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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 will offer two performances in 2024: Our annual Writer’s event will be held on November 2, 2024 at 7pm will include the meet-the-Writer’s Wine & Dessert Reception immediately following in the Grand Hall. We will also offer a matinee on November 3, 2024 at 2pm.

Event Tickets

Congratulations to our 2024 Award-Winning Play Writers!

Seth Freeman

“Tea Test”

Seth Freeman is a playwright, a writer/producer for television, a journalist, and an
educator. His short plays have been presented at over two hundred eighty theaters and festivals in the United States and around the world. In television he created the series Lincoln Heights, and his work in television has received multiple Emmys, Golden Globes, Writers Guild and other awards. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, Southern Theatre Magazine, YaleGlobal, The Wall Street Journal, Stars and Stripes, The Hill, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, California Magazine and other periodicals. He serves as community representatve to the UCLA Health System, and in 2019 he earned a Master’s degree from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. He contributes time to initiatives involving education, healthcare, the empowerment of women and human rights.

Johanna Beale Keller

“The Trouble with Peaches”

Johanna believes in trying new things at any and every age! After retiring from her journalism teaching job, the pandemic upended her plans to travel and review operas worldwide. So, she started writing plays that have now been seen in Houston, New York, San Diego, and elsewhere. She also wrote and produced her first film and radio drama, both of which played at festivals and won prizes; and she co-wrote a hyper-local comedy cabaret that returns this fall after a sold-out run last year. The play you see tonight, The Trouble with Peaches, premiered in January at The Gallery Players in Brooklyn and was a winner of the 2023 Central PA Playwriting Competition. Johanna taught at Syracuse University where she founded the Goldring Arts Journalism graduate program to teach journalists to write about the arts. She is an award-winning music critic and has judged the Pulitzer Prizes four times. She is married to her muse, poet and translator Charles Martin, and they garden together in the creative community of Syracuse, NY.

Marjorie Williamson

“Cash Flow”

Marjorie Williamson has been involved in St. Louis theater for many decades as a scenic painter and graphic designer. Prior to her seventieth birthday she had never written anything more creative than a grocery list, but in the last few years she has churned out a dozen or so short comedies have been produced all over the country. Her one and only full-length play, Elephants’ Graveyard is currently being produced by First Run Theater in St. Louis. She is enjoying herself immensely.

From Past Performances

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

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

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

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

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

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Part I

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Part I

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Part I