The Bridge Initiative Announces New Play Contest Winner

The Bridge Initiative: Women in Theatre has awarded Los Angeles-based Alyson Mead's The Flora and Fauna winner of their New Work Contest. New York director Stefanie Sertich, a specialist in new play development, will be in residence at Mesa Community College with Mead, February 20-25th, working on the script. The play chronicles the celebrations and challenges of a female friendship that spans almost 40 years. Timing and location of public events TBA.

The Bridge Initiative's New Work Contest received more than 163 eligible plays and musicals, submitted from 25 states, the District of Columbia, and international locations. Over the course of six months, the works were adjudicated by a team of professional theatre practitioners from both Arizona and across the country who produce, act, direct, write, and teach. Every submission was scored anonymously, on criteria of originality, storytelling, dialogue, characters, and an X factor ("I want to see this play").

Additionally, The Bridge Initiative has named two plays Honorable Mention winners. Sarah Bierstock's Honor Killing follows an American reporter investigating a murder in Pakistan. In Anchuli King's White Pearl, six women from six Asian countries collide in the boardroom of a whitening skin cream brand. The Bridge Initiative is cultivating a relationship with these playwrights and plays, with the hope of bringing them to audiences in the Valley sometime in 2017.

The Bridge Initiative is an Arizona nonprofit working to identify and empower female artists in the Southwest region, with the aim of gender parity across all theatrical disciplines. Its mission also includes bridging the gap between academia and the professional world to encourage students to envision a clearer path to becoming lifelong artists.