The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) will hold its Second Biennial William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting awards event on Thurs., Sept. 30 from 6-9 p.m., at the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church Headquarters, 3325 N. Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank, Calif..
For the William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting, the Honorary Jury for the 2010 William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting is comprised of: Mark Ravenhill, one of Britain’s leading playwrights; Oskar Eustis, the Tony-winning artistic director of The Public Theater in New York; and Curt Columbus, the artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, R.I. These award-winning theater artists are among the finest working in professional theater today.
Mark Ravenhill is a renowned British playwright who was one of the leaders of the “New British Theater” revolution in the 1990’s. He has written more than 19 plays including “The Experiment,” “Some Explicit Polaroids,” “Scenes from Family Life,” “The Cut,” and “Mother Clap’s Molly House.” He is also an arts commentator for the Guardian.
Oskar Eustis is known for his work in developing new plays, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Angels in America” and “The Kentucky Cycle.” He also received a Tony Award in 2009 for co-producing the Public Theater’s revival of the musical “Hair.”
A playwright himself, Curt Columbus’ works include “The Dreams of Antigone,” “Paris by Night,” and new adaptations of four Chekhov plays and Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.”
Columbus, Eustis, and Ravenhill will be evaluating the three Saroyan Prize finalist plays “Hripsime,” by Johnna Adams; “Forgotten Bread,” by Sevan Greene; and “Another Man’s Son,” by Silva Semerciyan. A $10,000 grand prize winner will be selected from these three selections.
ADAA’s William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting is made possible by a grant from the William Saroyan Foundation, headed by Haig Mardikian, president of the Board. ADAA thanks the foundation for its visionary generosity in making this program possible.
The Sept. 30 awards event will feature catered delicacies, live performances, celebrity appearances, and the announcement of the $10,000 grand prize winner of the competition for plays written on Armenian themes.
ADAA’s mission is to project the Armenian voice on a world stage through the arts of theater and film. It accomplishes this mission through a variety of programs including writing contests, playreadings, an annual film festival, networking events, and the performing arts website www.armeniandrama.org, which includes Armenian playscripts and oral histories, as well as an artists directory and articles on Armenians working in the entertainment industry today.
Tickets will be $50 per person. Reservations will begin in late August. For more information, email adaa@armeniandrama.org or visit www.armeniandrama.org.
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