BWW Exclusive: Meet the 2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalists- Jiehae Park

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for 2021 for its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women+ playwrights. The Winner, to be announced on April 7, will be awarded a cash prize of $25,000 USD, and will receive a signed print by renowned artist Willem De Kooning, created especially for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Ahead of the announcement, BroadwayWorld is excited to spotlight each of this year's finalists. Below, learn more about Jiehae Park and read an excerpt form her play, The Aves.

What does it mean to you personally to be recognized by such a reputable and respected organization?

What's next? Do you have any new projects on the horizon, ideas that you'd love to put on paper, etc.?

I just found the ending for a piece that I've been working on for a long time, about navigating loss. It weaves threads of childhood play, John Harrison's longitude clocks, and the disappearance of MH370...I've been working on it for years with my design collaborator (who has been with me since the piece's inception) and I can't tell you how happy I was to finally crack the end. I hadn't expected to make progress on plays during the pandemic, because for me they require a certain kind of stillness that has been challenging for the obvious reasons...so that discovery was a surprise and delight. And I've just turned in two second drafts- for the book of a commercial musical based on the YA book KILL THE BOY BAND, and for a TV pilot I'm writing with Diana Son for Tomorrow Studios/Apple. So I'm happy to have some headspace to start on a few earlier-stage projects I'm excited about.

Read an excerpt from Jiehae Park's play, The Aves:

YOUNG WOMAN
do you want me to leave you?

Click here to learn more about The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.