UNION, N.J.: Premiere Stages, the professional theatre company in residence at Kean University, has announced the 2019 finalists of its annual competition for unproduced scripts, the Premiere Play Festival. Now in its 15th year, the festival provides selected playwrights with developmental opportunities as well as a cash reward. The 2019 finalists are Hyannis by Kari Bentley-Quinn, Walden by Amy Berryman, Foreclosure by Vincent Delaney, and The Wake by Tammy Ryan.
Kari Bentley-Quinn’s Hyannis follows the employees of a Cape Cod souvenir shop, two of whom form a bond that threatens to change everyone forever.
Amy Berryman’s Walden is set in the near future, when climate change has led to human colonization of other planets. A pair of twins, both employed by NASA, grapple with questions of rivalry and love while humanity hangs in the balance.
Vincent Delaney’s Foreclosure is a sharply comic look at the modern collapse of real estate that shows no sign of ending.
In Tammy Ryan’s The Wake, two sisters gather to scatter a third sister’s ashes when a hurricane hits their rented beach house. The Wake confronts topics such as grief, family, and America’s shifting cultural and environmental climates.
All finalists will receive professional readings as part of Premiere’s 15th annual Spring Reading Series and will be considered for expanded development in Premiere’s mainstage season. One of the four plays will be awarded a full production as part of Premiere’s 2019 season.
