BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Theatre will present a reading of the winning play in its Ruby Lloyd Apsey Play Search, "We Three" by Paul Shoulberg.
Shoulberg will visit UAB Saturday, Oct. 24 for the staged reading and a talk-back with the audience about the play that begins at 7:30 p.m. in the UAB Theatre Acting Studio, Alys Stephens Center, 1200 10th Ave. South. Visit www.uab.edu/cas/theatre or call 205-934-3236.
Every two years, Theatre UAB seeks new and original plays confronting racial or ethnic issues, especially those calling for ethnically diverse or multi-racial casting. Full-length dramas or comedies that could be performed by a diverse and talented group of college students as part of the department's regular season of plays are ideal, said Lee Shackleford, assistant professor of theater and play search director.
The Apsey Award is a $1,000 prize plus a staged reading at UAB and the possibility of a fully mounted production. The award exists thanks to the generosity of Ruby Lloyd Apsey, who was an early supporter of Theatre UAB and the creation of new plays. Previously produced and unproduced scripts are equally welcome. This year, Theatre UAB received about 200 submissions. "We Three" stood out for intriguing characters, an engrossing plot, a strong sense of the power of live performance, roles for university-level actors and a fresh examination of race relations in America with genuinely challenging insights, Shackleford said.
Shoulberg, 32, lives in the Bronx, N.Y. His play "Reel" premiered as part of Indiana University's main stage season in 2006, was performed at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee, Wis., as part of the American College Theatre Festival, and was the winner of the Kennedy Center's 2007 Mark Twain Playwriting Award for Comedy. His play "Cracker" won the American College Theater Festival Region III Full Length Script Award in 2007. His screenplay "A Brilliant Mess" was a first-round alternate in the first Project Greenlight competition.
About UAB
The UAB Department of Theatre has won the highest honors awarded to university theaters, including Best in Region from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF). In 2008, UAB's production of "In the Blood" was one of three shows chosen by KCACTF from 300 in consideration nationwide. Faculty members in the department continue to work professionally in addition to teaching. UAB Theatre performances are presented at the Alys Stephens Center, UAB's own world-class performing arts center. Next year the department will celebrate its 40th anniversary.