LOS ANGELES: The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) has named June Carryl the recipient of the Saroyan/Paul Human Rights Playwriting Prize, which highlights global stories of human rights and social justice. Carryl was awarded a $10,000 cash prize for her play The Good Minister From Harare.
The play, which was selected from a pool of more than 300 submissions, is about the genocide in Zimbabwe that took place under Robert Mugabe. Carryl is a playwright and actor with a background in political science and English literature. Her other works include Stone Angels and God’s Wife.
The two finalists for the prize were Runaway Home by Jeremy J. Kamps and Stephanie Alison Walker’s The Madres.
Antaeus Theatre Company presented a reading of excerpts from the winning play and the two finalists at an awards ceremony on April 24. Judges for this year’s award included Rob Drummer, associate dramaturg and director from the Bush Theatre in London; Neil McPherson, artistic director of the Finborough Theatre in London; and Simon Levy, artistic director of the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance as the American Dramatic Arts Alliance.
