The six winners who emerged from 21 submissions by 19 playwrights in the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society?s (BMDS) ?Famous For Fifteen Minutes? playwriting contest have been announced.

They are: Henry Godfrey (?Half-Time?), Kelvin Hastings-Smith (?Orange?), Carol Birch (?Parallel Lives?), Jean Hannant (?Special Person?), Andra Simons (?Star Songs?), and Deborah Pharoah (?We Used to Laugh?).

An anonymous panel considered all of the submissions, none of which were identifiable by author. The celebrity judge, a theatre professional from overseas, will not be announced until Monday, March 1, but the co-producers are confident that the playwrights and the community will be delighted with the appointment.

Scripts are sent to the judge ahead of time (again unidentifiable by author), from which he selects the overall winner prior to arriving on the Island to present him or her with the Golden Inkwell award. Details of the winning entry are kept secret until the final night, and will be announced in a special ceremony following the final performance.

The six preliminary winners will have their plays produced at Daylesford Theatre in five separate performances between March 17 and 20. On March 20 there will be a matinee performance at 4 p.m., and a gala ending, with the final performance beginning at 8 p.m. All performances and the entire festival are in aid of the BMDS Charitable Trust, which will receive the net proceeds of the tickets. Sponsors are Central Filing, Arnold?s Tile and an anonymous donation in memory of Kate Huntington, an active member of the BMDS who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in India at age 27.

The BMDS Charitable Trust, founded in 2001, has as its main objectives the promotion and development of the theatre arts with particular emphasis on artists having an association with Bermuda. This can take the form of scholarships or bursaries, or through drama, music and dance workshops.

Awards and bursaries have been previously granted to Tyler Barker, the Bermuda School of Music, Moving Target Productions, winners of previous Famous for 15 Minutes festivals, the National Drama Competition, as well as sponsoring playwriting workshops in Bermuda.

The Trust accepts donations, and is planning several fundraising initiatives for opening nights of future BMDS productions. Meanwhile, donations can be made to the BMDS Charitable Trust, P.O. Box DV631, Devonshire DVBX.

The ?Famous for 15 Minutes? box office will open to the public on March 11, 12, 15, 16, 17-19. On-line tickets can be purchased after March 11 at www.bmds.bm. They will also be sold by telephone during office hours.