The Ruby Prize
Directed by Aimée Hayes
About The Ruby Prize
The Ruby Prize is Southern Rep Theatre’s $10,000 biannual award to a woman playwright of color named in honor of Ruby Bridges, who showed incredible perseverance in the face of formidable obstacles. The Ruby Prize seeks to support women playwrights of color whose work expands the reach of American theatre in the face of formidable obstacles.
Announcing The 2015 Ruby Prize Winner And Finalists Winner:
A Heap See By Dawn Renee Jones
Koua, young Hmong mother of six, has immigrated to Minnesota after living for years in squalid Thai refugee camps. Determined to give her children all the tools for success, her efforts are constantly challenged by her husband and his family. As Koua’s family life becomes more violent, Anita, her next door neighbor, is torn between calling the police, offering Koua sanctuary, or minding her own business.
Dawn Renee Jones
Finalist:
I Enter The Valley By Dipika Guha
Renowned national poet Augusto Reál has written (almost) nothing for seven years. But now, in the twilight of his life his house in the valley is flooded with women. They disturb his peace, revitalize his life force and tip the balance of power irrevocably away from the old world into the new. I ENTER THE VALLEY is a play about literature, longing, and creativity inspired by the life and work of Pablo Neruda.
Dipika Guha
Finalist:
Passover By Antoinette Nwadu
In PASS OVER, a bold, incendiary riff on WAITING FOR GODOT, pop culture, historical and religious references collide to create a hilarious and disturbing meditation on manhood, race, and the cycle of violence that prevents too many from realizing their full potential. This spring, the play will receive a workshop at the Cherry Lane theater as part of the 2016 Mentor Project (mentor: Katori Hall).
Antoinette Nwadu
The 2014 Ruby Prize Winner
brownsville song (b-side for tray) by Kimber Lee is about a family struggling to make peace in the aftermath of loss. Time moves in scattered rhythms, pivoting unpredictably between before and after, as the play follows each family member’s stumble through grief, finding one another, and fighting their way towards hope.
The 2012 Ruby Prize Winner
Winner: MERIT by Lenelle Moïse
Finalists: YOU FOR ME FOR YOU by Mia Chung and TAKARAZUKA!!! by Susan Soon He Stanton
The 2011 Ruby Prize Winner
Winner: RAMP by Eisa Davis
Finalists: AFRICAN AMERICANS by Jocelyn Bioh, HURT VILLAGE by Katori Hall, FIGHT by Kimber Lee, and MALA HIERBA by Tanya Saracho
About Hedgebrook
Hedgebrook is a literary non-profit that supports the work of visionary women writers whose stories shape our culture now and for generations to come. Celebrating our 26th year in 2014, Hedgebrook hosts a global community of writers, more than 1400 in over two decades, at our retreat. Hedgebrook’s public programs connect these women’s work with thousands of readers and audience members each year through readings, screenings, events, salons, publications and festivals. The annual Hedgebrook Women Playwrights Festival (HWPF) celebrates the work of women writing for the theatre. Since the festival’s inauguration in 1998, HWPF has supported the work of an impressive array of women playwrights and served an important role in the development of new plays by women.
more items
Of Interest
Here’s a super easy way to navigate our entire site simply by clicking on a specific area.