THE LARK AND INDO-AMERICAN ARTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCE SELECTIONS FOR THE 14TH ANNUAL PLAYWRIGHTS’ WEEK FESTIVAL

NEW YORK, NY – The Lark Play Development Center and the Indo-American Arts Council are proud to announce the selected playwrights for Playwrights’ Week 2007.  This year’s eight writers, chosen from nearly 500 submissions, bring a diversity in subject matter ranging from an outbreak of bird flu to a soldier stuck in the Middle East to a tragic African-American entertainer.  The playwrights will spend a weeklong residency at the Lark developing their work with professional actors, a director, and Lark staff; they will then present that work in a public reading during the Festival.
  
For the Lark, the Playwrights’ Week is a key program in unearthing new writers from around the world, as it stems from an open-submission policy, as well as an outreach to unique and unheard voices. According to Playwrights’ Week alumni Chantal Bilodeau, “Playwrights Week is a gift and the Lark’s greatest quality is that it invests in writers, not just in plays.”
  
This year's selections include: NOBODY by Richard Aellen, the tragedy of Bert Williams, an African-American entertainer; RAISINS, NOT VIRGINS by Sharbari Ahmed, traces the journey and jihad of an American-Muslim woman in New York; SAND, by Trista Baldwin, details a young American soldier occupying the Middle East; SHE LIKE GIRLS inspired by the 2003 murder of a lesbian teen in Newark by Chisa Hutchinson; GARY, by Melinda Lopez, about three youths lost in the mundane until one violent night changes everything; VELOCITY, by Daniel Macdonald, in which a 15 year old girl decides to blow her father out the 73rd floor of an office tower; CHILDREN AT PLAY, a tragic farce about five friends struggling to make it through junior high and high school, by Jordan Seavey; and DAY THE BIRD FLU CAME by Jonathan Yukich, where two health officials investigate an outbreak in a small town.
  
The Festival kicks off with a Meet the Writers reception on September 26th where the playwrights will be introduced, interviewed, and will read excerpts of their work.  The Festival will come to a finale with a special celebration of the Lark’s 8th year in partnership with IAAC on October 1st, where seven South Asian Lark Alumni writers will share work and the 2007 IAAC Playwright-in-Residence will be announced, concluding with a reception commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Indo-American Arts Council.
  
The Playwrights’ Week selection process started in November of 2006.  Hundreds of scripts were submitted through the Lark's open submission policy. Finalists were chosen through a rigorous process involving the Lark’s Literary Wing, comprised of dozens of theatre artists and community members.  The final eight playwrights were selected by a group of esteemed industry professionals including: Catherine Coray (curator, HotINK), Anton Dudley (playwright, SLAG HEAP), Suzy Fay (Lark Dramaturg/Roundtable Director), Daniel Jaquez (Intar New Works Lab), Morgan Jenness (Abrams Artists), Rajiv Joseph (playwright, BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO), Miles Lott (Lark LitWing Chair), Aroon Shivdasani (IAAC), and Rob Urbinati (Queens Theatre in the Park).

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