Daily-Ist Wednesday: Houston's Women in Theatre

:: 30TH ANNIVERSARY SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE DRAMATIC READING ::

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize honoring women playwrights from around the world, has decided to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary by hosting a reading and the awards in Houston.

Five short works by local women playwrights (a talented bunch) will be presented as dramatic readings by Houston’s acting community (another talented bunch) at the Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Stage this Sunday, March 9th at 3:00PM. Excerpts from previous Susan Smith Blackburn Prize honorees will also be read. A reception with the playwrights and artists will follow and is free and open to the public.

Previous winners include Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl and Caryl Churchill; previous judges include Edward Albee, Eileen Atkins, Blair Brown, Zoe Caldwell, Jill Clayburgh, Glenn Close, Harold Clurman, Colleen Dewhurst, John Guare, A.R. Gurney, Tony Kushner, John Lahr, Marsha Norman, Joan Plowright, Marian Seldes, Fiona Shaw, Tom Stoppard, Meryl Streep, Jessica Tandy, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson and Joanne Woodward. This is a hugely big deal.

The reading was produced by a city-wide creative coalition of five Houston theatres: Alley Theatre, The Ensemble Theatre, Theater LaB Houston, Main Street Theater and Stages Repertory Theatre.

The women playwrights from Houston whose works will be read were selected from a regional competition juried by the five producing theatres. Playwrights of the chosen works will receive an honorarium - Sink Hole by Mary Ellen Whitworth, Sassafras Girls by Celeste Bedford Walker, The Potato Feast by C. Denby Swanson, Nearing Velocity by Elizabeth Gilbert and Militia Slumber Party, or Embracing the New World Order by our own star Crystal Jackson.

What:"Women in Theatre: Houston Voices" Reading in honor of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
Date: Sunday, March 9th
Time: 3PM
Location: Alley Theatre’s Neuhaus Stage
Price: Free!

The listed event was chosen by the editors of Houstonist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.