War-themed 'Year of the Rabbit' Wins Women Playwrights Prize

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2011) − Los Angeles-based playwright Keliher Walsh has won the first of what will become the annual Prize for Women Playwrights presented by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference (KWWC) for her full-length play, "Year of the Rabbit." The prize carries a $500 cash award and a fully staged theatrical production at Balagula Theatre in Lexington, where it will be produced as a world premiere in March 2012. Walsh's script was selected from a pool of 168 scripts from playwrights residing in 31 different states in the U.S., as well as several provinces of Canada.

Obie award-winning playwright and Kentucky native Naomi Wallace served as judge and selected Walsh’s script from three finalists. Wallace’s own play "One Flea Spare" opens at Balagula Theatre on Sept. 1.

In Walsh’s winning script, Afghanistan and Vietnam serve as the backdrop for the collision of race, marriage and motherhood when two fighter pilots fall in love. As Wallace explained, "'Year of the Rabbit' makes evident, with a fresh theatricality and original imagination, the historical and emotional connectedness we often wish to deny between what one might call 'Big History' and the most intimate experiences of our lives. The play brings together the disparate worlds of love and war, and the collision is both disturbing and at times, deeply moving."

Other finalists in the contest were Ludmilla Bollow of Milwaukee, Wis., for "One Night in a Dance Hall," and Donna Spector of Warwick, N.Y., for "Burying Mother." Wallace remarked, "The three finalists are all very talented writers. What a pleasure to read such fine playwrights."

Keliher Walsh has had her plays performed at the Blank Theater, the Mills Playhouse, and Ensemble Studio Theater in Los Angeles. As an actress she has performed in the works of playwrights such as John Guare, Lanford Wilson, Carol Churchill, Tina Howe and many others both on and off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons and is currently at work on her fourth play. 

To honor Wallace’s service in judging the first Prize for Women Playwrights, Balagula Theatre chose Wallace’s play "One Flea Spare" to open its fall season, with performances on Sept. 1-4 and 11-14, 2011. Natasha Williams, artistic and managing co-director of Balagula Theatre Company, is directing the play.

"This production is dedicated to the female playwrights," Williams said. "We have been working with KWWC to bring more attention to the issue of gender discrimination in the theater ... Ms. Wallace’s success is a great example of the significance and power of women’s voices on stage."

Joining Wallace and Natasha Williams on the judging panel were Balagula Theatre co-artistic director Ryan Case, Lexington Herald-Leader theater critic Candace Chaney, Peabody Award-winning screenwriter and playwright and University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Playwriting Herman Farrell III, and KWWC director Julie Wrinn.

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is the longest running conference of its kind in the nation. Its mission is to promote imaginative conversation by lifting up women’s artistry for the benefit of all. A UK program, the annual event is made possible in part by continued community partnerships. To see a full schedule of conference events during Sept. 15-18, 2011, visit http://www.uky.edu/WWK/events.html. Registration for the Kentucky Women Writers Conference and information on speakers are available on the conference website. For more information on any of these events, contact Julie Wrinn, conference director, at (859) 257-2874.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu