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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#123: Showtime

It’s no secret that the colder months are the best time to grab tickets to see a show; it’s a festive tradition, and many of our favorite plays actually made their debuts during this time. (Fun fact! It was on this day 74 years ago that Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire was performed on Broadway for the first time.)

From the roar of the audience to the dazzling lights, there’s nothing quite like it. It’s that theater spirit, and a simple love of drama, that inspired us to create this week’s prompts. So let’s celebrate all things theatrical both on-stage and off, with stories that’ll get your audience crying, laughing, and (hopefully) giving a standing ovation.

This week's prompts

Start your story looking down from a stage.

Thriller and Suspense – 56 stories

Write about a character who always wears a mask (physical or metaphorical).

Angst – 48 stories

Begin or end your story with “Well, that was dramatic.”

Christmas – 40 stories

Write a story about a character practising a speech in front of the mirror. What are they preparing for?

Middle School – 38 stories

Set your story backstage at the theater.

Halloween – 30 stories

Stories

“Stoicism ” by Fredrikke Barth

Submitted to Contest #123

“Well, that was dramatic.” Arthur said out loud to the empty room, looking towards the open window from where his longtime colleague, Neville Flange, had just defenestrated himself. With a sigh Arthur got up from his creaky office chair, totteted a few steps in the direction of the window, then abruptly came to his senses and swerved back towards his desk. Having never claimed to be of especially hardy stock, Arthur could not imagine it would do him much good to gaze upon whatever shape his colleague had assumed after what was bound to have ...

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“Break a Leg” by Jim Driesen

Submitted to Contest #123

Maybe it was a little much to expect doing Shakespeare in a community theater group, and in a small community at that. The call for auditions went out to the world by way of paper signs stapled to phone poles and trees along the main street throughout town. The theater was located in a hundred year old school building, it seated around fifty people, and did have a nice small stage and lighting. Citizens that had attended events there before brought their own cushions for the hard, wooden seats. I was walking my dog Buster one morning and ...

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“The Last Word” by Julie Frederick

Submitted to Contest #123

CW: death, road traffic accident“James always liked to be prepared,” my best friend Chris said, clutching a crinkled piece of paper as he stood in front of his mother’s full-length mirror. His voice had an unnatural chirpiness. “His bags were all packed for college. He was so excited to be going to Columbia. But it turns out he was embarking on a different journey…” He trailed off, his brow furrowed.Is he trying to be funny? I wondered, hovering just above the mirror. I shook my head frantically, as if he could see me. It was merciful that h...

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“The Loss and the Love of the Living” by A. Potato

Submitted to Contest #123

Potential CW: Mentions of death (non-explicit)Ander’s twin in the mirror looks more confident than he could ever hope to be. Clearing his throat for what seems to be the tenth time that day, he once again stares shakily into his reflection’s gaze, wishing he could trade places with it. His papers crinkle in his hands, words tumbling around the page in cartwheels. He glances down again, his lips practicing the movements that will start the address, trying to memorize the phrases that seem all too eager to run away from him. “I-We ar...

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“Christmas Talent Show” by Amanda Partenheimer

Submitted to Contest #123

The Christmas Talent Show was the talk of my junior high school, Dozens of students had made it into the show, and I could not believe I made it into one of the acts. It was a chilly winter night; the school had cranked the heat and the packed stage was smoldering. After taking off my coat, I finished putting together my costume. Others ignored me but continued doing the same, a few of the students dressed in Santa and reindeer get ups, but most were already dressed either in formal or Sunday’s best. Cookies and drinks lined one wall bac...

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“The Velvet Curtain” by Madi Love

Submitted to Contest #123

Breathe. The breath she takes is deep; her blush red lips quiver from the thought of the moment approaching. The light shines down the curtains edge, illuminating the velvet texture. Suddenly everything becomes bright and the colors heighten in contrast, revealing the beauty of all that is. She can feel her heart pulsating in finger tips as she raises her hand to touch the soft velvet curtain. Her focus tunes in; she drowns out the music from the performance on stage. Her mind goes back to the days, weeks, months, years of practice and the d...

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“Who Is Vera?” by Kelli Blackwell

Submitted to Contest #123

ELEVATOR OUT. Tami stared at the sign on the elevator doors, as if it were in a foreign language. That sign sent her into a ten second childish tantrum. “No. No. No. Not again!” Tami protested. With no other options, she turned and slowly headed for the stairs. As Tami made her way up the backstairs to the fourth floor dressing rooms, she stopped on every landing to catch her breath. At each one she cursed the name of the person who decided performers should enter the theatre through a “secret” or “VIP” door. “Why is it we ...

