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Kelly Stuart Wins ADAA's Saroyan Prize
http://asbarez.com/107757/kelly-stuart-wins-adaa%E2%80%99s-saroyan-prize/
Friday, January 18th, 2013
>From l to r: Adriana Sevahn Nichols, Sheldon Epps, Kelly Stuart, Sevan
Kaloustian Greene
David Kherdian receives Armenian Star Award
LOS ANGELES - New York playwright Kelly Stuart won the Armenian Dramatic
Arts Alliance's 3rd Biennial William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting for
her play, `Belonging to the Sky.' The $10,000 grand prize was
announced and presented at ADAA's memorable awards event on Saturday,
December 8, 2012, 6pm at the Pasadena Playhouse.
`Belonging to the Sky' is a lyrical duet of monologues by Sabiha
Gökçen (Ataturk's adopted daughter) and assassinated journalist Hrant
Dink, and their tragic historical connection. Stuart teaches
playwriting at Columbia University and has traveled nine times to
Turkey and speaks Turkish.
`I was haunted by the intersection of these two lives,' says Stuart,
`so the play is the interwoven monologues of Hrant and Sabiha, both
confronting their identity and the approach of death in two different
ways.'
The other finalists were two-time Saroyan Prize finalist Sevan
Kaloustian Greene's `Doon,' a dramatic look at four generations of a
New Jersey Armenian family; and Adriana Sevahn Nichols' `Night Over
Erzinga,' inspired by her Armenian grandparents' survival of the
Genocide in 1915. All three finalists were present at the event and
read excerpts of their powerful plays. Many attendees considered these
readings to be the highlight of the evening.
`I had never read the text of my play, in public, and there was
something very potent about speaking my grandmother's words, to a room
full of Armenians. I think, somewhere, in the voices of our
characters, all of our hearts were joined together,' said Sevahn
Nichols.
The prize was awarded by Hank Saroyan, the nephew of William Saroyan
and Emmy-winning director of Saroyan's `The Parsley Garden.' Before
awarding the prize he shared delightful and touching stories about his
`Uncle Bill,' who was passionate about `the spirit of the writer above
all else.'
Television host and entertainment journalist Jill Simonian served as
the enthusiastic mistress of ceremonies, engaging the audience
throughout the evening and recalling how ADAA has helped her connect
with other Armenians in the industry.
Author David Kherdian received ADAA's 2012 Armenian Star Award for his
outstanding writing career as a poet, novelist and memoirist. As he
was unable to attend, Kherdian's friend and colleague, novelist Aris
Janigian (This Angelic Land) accepted the award on Kherdian's behalf
and presented a moving tribute to the author, who began as a poet and
was mentored by William Saroyan in his early career and has since seen
his numerous works of fiction and nonfiction translated into 14
languages, including his bestselling memoir of his mother, The Road
>From Home. Gomidas Press will publish Kherdian's retelling of David
of Sassoun in February, 2013.
Some of the industry's finest Armenian American actors were also in
attendance, including Ken Davitian (The Artist) and Hrach Titizian
(Showtime's Homeland). ADAA Founder Bianca Bagatourian talked about
ADAA's array of recent activities. Other key ADAA artists in the
audience were Ovation Award-winning director Michael Arabian, actress
Karen Kondazian, director Michael Peretzian, Fountain Theater Artistic
Director Simon Levy and Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon
Epps.
The winner was selected by this year's Honorary Jury of renowned
theater artists: playwright Catherine Filloux (Dog and Wolf),
playwright/screenwriter Eduardo Machado (Floating Islands), and
Artistic Director/actress Gates McFadden (Star Trek).
Stuart's journey to write the play is compelling: `While traveling in
Turkey I visited the archive of a historian who told me a story I
couldn't get out of my head...The story he told me was about an Armenian
girl named Hatun, who was left in an orphanage with her sister in the
aftermath of the genocide. Ataturk came to the orphanage and saw this
very pretty little girl, and took her away to adopt her. This girl
became `Sabiha Gokcen,' the icon of Turkish womanhood; her Armenian
identity `cleaned' and erased.'" Some consider Hrant Dink's treatment
of this topic in Agos newspaper as the event that possibly led to his
own tragedy, hence Stuart's exploration of them both.
ADAA's William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting, for plays on Armenian
themes, is made possible by a grant from the William Saroyan
Foundation, with additional funding from Gagosian Galleries.
The next biennial Saroyan Prize deadline will be April 1, 2014. Next
year, ADAA will sponsor the Paul Screenwriting Awards for screenplays
on Armenian themes, with a deadline of April 1, 2013.
ADAA's mission is to project the Armenian voice on the world stage
through the arts of theater and film. It accomplishes this through
two writing contests, playreadings, the Boston Armenian Film Festival,
various networking events, and the pre-eminent Armenian performing
arts website in the world, www.armeniandrama.org.
