Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati Reveals Winner of the 2023 Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition

Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati (ETC) is pleased to announce the winner of the fifth annual PLAY/write: The Jackie Demaline Regional Collegiate Playwriting Competition. The annual collegiate competition nurtures local aspiring dramatists who are helping to shape the future of American theatre and provides a $2,500 juried cash award to support the early work and career of each winner along with staged professional readings of their scripts.

The winner of this year’s prize is Joyce Evelyn Deaton (Northern Kentucky University) for her play Both Hands, which will receive a full-length staged professional reading on August 6, 2023, at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati.

An earlier draft of Both Hands was submitted and received honorable mention in the 2022 competition. The panel of judges were very impressed that the playwright took the time to revisit, rework, and refine her play and submit an updated, more streamlined draft of the piece.

About the Competition

The competition commemorates the life and work of writer, critic, and theatre enthusiast Jackie Demaline. A passionate arts advocate, Ms. Demaline served as an important catalyst for change in the theater community and was an entertainment writer and editor for numerous publications. Her legacy lives on through this competition, providing professional development for emerging writers, amplifying new voices and perspectives, and kick-starting arts careers.

About the Play

Both Hands by Joyce Evelyn Deaton

Jackie and Niamh, childhood best friends turned strangers, reconnect after ending up at the same university, in the same math class, hours away from home and desperately in search of a carpool. Through road trip conversation over the course of the 1993–1994 school year, the girls explore the meaning of home, religion, sexuality, love, friendship, and survival.

About the Playwright

Joyce Evelyn Deaton graduated from Northern Kentucky University with her BA in theatre with an interest in directing, playwriting, and dramaturgy. She is the president and lead producer of the student theatre organization The Henry Konstantinow Studio Theatre, which produces a season of entirely student-run, directed, designed, and produced black box theatre. In her time as president, the organization has doubled in size, funds, and allocated amounts for student productions. She also spearheaded the creation of The Henry Konstantinow Arts Accessibility grant, which assists student directors who may not otherwise have the means to produce and fund their own shows. Other credits include Mr. Burns, a post-electric play (director), NKU’s Twelfth Night (assistant director), NKU/The Carnegie’s Keeper of the Realm (assistant director), and NKU’s Peter and the Starcatcher (dramaturg).

Performance Information

The reading will take place at 2:00 pm on Sunday, August 6, 2023, at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Registration is required for this free event and can be reserved online at www.ensemblecincinnati.org or by calling (513) 421-3555.

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