Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues:
On behalf of the Board for Leah Ryan's Fund for Emerging Women Writers, I take great pleasure in announcing the winner of the first annual prize awarded by LEAH'S FEWW and to invite all who are able to, to join us for the award and the reading of the winning script.
The response to this first year of announcing the prize elicited an amazing, overwhelming, number of interesting and innovative scripts from talented writers throughout the country. The selection committee did an extraordinary job of reading the initial 268 submissions. Of those, the committee then invited 21 to send full scripts.
We are delighted to report that the winner is: Megan Mostyn-Brown, for her play, The Rest of Your Life. The play, the author tells us, is about Dizzy, who "ditches NYC for her small hometown to figure out the mess that is her life, but a freak snowstorm, her best friend's crumbling marriage, the genius kid she baby-sits and the stockboy at the local market make things more complicated. It seems everyone is on the edge of something but no one knows what to do next."
Ms. Mostyn-Brown's other plays include GIRL, THE SECRET LIVES OF LOSERS, LIZARDS, THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, 4th OF JULY, OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS and OBJECTS ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. Her plays have been produced at The Guthrie, The Cherry Lane Theater, Union Station Theater, the NYC International Fringe festival and various universities. Ms. Mostyn-Brown is published by Samuel French, and GIRL can be found as a podcast on iTunes. She lives in New York City and is a member of Labyrinth Theater Company.
The Rest of Your Life will be presented in New York City on June 14 in Cherry Lane Theater's Cherry Pit, 155 Bank Street, Manhattan. More details to follow shortly; meanwhile, we hope you will mark your calendars and plan on joining us.
Lorna M. Peterson
Leah's FEWW
The Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers (Leah Ryan's FEWW) intends both to encourage brilliant and unrecognized women playwrights with an annual cash prize and a New York City showcase of the winning work. This prize honor the memory and artistry of Leah Ryan (1964—2008.)
Leah Ryan's FEWW is pleased to announce its first annual Prize for Emerging Women Playwrights.
The Prize will be given each year to one emerging woman playwright in recognition of an outstanding work written for the English–speaking theater. Eligibility does not require that a submitted work adhere to the traditional three–act structure. One–acts, two–acts (even four–, five–, six– acts), monologues, adaptations, and any other wild or deceptively tame format will be considered with equal seriousness. The only absolute requirement is that the submitted text be a completed full–length work for theater.
The Winner will be chosen by a committee selected by the board members of Leah Ryan's FEWW. The Fund and the Prize are administered through the Community Foundation of Dutchess County.
The Winner will receive a cash award of $1,000 as well as a staged reading of her play hosted by FEWW at a theater in New York City. In addition, a stipend of up to $700 for travel and accommodation may be provided by FEWW if necessary. All finalists will be recognized on the FEWW website, and in any other announcements pertaining to the 2010 Prize.
The 2010 Winner will be announced on May 1st, with the reading to follow on an evening to be determined in mid–June.
Please click here to download a printable PDF of the FEWW application.
To donate to the Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers:It is the intention of Leah Ryan's FEWW to grow our resources so that we may expand our support of emerging women writers. To that end, we welcome your generous support of a tax–deductible donation to the FEWW.
Donation by mail:
Please make checks payable to the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, and make sure to write "Leah Ryan's FEWW" in the memo line.
Please mail to:
Community Foundation of Dutchess County
80 Washington Street, Suite 201
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Donation by credit card:
Credit card donations can be made through the website for The Community Foundation of Dutchess County, which manages Leah Ryan's FEWW: www.communityfoundationdc.org/page30001.cfm
On this page, please fill out the information as requested, and make sure to type "Leah's FEWW" in the box titled "Fund Name."
We thank you in advance for your generosity in supporting the Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers.
Please visit Leah Ryan's website here
Or join her Facebook fan page here
Check out the Facebook event page for the June 2009 performance of The Wire here