Some might call it beginner?s luck, but newly crowned ?Famous for 15 Minutes? playwright Andra Simons calls it ?Fantastic?.

One of six finalists in the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society?s annual playwriting competition, Mr. Simons? entry, ?Star Songs?, emerged victorious in the opinion of visiting judge Robert Richmond, associate director of the Aquila Theatre Company in New York last weekend, and he could not be more delighted.

The award is all the sweeter because not only is it Mr. Simons? first ?intentioned? play but also it gives impetus to his hope of a having a full-time theatre career, which he is currently exploring in London.

Ironically, Mr. Simons? one-character play should have been entered in last year?s competition, but he forgot, so made doubly sure he didn?t slip up this year.

?Star Songs? is the story of a woman coming to terms with her past, laying its ghosts, and moving forward. Not revealed until the end is her tragedy of having given birth to a stillborn baby some years before the play opens.

Inspiration for the theme was derived, in part, from the real life experience of a relative of Mr. Simons. ?The character was about 60 per cent the person whose voice needed to be heard,? he says.

The play?s first line had been in his head for some time, and it took him just one night to write the rest.

?Originally, it was intended for two friends of mine who wanted to stage an evening of short plays, and I offered to write something for them to perform, but I had to write very quickly so they could learn it,? Mr. Simons says.

?It was a stream of consciousness that came from the first line, plus other images that I had had in mind for a long time. As it happened, the event never took place, but I had a play which I tweaked over the next two years to make it tighter and clearer.?

Before departing for London late last year, Mr. Simons (whose first name is pronounced Andr?) mailed the script of ?Star Songs? to the ?Famous for 15 Minutes? competition.

As it happened he was one of 21 aspiring playwrights to do so, and these entries were initially judged by a committee of the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society, sponsors of the competition, who whittled them down to six finalists.

Those six plays were then sent off to Mr. Richmond, who is associate director of the Aquila Theatre Company of New York and also teaches in the classical studio of New York University?s Tisch School of the Arts.

In December Mr. Simons received an e-mail which he was initially apprehensive about opening. ?I remember looking at the heading, which said ?Famous for 15 Minutes?, and thinking, ?Oh no, it didn?t get (into the finals)?,? but then I opened it and it said ?Congratulations?.?

All finalists have their plays performed before a live audience, but the directors and actors are chosen for them by the competition committee.

When Mr. Simons ? a former director of ?Famous for 15 Minutes? plays himself ? learned that the very experienced Brian Webb would be at the helm of ?Star Songs?, he was pleased, even though it is not the performance but the writing that earns the award.

?The choice of director was important to me because that would determine the extent of my involvement, but Brian loved the script and thought of the character the same way I did,? Mr. Simons says. ?Then they held auditions and Brian and I were very collaborative on who should play the character, so when Khalilah Smith auditioned we knew without question that she was the right one.?

After the first read-through, the playwright then stepped out of the picture, concentrating instead on the BMDS production of ?Of Mice and Men?, which he had returned home to direct.

Award night was very special for Mr. Simons. Not only did he enjoy seeing play performed, but also his mother was there to share his moment.

?Even though the competition is about the writing, as a playwright the biggest reward is having the audience watch your work and respond to it, which is important,? he says. ?After my play, people were very silent, but they did come up to me afterwards and say they liked it.?

Right up to the final moment Mr. Simons was convinced the winner would be one of two other entrants, so when judge Richmond announced his name it was totally unexpected.

?He said something to the effect that art was subjective, so he wanted everyone to understand that it was his decision and choice, and that is all it could be. In the final analysis, he said his choice was based on what moved him,? Mr. Simons says.

Now, with his Golden Inkwell plaque and cash award marking his playwriting debut, the talented Bermudian, who graduated from Canada?s George Brown Theatre School with a Diploma in Theatre, has returned to London where he hopes to turn fifteen minutes of fame into something much, much longer.

?I am going to look at future theatre possibilities professionally, in whatever form ? writing, directing or acting,? he says. ?My past three months here have been extremely positive.

?I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed directing ?Of Mice and Men?, which was a big boost for me. Having ?Star Songs? performed and then being the winner was just the best in terms of writing for theatre, and also in telling me that there is a possibility that I can do it.?

Arising out of a workshop, Mr. Simons has been advised to expand his first play to include more characters, a suggestion he may pursue in time, but first he has other plays in his mind which he wants to write. As for the winning script, an added bonus to victory is that he expects it to be published in a forthcoming edition of ?Um Um? magazine.