James Hutchison. Photo by Greg Fulmes

Death and the Psychiatrist is the story of Mortimer Graves who shows up at Psychiatrist Dr. Donna Thompson’s office claiming to be the Grim Reaper. Although Mortimer says he is there to escort Dr. Thompson to the other side Dr. Thompson, believing Mortimer to be under the delusion that he is death, convinces him that he should go into therapy.  With the Doctor’s help Mortimer confronts his emotional issues and Doctor Thompson, with Mortimer’s help, re-evaluates her life priorities.

First place was awarded to Fifty Miles by Jason Tinney and Holly Morse-Ellington. Third place went to Missed Connections Club by Harold Taw and Chris Jeffries.

Fifty Miles will receive a full production. Death and the Psychiatrist and The Missed Connections Club will both receive staged readings during the 2015 One-Act Playwriting Festival at the Palace Theatre in Frostburg, Maryland, on Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, 2015. Free copies of Death and the Psychiatrist are available for download at www.jameshutchison.ca

The Frostburg Center for Creative Writing serves Western Maryland and the surrounding areas by celebrating the literary arts through a variety of public events and productions, by educating and broadening an interested audience for literature, and by fostering new writers and their work.

James Hutchison is a Calgary playwright specializing in comedy, romance, and mystery and is a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Alberta Playwrights Network and Theatre Alberta. You can follow James on Twitter @lifeisanact or visit his web site at www.jameshutchison.ca where he blogs about writing, marketing, and theatre.