Lancaster Man’s Play Selected Winner of York College’s Inaugural JL Smith New Play Festival

“Recounting,” a full-length play by Lancaster resident Dave Nice, was selected as the winner of York College of Pennsylvania’s inaugural JL Smith New Play Festival. A staged reading of the play, which was selected by a panel of professional theatre artists, will be directed by York College alumnus Cal Weary and presented live at 7 p.m., May 7, on Zoom. 

“Recounting” follows two Central Pennsylvania couples who hold differing political beliefs. When the 2000 Presidential election demands a recount, it is unclear if their bipartisan friendship will survive. Nice’s plays have been produced by the Creative Works of Lancaster, the Reading Theater Project and Gamut Theatre, and he has had staged readings of his work at Fulton Theatre, Maryland Ensemble Theatre, and Albright College. A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and Saint Joseph’s University, Nice is a founding member of the Lancaster Dramatists’ Platform.

Director Cal Weary last worked on the “Every 28 Hours” project with the York College Theatre Program in 2016. He is known in York for his annual production of “The Wiz,” his work at William Penn High School, and as CEO and founder of the Weary Arts Group, board president of the Parliament Arts Organization, and board member for the York History Center.

Six winning 10-minute plays will be presented at 7 p.m. on May 6, the opening night of the JL Smith New Play Festival. Plays selected include a script written in verse, a play about the pains of a bad blind date, and a heartfelt examination of the fear of school shooters that many Americans have faced. Playwrights for the 10-minute scripts hail from U.S. cities like Atlanta, New York City, and Boston and as far away as Exeter, England, and Sydney, Australia.

More information about links to Zoom events can be found at York College Theatre Program’s website, and on YCP Theatre’s social media sites including on Twitter at @FestJL.