ROOST Wins Top Honors At Philly Urban Theater Festival

The Philly Urban Theater Festival (PUTF) kicked off its inaugural season at the Adrienne Theater in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square and featured 14 theatrical works written by Kash Goins (VI Degrees and VII Deadly Sins), Tiffany Joyner (Apologies are for The Living), Race Brown (Cold), Briana Cannon (The Gentle Cycle of Dirty Laundry), Kareem Rogers (Twice Loved), Donja R. Love (The Nigga Files), Shenille Melton (When the Smoke Cleared), Cheril N. Clarke (Intimate Chaos), Jamila Capitman and Heather Thomas (Love Queens Who Suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Lee Colston (Roost), Karen Waller-Martin (Director of the only non-original piece in the festival, The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe), Tiffany Wilson (Shaking the TRuth Loose), and Andre N. Jones (Verbalized Ink).

While the works presented by Goins, Rogers, Clarke, and Waller-Martin were in the non-competitive category, the remaining nine productions were vying for the coveted LIFE MEDIA "Best Play Award". In addition to recognition for a job well done, the honoree will also receive a cash award of $500 to be contributed towards the work's further development efforts.

The 2010 inaugural Philly Urban Theatre Festival Award went to:

BEST PLAY - "Roost" by Lee Colston

Directed by: Colston and Malika Oyetimein

Starring: Gerard Joseph, Mlé Chester, Len 'Cruze' Webb, James C. Tolbert III, Monroe Barrick, & Paule Aboite.

The backdrop is a seedy bar where the elements of a tormented past come together. Six year old Derek Bird and his sister are orphaned when his mother is arrested for the murder of his father. After a departure, he returns ten years later to his sister, now a successful lawyer desperately trying to sever her connection from her past. With his mother's prison release, he's forced to wrestle with the demons that tore his life apart and exposes the terrible secret behind his father's death.

Lee Edward Colston II is a prison guard turned actor/playwright/author. After leaving the Department of Corrections, he trained and graduated from the Brind School of Theater at UArts (B.F.A.). Lee has 25 productions to his credit including Avenue X (Barrymore Nomination), Cradle Will Rock (Irene Ryan Nomination), Tis Pity She's a Whore, Sankofa, Once on This Island, and Othello. As a playwright, his play Solitary was a 2009 winner of The Philadelphia Theatre Workshop PlayShop Festival. His book of poetry 'Phenomenal Brotha: Blood, Sweat & Ink was released in 2005. He is currently on a national tour with "The Color Purple" in the principle role of Harpo.

Honorable Mention: 1st Runner up: Donja R. Love (The Nigga Files), 2nd Runner up: Shenille Melton (When The Smoke Cleared).

To learn more about Philly Urban Theatre Festival, please visit www.putf.org.