WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN HECKART SENIOR THEATRE COMPETITION

Results of the 2009 Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Competition were announced today by Ohio State University’s Department of Theatre and Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute. The contest, named in memory of Ohio State alumna and Central Ohio native Eileen Heckart, attracted more than five hundred entries this year, in three categories: ten-minute plays, one acts plays, and full length plays.

And the winners are:

Ten-Minute: Mary Steelsmith (Los Angeles, California) Happy and Gay

One act: Katherine DuBois (Boulder, Colorado) Volunteer Work

Full-length: Donna Spector (Warwick, New York) Not For the Ferryman

Finalists in each category include:

First runners-up:

Ten-Minute: Toby Armour (East Haven, Connecticut) Lifer

One act: Richard Conlon (St. Charles, Illinois) send forth they mercies

Full-length: R. Lawrence Sifford (Washington, D.C.) Murder in a Nursing Home

Second runners-up:

Ten-Minute: Stephanie Allison Walker (Los Angeles, California) Melt

One act: Tevia E. Abrams (New York, New York) Marge and Jack

Full-length (tie): Elizabeth Orndorff (Danville, Kentucky) Aidan’s Gift

Lans Taverse (London, England) Coleslaw and Coconut Cream Pie

Other finalists included

Ten-Minute: Damon Chua (Los Angeles, California) Dogs Are Evil

Douglas Stewart (Santa Fe, New Mexico) Never Mind

One act: Steven Shutzman (Baltimore, Maryland)Tammy

Rosemary Frisino Toohey (Baltimore, Maryland) Tilapia

Full-length: Paul Elliott (Los Angeles, California) Exit Laughing

The Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Competition honors Eileen Heckart (1919-2001), the distinguished American actress whose long career culminated in her stunning performance in Kenneth Lonergan=s The Waverly Gallery (2000), for which she received the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award. That same year she was awarded the Tony for lifetime achievement. She also was the recipient of an Academy Award (Butterflies Are Free), Golden Globe (The Bad Seed) and an Emmy (Save Me A Place at Forest Lawn). She was recognized with a Margo Jones Medal in 2000 for her long championing of new plays, having appeared in almost thirty world premiere productions. Ms. Heckart was a native of Bexley, Ohio, and an alumna of The Ohio State University.

Winning plays, and first-runners-up, will receive staged readings at The Ohio State University during the 2009-2010 academic year.

Further information: 614/292-8238 (voice), 614/292-3222 (FAX), woods.1@osu.edu; www.heckartdrama.blogspot.com

Alan Woods, Coordinator
The Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Competition
The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute
The Ohio State University
119 Thompson Library 1658 Neil Ave. Mall
Columbus, OH 43210
614 292-8232 office 614 292-3222 fax 614 371-4125 viator
woods.1@osu.edu