Winners Announced for 2013 Pittsburgh New Works Festival

The winners of the 2013 Pittsburgh New Works Festival were announced at a reception held at Cephalo's in Carnegie on October 6.

Top honors for "Best Play" went to The Perhaps by F. J. Hartland of Pittsburgh and for "Best production" to Moon Over Gomorrah by Byron Wilmont of Rochester NY.

The Perhaps is about a lonely little boy who finds an imaginary friend-film legend Bette Davis.

Parents travel to San Francisco for "important news" their son wants to share with them in Moon Over Gomorrah

Produced by Stage Right of Fox Chapel, The Perhaps also won the award for Best Supporting Actress for Barb Sawatis, who played the role of Myrna, the grandmother. Jake Wadsworth was named "Best Director" for Moon Over Gomorrah, produced by the Red Masquers of Duquesne University.

Joel Ambrose and Ayne Terciera were named "Best Actor" and "Best Actress," respectively for their roles in Hotline by Cheryl Navo. Ambrose played a novice telephone operator at a help line with Terciera as his frantic caller.

Arran Harlan was named "Best Supporting Actor" for his role as a soldier in Viet Nam in Even by Karen L. Lewis.

Playwright Rob Zellers, the Education Director at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, was given the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his contributions to Pittsburgh theatre. Zellers is the co-author of The Chief, a one-person play about Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney.

This year the Pittsburgh New Works Festival produced eighteen world premier plays (six as staged readings, twelve as full productions). It was the twenty-third season for the Festival and their first in their new home at Off The Wall Theatre in Carnegie.