Student dramatists honored for stories of Elvis, chess

Four students were honored this month as winners of the Heermans-McCalmon Dramatic Writing contest sponsored by Cornell’s Department of Performing and Media Arts.

Annie Hayes ’14 and Julia Moser ’15 were named first-place winners, while Daniel J. Barrett ’14 and Spencer Whale ’14 brought home second-place awards.

The awards were established in the bequest of Forbes Heermans, Class of 1878, in memory of George McCalmon, professor of speech and drama, and are given to the best original screenplays and stage plays written by students.

Hayes, a human development and performing and media arts double major, won for her screenplay, “MATE,” which tells the story of a chess match in a New York City park.

“I used to be a bit of a chess nerd in middle school, and once I did go to Washington Square Park to play,” Hayes said. “I lost, but I remember it being a weird experience because you’re paying to lose, and you both know it. I think reflecting on that also got me thinking about what it would mean to these players if someone off the street actually beat them.”

Moser, a history major, won for her stage play, “Eugene & Elvis.”

“I came up with the idea for my play after coming across the statistic that 5 percent of Americans still believe that Elvis is alive,” said Moser, who wrote the play as part of an assignment for a PMA class.

Creating a short play can be challenging, she said, because it involves “writing a story that is interesting enough to inspire you and to catch others’ attention but also simple enough to be able to tell in 10 pages.”

Barrett, a mechanical engineering major, received second place for his screenplay, “Not Too Shabby or: How to Order Coffee at a Cafe Where You Are Undoubtedly the Favorite Customer.”

In it, a man named Al, a “socially anxious narcissist,” as Barrett calls him, tries to make excuses for why other customers seem to be receiving preferential treatment. Much of the play consists of a humorous dialogue within Al’s head.

“The most challenging thing for me while writing this screenplay was assuring myself that it had a story arc,” Barrett said. “I think the arc is a change within the protagonist, and I hope we hear this in the voiceover.”

Whale, a theater major, received second place in the stage play category for “Samsonite,” a conversation between a mom and her college-age son about everything from his hair to his relationships, including some tough times at college.

“On the car ride back to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving break, I started surreptitiously writing down unintentionally ironic quotes and stories coming from my family members, hoping that inspiration would strike,” Whale said. “Finally, on Black Friday, my mother was cutting my hair in our garage, and I realized that was the play.”

All four scripts will be presented in a staged reading at 4:30 p.m. March 7 in the Class of '56 Dance Theatre of the Schwartz Center. The reading will be directed by Rachel Lampert of the Kitchen Theatre Company and feature Sarah K. Chalmers, Laurence Drozd, Carolyn Goelzer, Michael Kaplan and Godfrey Simmons.

The reading will be followed by an awards presentation, panel discussion and reception. The reading is free and open to the public.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.

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