Pictured Sophia Cabo.
Congratulations to the following student winners of the 2025 HPU Short Script Contest!
First place: SPOTLIGHT, written by Sophia Cabo, story by Preston Silva.
Spotlight is a play within a screenplay, both of which portray irresolvable conflicts of love and ambition. The play succeeds but the love fails! The author effectively employs shifts in tone and emotions and fills the script with ironic foreshadowing ("There will be laughter, and there will be tears," the director tells his cast, oblivious to the impending crisis in his own life). The script provides engaging dialogue, good pacing and an evocative conclusion. All in all, we'd enjoy seeing Spotlight on the screen!
Second place: ENTOMBED by Hannah Pocket
Entombed is a strong and truly creative re-imagining of Edgar A. Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" for the stage. The story is skillfully developed and full of surprises that ultimately make sense. The use of pantomime to add layers of brick to the wall is not only visually pleasurable but also serves to heighten the suspense. The staging is equally effective, with imaginative use of lighting and off-stage dialogue to engage the audience. We admired the clever use of lip sync to blend the voices of Sophia and Sabrina and enjoyed the sloshing barrel at the end!
Comments are from the judges, who are either current or former members of the Department of English and Applied Linguistics involved in drama and scriptwriting. This year’s winners were selected from 20 submissions presented to the judges anonymously. The contest is open to all HPU students. The contest awards ($808 in scholarships) are supported by the Mark David Bauer Fund. For additional information on the Short Script Contest, contact Professor of English Mark Tjarks at mtjarks@hpu.edu or (808) 566-2445.
