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WordWave One-Act Play Competition

Lake Tahoe’s Only One-Act Play Competition & Performance

WordWave is an annual celebration of the power of words.  The underlying principle of WordWave is that stories, when shared with others, change lives. They entertain, educate, preserve traditions, and help us to connect with each other in profound ways. WordWave provides a venue for locals and visitors to experience these shared stories on stage.

WordWave features an annual one-act play writing competition that opens in spring and running through summer that culminates in a winners’ event in the fall. Three submissions will be selected each year as the winners and each winner will receive a cash prize and be offered a 2-night stay in South Lake Tahoe to see their work directed and produced as a staged reading at the historic Valhalla Boathouse Theatre.

WordWave’s Annual Writer’s event will be held on September 6, 2025 at 7pm will include the meet-the-Writer’s Wine & Dessert Reception immediately following in the Grand Hall.

Event Tickets

We are thrilled to announce our 2025 Winning Play Writers! Congratulations!

Richard Fouts

“A Change of Heart”

Richard Fouts is an award-winning playwright with past productions in San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, and San Diego.  His first full-length work, The Birthday Lottery, a new play about the Vietnam draft, premiered at Z-Space, San Francisco’s premiere theatre for new works, to sold-out audiences in 2018. Since then, it has been reworked into First Day in December, which won first prize in San Diego’s Scripteaser competition. His play, Daughters of Silence about two teens in a Catholic maternity home in 1963 also won first place in a Scripteasers competition. Fouts is also the author of My Afternoon With Lenny (a light comedy about Leonard Bernstein), and Summer Me, Winter Me (a drama about a composer and his opera-singer wife).

Richard Manely

“Five’s a Big Deal”

After a sabbatical in Europe, Richard sold his successful commercial writing business and turned to his passion. He began writing stage plays full time 16 years ago and has now become a multi-award winning stage-play writer. Pulling from many years’ worth of personal journals, Richard creates stories for stage that utilize rich language and provocative themes, adding in humor and thoughtful content to engage the audience. He has written fourteen full-length plays and six one-acts, which have been produced off-Broadway in New York and a dozen other cities.  He has won or been a finalist in over 40 national and international writing competitions, including the Ashland New Plays Festival, the STAGE Award, the John GassThener Memorial Playwriting Award, the Pillars Prize, and more. His work has also been published by Smith & Kraus, the Ponder Review, Spellbinder Literary Quarterly, Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, and most recently, Dramatic Publishing.

Phil Olson

“The Tour Guide”

Phil Olson has written 19 published plays that have had 600 productions in 45 states and 11 countries. Thirteen of his plays are published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals. His plays have won over 50 playwriting and theatre awards. His play, “Love…or Best Offer,” has been adapted into a feature screenplay and recently finished filming. Two of his other plays have been adapted and optioned to be made into feature films. Phil has also sold two screenplays and script doctored three screenplays that were produced. For more info, visit PhilOlson.com

From Past Performances

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A play about friendship. About sharing our vulnerabilities. About growing older. About saying things you would never say to someone that wasn’t your best friend. Inappropriate, funny, caustic, and irreverent, Liddy & Eleanor maneuver through one of their “closest friend’s” funeral with hilarity.

John Paul Porter2019 Winner for Funeral for a Friend
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This play instantly spoke to us. It’s quirky and poetic, with human truths that can speak to anyone. A lovely piece that will tug at your heart-strings, make you laugh, and have you cheering in the end.

Dagney Kerr2019 Winner for Deanna and Paul
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To anyone that has ever had auto-correct text messages go out without intent, this is your play. A funny take on current faux-pas in the world of dating, this play will definitely tickle your funny bone and have you laughing out loud!

Dave Hanson2019 Winner for Cafe D’Automatique
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As if the joy of seeing my work brought to life wasn’t enough, the location is absolutely heavenly, the Boathouse Theater is like a little hidden gem, and the people involved with producing WordWave are extremely generous, enthusiastic, and sweet. I’ll never forget the feeling of hearing the reactions from the audience of wonderful locals gathered together to support new writers — I think I spent the evening a few inches off the ground. WordWave is a great experience for an emerging playwright.

Gabriella Giocomo2017 winner for Locked In
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What an incredible experience it was to see the talented actors and director bring my words to life onstage. The night of the production was one of the best nights of my life. I was so proud of the actors and grateful for the way they treated my work with such respect and enthusiasm. They brought their own artistic vision to my script and, by bringing the characters and their relationships to life, made it even better than simply my words on the page.

Dallas Woodburn2015 winner for Woman Running Late in a Dress
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Tahoe WordWave 2019 Winner: Dave Hanson’s Cafe D’Automatique

Play Video

Part I

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Tahoe WordWave 2019 winner John Paul Porter’s “Funeral for a Friend”

Play Video

Part I

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Tahoe WordWave 2019 Winner Dagney Kerr’s “Deanna and Paul”

Play Video

Part I