The 2026 WordWave Lake Tahoe One-Act Play competition is now open! Contest closes January 19 at 5pm (PST)
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 late fall and runs thru mid- January. The contest culminates in a winners’ performance event in the spring. 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 May 1-2 at 7pm will include the meet-the-Writer’s Wine & Dessert Reception on May 2 immediately following in the Grand Hall. Special thank you to our Reception sponsor, Cork and More!
Congratulations to our 2025 Winning Play Writers!
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).
Play Synopsis:
When Adele, a recent Nobel Prize winner, meets Logan, the young scientist she’s thought about for years, the two immediately clash over deeply held beliefs, disappointments and misunderstandings. A compelling one-act drama about identity, forgiveness, and the sustainability of unbreakable family bonds.
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.
Play Synopsis:
Bookstore owner Max faces a life-threatening diagnosis and the terrifying prospect of change. Surrounded by wit, poetry, and stubborn love, he must choose between control and connection. A poignant, bitingly funny one-act play about aging, relevance, and the people who refuse to let us drift away.
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
Play Synopsis:
A family pit stop at a seedy motel spirals into chaos when a quirky tour guide reveals he’s more than a tour guide. This hilarious one-act comedy explores parenthood, purpose, and the absurdity of growing up—no matter your age—with outrageous twists and a heartwarming push toward independence.
