Every year, the Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award honors a production that debuts at one of the Atlanta area’s many theaters.
Local playwrights from across the metro try to win the award every season. This year, seven new plays are eligible including Thomas Jones II and his Horizon Theater production of Sheddin’.
The Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award will be presented by local author and playwright Pearl Cleage at the 8th annual Suzi Bass Awards on Monday, Nov. 5.
Jones has been a staple of Atlanta theater for many years. His former Jomandi Productions that he founded was long the default go-to for black theater-goers in the Atlanta metro area.
Nominees:
Alice in Wonderland
Rachael Teagle, Serenbe Playhouse
This reimagining of the classic Lewis Carroll tale about a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole and is transported to another world takes viewers on an outdoor romp through Serenbe’s beautiful nature-scape.
Bat-Hamlet
Jordan Pulliam, Essential Theatre
This play was produced as part of Essential’s New Play Festival. It combines the familiar Shakespearean story of Hamlet with the characters and settings of the Batman comics.
Broke
Janece Shaffer, Alliance Theatre
This play paints a portrait of a family in financial crisis at a time when both college expenses and retirement loom, and explores the problem of learning how to survive a huge lifestyle change.
By Wheel and By Wing
Corey-Jan Albert, Act3 Productions
Several local students came together to write this original musical based on a Jewish family’s escape from Poland at the beginning of World War II. Collaborators include Cameron Albert-Deitch, Sam Barge, Haley Chung, Leslie Doctor, Dara Epstein, Justin Nash Fisher, Maital Gottfried, Leah Quattrochi, Parrish Turner and Greg Windle.
The Green Book
Calvin Alexander Ramsey, Theatrical Outfit
A historically-based drama, this play explores life in the segregated South through the lens of a family that provides a “tourist home” for traveling blacks. When the family hosts a Holocaust survivor, tensions with the other guests bring up issues of both local and international discrimination.
The Local
Ellen McQueen, Essential Theatre
Actors, dancers and writers collaborated to create the many parts of this play. Each tale is set in a specific Atlanta location and often incorporates a piece of the city’s rich history.
Sheddin’
Thomas W. Jones II, Horizon Theatre
This snappy musical comedy explores a father-son relationship thrown into an uproar by fame and unexpected surprises.
The Suzi Bass Awards will be presented at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center in DeKalb County. Tickets can be purchased at suziawards.org; they are $40 in advance or $50 at the door, and include admission to an after-party.
Source: 11Alive News
