AACT is proud to announce that Jim Henry’s play, Jellofish, has been selected as one of the winning productions of the inaugural AACTNewPlayFest playwriting competition. As a winner of AACTNewPlayFest, Jim’s script will be produced by Phoenix Stage Company in Naugatuck, CT sometime between now and December 2014, and Jellofish will be published as part of an anthology by Dramatic Publishing Company.
AACTNewPlayFest is an effort by the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) to address the critical need for new, high-quality plays for community theatre audiences around the globe. There is no shortage of new works, especially by unpublished playwrights. But how do theatres find the time to read them and cull out the ones their communities will enjoy? Many theatres have new play contests, but few produce the winning scripts beyond staged readings? These are the questions AACT is answering with AACTNewPlayFest to keep in line with their mission of providing support and resources to community theatres. The winning playwrights get their play produced at an established theatre and they get published.
Jim is not a newcomer to the world of playwriting. His play 7th Monarch had a 3 month run off-Broadway at the Acorn Theatre on 42nd St. 7th Monarch is the winner of three playwriting awards: Plays for the 21st Century, San Francisco DramaRama, and The Panowski Award. Other productions include The Road Theatre - North Hollywood CA, Chicago Street Theatre, LaCrosse Community Theatre, and Missouri Valley College.
Jim's first play, The Angels of Lemnos, has been produced throughout the US and in Australia. Angels world premiered at Chicago Dramatists and won Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work. The play ran for five months in Los Angeles receiving an L.A. Times Critic's Choice, rave reviews from Variety, and a Robby Award for Best New Play.
His play Backwards in High Heels received its World Premier in LA to rave reviews. His play Brother of All was produced at Chicago Street Theatre and is scheduled for its World Premier at Detroit Repertory Theatre in March 2014. Mr. Henry's other plays include Bury Me, Jellofish, Busting the Fence, Mairzy Doats, Masterminds, Greetings from New Guinea, and A Worthy Choice.
Screenwriting credits include: Jupiter in Vegas, Young Again, Moon Shadows, Seventh Monarch, Eternal Patrol, and The Angels of Lemnos. Moon Shadows won 4th place in Final Draft Screenplay Competition. The Angels of Lemnos won 3rd place at the Hollywood Film Festival and a finalist in the Sundance Feature Film Project. Jim optioned two screenplays with Producer Ian Bryce (Transformers I, II & III, Saving Private Ryan, Spiderman, Almost Famous).
Mr. Henry is an actor and writer in the Chicagoland area, is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, and Literary Manager at Chicago Street Theatre. Jim and his wife, Dona, have been married thirty-five years and are blessed with eight children and seven grandchildren.
AACT received more than 200 submissions for AACTNewPlayFest and only six plays were chosen to be produced and published. “It is a high honor to be listed among the winners,” states AACT Executive Director, Julie Crawford. She continues, “Due to the strong success of our first AACTNewPlayFest, we are greatly anticipating the next cycle which will begin in September of 2014.”