BYU grad receives playwriting award

    33

    By Chadwick Little

    A former BYU student will receive a national playwriting award for a play produced on campus last spring.

    LeeAnne Hill Adams, a 2002 BYU graduate with a master”s degree in theatre history, theory and criticism, was given the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award for her play “Archipelago.”

    “Archipelago” deals with the imprisonment of Russian intellectuals and artists in the Gulag Archipelago by Stalin”s secret police.

    “I knew that some of my work had been submitted for awards to the Kennedy Center,” Adams said, “but I was thrilled to find out that I won.”

    In an effort to promote the production and writing of new plays, the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award is given to a playwright in honor of the former University of Texas-Austin professor of playwriting. The award is open to any playwright in the country that has his or her play first produced by a college or university without receiving a professional production.

    “It”s one of the most prestigious awards for a playwright in this country, open to any working playwright in the United States,” said Eric Samuelson, head of the creative writing program in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, in a press release. “To have one of our former students win is a great honor. LeeAnne is a wonderful writer, and we”re very excited for her.”

    Adams receives a $1,000 cash prize in conjunction with the award. As a part of the award, in August she will attend the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference in Toronto where her play will receive a script-in-hand reading.

    “I am really excited about the conference because so many different people from around the world will be in attendance,” Adams said. “Hopefully through the exposure, many different colleges and universities will want to produce the play.”

    The large cast required for “Archipelago” is perfectly suitable for colleges and universities where large casts can be accommodated, Adams said.

    Among all of the prizes that come with the award, Adams is most excited about having her play published. Part of the award gives Adams the option of having “Archipelago” published, licensed and marketed by the Dramatic Publishing Company.

    “It is hard to have a play published,” Adams said. “You have to shop your play around to many different publishers and it becomes a very difficult process.”

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email