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“Breathed into Fruition” by Elizabeth Burchman

Submitted to Contest #123

The lights were blinding and cast an uncomfortable warmth over her, she could feel the sweat beginning to seep through her far to nice blouse, bought specifically for this occasion. She held her arms close to her, praying that the audience couldn’t see the obvious nerves take shape in the incredibly unattractive form of underarm sweat. She swallowed hard, feeling the dryness of her throat as she made an almost gulping sound that echoed into the auditorium. She looked down into the crowd, somehow, she could still feel the thousands of stares ...

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“A Night Out with Max” by Grant M

Submitted to Contest #123

Most of the crowd had left by now, but there were still a few people talking near the doors and I watched them without really looking as I sat on the edge of the stage. The stage was old, to the point where some of the wood had begun to warp. But it was well polished, and even though the wood was dark and the lights were low, there was still a gleam to it. We had run the play twice back to back, so by the end of it I was exhausted, but not quite tired in a way that meant I could sleep. I was wired. I always was after a performance, as w...

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“Unravel ” by Colin Tan

Submitted to Contest #123

Silence. Glancing into the audience, he shivers. The crowd murmurs, voices carrying across the cavernous auditorium. Forcing himself to look away from the audience, he instead admires the piano. A brilliant Steinway piano gleams under the spotlight, its black lacquered finish contrasting its dazzling white keys. Breathing, he feels the air carry from the deepest chambers of his lungs spreading across as he exhales, letting it fully exit his body. His hands, shaking slightly in anticipation, gently caress the ivory keys of the piano. C...

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“The Diva of Destiny” by Jessie Ghost

Submitted to Contest #123

The chords of a piano, sharp and harsh in their intensity, echo through a warehouse as if to ensnare all who hear it with the sound of pure rage. A black stage towers above dozens of folding chairs, most of which remain empty. The only things on the stage are an overweight woman holding a wine glass and a frameless mirror attached to a fabric-covered scaffold.Beneath a lone light, the woman glimmers in her elaborate, gold dress, and the mass of red hair held into a bun sag from the weight of beads and crystals hanging off it. Red fingernails...

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“A Quiet Night at the Bubble Bar” by Ezra Garza

Submitted to Contest #123

Content Warning: There are guns, violence, and minor cursing. It is by no means a serious reading about these topics though, just dramatized with these aspects. ___ It is those who are left in the background whose stories scream the most. And, yet, are never fulfilled. *** It is a quiet night at the Bubble Bar. The bartender rubs the almost pristine towel against the unblemished wooden counter for the thirteenth time. There have been no new orders from the couple in the back and no one has ventured through the doors since 7 (it is...

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“Yorick's Return” by Brian Merrill

Submitted to Contest #123

I’m the guy with the black trench coat and the half face mask who’s famous line: “You must pay the rent!” adorned so many peep shows, medicine bits and arcade parlor skits that the passé face schtick became the ridiculous—finally wangling into cartoon history as Snidely Whiplash sans mask. That sad persona was pitted against an equally absurd buffoon nemesis/hero, Dudley Do- Right in the early days of kid vid. If that were not enough, a filmic comedy followed. Dudley should ...

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“Unmasked” by Charles Inkman

Submitted to Contest #123

Masks By Charles Inkman I sighed, taking a deep breath, calming my nerves. Tonight was the big night. I had everything prepared, everything planned out. The decorations were in place, the musicians had been selected, the speakers chosen. Everything was almost perfect. Simple dandelions would line the stage adding a sense of playful youth, but gentle enough not to detract from the main spectacle. All my tools were laid out beside me, my brushes, my powders, my lucky shell and my paints to bring the last, and most important features to life....

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“"Krapp's Very Last Tape"” by Gary Hurley

Submitted to Contest #123

Light shined in from both ends of my attic bedroom as I stood before the mirror doing my best to channel senility and listening to an antiquated reel-to-reel tape player. On the tape I was playing my younger, 25-year-old drunken self on the 4th of July spewing morose gibberish. My costume was an old thrift shop tweed coat, a mismatched orange and green plaid shirt buttoned up to the top, a worn black vest, baggy, dingy gray sweatpants, and a crumpled hat prop to place on the table. I was preparing for a solo performance. I took speech and th...

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$250

Prize money

212

Contest entries

133

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 10, 2021 EST

Won by Patrick Samuel 🏆

Title: Southern Comfort and the Kindness of Strangers

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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