‘Blackwell’s Corner’ Wins Playwright Prize

“Blackwell’s Corner,” a play envisioning the last earthly moments of James Dean, is the winner of the Orange County Playwrights Alliance’s annual Page to Stage contest for California playwrights.

The one-act play by Laurel Ollstein of Culver City is about a young woman whose fantasy life is overactive, even before Dean, her idol, stops by the failing rural diner she runs. Dean is about to die in his famous car wreck, but Sara’s dream life proves stronger than death.

“Last Dance” by Daniel Mason of Tehachapi and “A Song for My Dad” by Tom Swimm of Laguna Beach won second and third place.

The playwrights’ alliance will offer a staged reading of “Blackwell’s Corner” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Vanguard Theater, 699-A State College Blvd., in the College Business Park in Fullerton. Other plays on the program are Jordan R. Young’s “Portrait of the City,” set on the streets of Los Angeles, and “Peonies,” a short monologue by Richard Freedman. Suggested donation is $5. Information is available at (714) 850-1176 or https://www.ocpaplaywrights.org.