From: A. Papazian
http://asbarez.com/107757/kelly-stuart-wins-adaa%E2%80%99s-saroyan-prize/
Friday, January 18th, 2013
>From l to r: Adriana Sevahn Nichols, Sheldon Epps, Kelly Stuart, Sevan
Kaloustian Greene
David Kherdian receives Armenian Star Award
LOS ANGELES - New York playwright Kelly Stuart won the Armenian Dramatic
Arts Alliance's 3rd Biennial William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting for
her play, `Belonging to the Sky.' The $10,000 grand prize was
announced and presented at ADAA's memorable awards event on Saturday,
December 8, 2012, 6pm at the Pasadena Playhouse.
`Belonging to the Sky' is a lyrical duet of monologues by Sabiha
Gökçen (Ataturk's adopted daughter) and assassinated journalist Hrant
Dink, and their tragic historical connection. Stuart teaches
playwriting at Columbia University and has traveled nine times to
Turkey and speaks Turkish.
`I was haunted by the intersection of these two lives,' says Stuart,
`so the play is the interwoven monologues of Hrant and Sabiha, both
confronting their identity and the approach of death in two different
ways.'
The other finalists were two-time Saroyan Prize finalist Sevan
Kaloustian Greene's `Doon,' a dramatic look at four generations of a
New Jersey Armenian family; and Adriana Sevahn Nichols' `Night Over
Erzinga,' inspired by her Armenian grandparents' survival of the
Genocide in 1915. All three finalists were present at the event and
read excerpts of their powerful plays. Many attendees considered these
readings to be the highlight of the evening.
`I had never read the text of my play, in public, and there was
something very potent about speaking my grandmother's words, to a room
full of Armenians. I think, somewhere, in the voices of our
characters, all of our hearts were joined together,' said Sevahn
Nichols.
The prize was awarded by Hank Saroyan, the nephew of William Saroyan
and Emmy-winning director of Saroyan's `The Parsley Garden.' Before
awarding the prize he shared delightful and touching stories about his
`Uncle Bill,' who was passionate about `the spirit of the writer above
all else.'
Television host and entertainment journalist Jill Simonian served as
the enthusiastic mistress of ceremonies, engaging the audience
throughout the evening and recalling how ADAA has helped her connect
with other Armenians in the industry.
Author David Kherdian received ADAA's 2012 Armenian Star Award for his
outstanding writing career as a poet, novelist and memoirist. As he
was unable to attend, Kherdian's friend and colleague, novelist Aris
Janigian (This Angelic Land) accepted the award on Kherdian's behalf
and presented a moving tribute to the author, who began as a poet and
was mentored by William Saroyan in his early career and has since seen
his numerous works of fiction and nonfiction translated into 14
languages, including his bestselling memoir of his mother, The Road
>From Home. Gomidas Press will publish Kherdian's retelling of David
of Sassoun in February, 2013.
Some of the industry's finest Armenian American actors were also in
attendance, including Ken Davitian (The Artist) and Hrach Titizian
(Showtime's Homeland). ADAA Founder Bianca Bagatourian talked about
ADAA's array of recent activities. Other key ADAA artists in the
audience were Ovation Award-winning director Michael Arabian, actress
Karen Kondazian, director Michael Peretzian, Fountain Theater Artistic
Director Simon Levy and Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Sheldon
Epps.
The winner was selected by this year's Honorary Jury of renowned
theater artists: playwright Catherine Filloux (Dog and Wolf),
playwright/screenwriter Eduardo Machado (Floating Islands), and
Artistic Director/actress Gates McFadden (Star Trek).
Stuart's journey to write the play is compelling: `While traveling in
Turkey I visited the archive of a historian who told me a story I
couldn't get out of my head...The story he told me was about an Armenian
girl named Hatun, who was left in an orphanage with her sister in the
aftermath of the genocide. Ataturk came to the orphanage and saw this
very pretty little girl, and took her away to adopt her. This girl
became `Sabiha Gokcen,' the icon of Turkish womanhood; her Armenian
identity `cleaned' and erased.'" Some consider Hrant Dink's treatment
of this topic in Agos newspaper as the event that possibly led to his
own tragedy, hence Stuart's exploration of them both.
ADAA's William Saroyan Prize for Playwriting, for plays on Armenian
themes, is made possible by a grant from the William Saroyan
Foundation, with additional funding from Gagosian Galleries.
The next biennial Saroyan Prize deadline will be April 1, 2014. Next
year, ADAA will sponsor the Paul Screenwriting Awards for screenplays
on Armenian themes, with a deadline of April 1, 2013.
ADAA's mission is to project the Armenian voice on the world stage
through the arts of theater and film. It accomplishes this through
two writing contests, playreadings, the Boston Armenian Film Festival,
various networking events, and the pre-eminent Armenian performing
arts website in the world, www.armeniandrama.org.
From: A. Papazian