Finalists Announced For ADAA 2014 Saroyan Prize

(Los Angeles) - The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) is proud to announce the finalists for the 2014 $10,000 William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting in Human Rights/Social Justice:

Carla Cooks The War, by Laura Maria Censabella

I Am Not Mine, by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene

Manahatta, by Mary Kathryn Nagle

***

3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504

www.armeniandrama.org adaa@...

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: October 22, 2014

CONTACT:

adaa@...

Finalists Announced For ADAA 2014 Saroyan Prize

(Los Angeles) - The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) is proud to announce the finalists for the 2014 $10,000 William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting in Human Rights/Social Justice:

Carla Cooks The War, by Laura Maria Censabella

I Am Not Mine, by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene

Manahatta, by Mary Kathryn Nagle

Runners up: Veritas by Betty Shamieh; Mr. America by Jules Tasca; and The Family Steering Committee by Steve Karp

In addition, the three finalists for the $1,000 Commendation for Armenian Excellence Award are:

Bosphorus by Gorune Aprikian and Eric De Roquefeuil           

My Genius of Humanity by Richard Kalinoski

In the Name of Silence by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene

On Saturday, December 6, 2014, at 6pm -- in conjunction with Human Rights Day -- the Saroyan Prize will be awarded at a VIP reception at the Pasadena Playhouse. See www.itsmyseat.com for reservations and more information. The grand prize will be awarded by Pier Carlo Talenti, Literary Manager of Center Theater Group (CTG).

Carla Cooks The War by Laura Maria Censabella, asks questions such as, "after a war how do innocent survivors take on the roles of victimizer and oppressor?" and "how do witnesses to the same atrocities harmonize their various interpretations of what actually happened, and what becomes of their ability to love and nurture if they don’t?"

Inspired by the Syrian Civil War and Greek Tragedies, I Am Not Mine examines the unforeseen aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions. Written by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene, this new play is a playwright's response to the Syrian Civil War/Revolution examining the sins that will be visited on the coming generations.

Manahatta tells a narrative that focuses on one of the United States’ most egregious historical social justice atrocities: the genocide of the Native American Indians who lived there prior to the country’s inception. Interweaving the past and the present, it presents a patchwork quilt of questions regarding how the past social abuses continue to inform social and human rights issues today in America, inviting us to learn what it means to be Native in 21st Century America.

The renowned honorary jury for the 2014 William Saroyan Playwriting Prize for Human Rights/Social Justice is Sebastian Born, Associate Director of the National Theatre, London; Erik Ehn, American playwright and Director of Writing for Performance at Brown University; and David Lan, Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre in London.

With the 2014 cycle of the competition, ADAA's $10,000 William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting launched a Human Rights/Social Justice focus, to include plays which engage an audience with social and political issues and/or promotes peace, social justice and human rights, in addition to plays with Armenian themes.  This resulted in a significant increase in submissions to the contest this year from around the world.

"We can't stress enough how touched we were by the scope of the pieces we received - plays that seek to illuminate dire conditions in dark corners of our world. It has truly been an honor for us to be able to host this contest on 'Human Rights!'" said Bianca Bagatourian, this year's administrator of the contest.

In continuing with the work of previous years to support Armenian stories and artists, a special Commendation for Armenian Excellence will be additionally awarded to a play on an Armenian theme.

The Saroyan Prize is made possible by a donation from The William Saroyan Foundation, which inaugurated the award at ADAA in 2007. The President of the William Saroyan Foundation is Haig Mardikian, and the Vice President is Scott Setrakian. Additional support for the Prize comes from Gagosian Galleries and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

For more information, please visit ADAA's newly redesigned website, http://www.armeniandrama.org or email adaa@.... Event information is available on itsmyseat.com. The donation per person is $60.

###

618 words

Laura Maria Censabella

Mary Kathryn Nagle

Sevan Kaloustian-Greene