A Commission Project to Inspire Three New Plays
about America RIGHT NOW
Forward Flux Productions, along with commissioning panelists Benjamin Benne, Joshua Castille, Wesley Frugé, Chisa Hutchinson, Pilar O’Connell, Sharath Patel, Patrick Pearson and Emily Penick, is proud to announce the 3 winning playwrights for Three New American Plays. The playwrights were selected from over 250 submissions during a competitive open call process that kicked off in January of 2018.
The winning playwrights are…
Marisa Carr
Marisa Carr is a Native playwright who will write about the countless Indigenous women across North America who go missing every year. A Deer Woman – the legendary figure of justice and unrelenting vengeance who has the upper body of the most beautiful Indian woman in the world, and the lower body of a deer – will be integral in the story. Maybe she’s sick of this bullshit. And maybe, just maybe, she’s not going to take it anymore. Gritty urbanism and myth collide in this gripping exploration of the cost for Indigenous women to walk safely on their own land.
Sarah Loucks
Sarah Loucks will write a play exploring the military, the war in Afghanistan, and the role of DIY (do it yourself) combat filming in our soldiers’ lives. This is a play about three soldier’s relationship to America, each other, and violence, both real and filmed. Spread across America after their time in Afghanistan, the friends, now distant from each other, each carry a copy of a film they took together with a go-pro. They re-watch the footage at different times in their lives, trying to understand what it means to come home to a country that feels just as foreign as the one they left.
Charly Evon Simpson
Charly Evon Simpson’s play will imagine a United States of the future, where the country is now a series of hundreds of islands. Communities have made their separate homes on these islands finding safety and solidarity within the confines of their shores. The story will center on one such island that is inhabited entirely by people of color, and what happens when their way of life is threatened by quickly receding waters. When outsiders begin to encroach upon the island bringing with them harmful beliefs and diseases, will the islander’s way of life survive?
And congratulations to our previously announced Finalists:
Katie Bender
Adrienne Dawes
Monet Hurst-Mendoza
Andrew Kramer
Catherine Rush
Deborah Yarchun
More Information on the Project
The THREE NEW AMERICAN PLAYS project kicked off on January 2nd, 2018, with an open call for playwrights across North America, inviting them to respond to one of three prompts. The prompts were “Madame President,” “This Land is My Land,” and “One Nation, Under Water.” From over 250 submissions, 32 semi-finalists were named, which was narrowed down to 9 finalists, and eventually 3 winners. The three winning playwrights were given a commission check of $1,500 each to help seed the play idea that they developed and pitched during this process.
Further information on the plays, or requests to read the scripts in development, should be directed to the individual playwrights and/or their representatives.
About Forward Flux Productions
Forward Flux Productions is a dynamic live arts production company devoted to presenting innovative projects that connect people with art in unexpected ways. The company challenges the boundaries of tradition by re-imagining the audience experience. Forward Flux is committed to presenting work about the right now, and striking a meaningful dialogue that stirs a lasting impression.
The company was founded in New York City in late 2010, and relocated to Seattle in 2014. Three New American Plays will be the company’s 5th season project in Seattle. Forward Flux is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
MISSION:
Forward Flux cultivates new artistic voices and new audiences to create an accessible, sustainable, relevant future for the live arts.
We place an emphasis on presenting new work from women and artists of color, and are working to create a safe, equitable, accessible live arts experience for all.
