.

“From a playwright’s perspective, being selected for production is a big award in itself,” said Holder. “So the Judges’ Award and the Audience Choice Award is kind of like icing on the cake for them.”