CELEBRATING 45 YEARS OF THE SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE
presents a reading of the winner of the 45th Annual Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT
By SARAH MANTELLDirected by LESLIE SWACKHAMER
CAST
Jen ............................. Kathryn Hunter-Williams
Ani.......................................... Pamela Vogel
Sara ........................................ Miika Stewart
Maribel .................................. Kim Tobin-Lehl
Ash ...................................... Christine Friale
El ......................................... Susan Shofner
Horowitz ........................ Pamela Garcia Langton
PRODUCTION CREW
Stage Manager ........................... Javon Rougely
Stage Directions ................... Catherine Dunaway
SPECIAL THANKS
Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Yaddo, Skyler Gray, Đat Peter Tôn
.
Runtime: Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission
IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons with funds provided by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Program for Commissioning Women in the Performing Arts.
CULLEN TRUST FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
This reading is part of the 45th Anniversary Celebration of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, with special support from the Brown Foundation. 4th Wall Theatre Company is funded in part by awards from the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the State of Texas through the Texas Commission on the Arts.
4TH WALL THEATRE COMPANY
SARAH MANTELL (Playwright) Sarah’s plays include Everything That Never Happened, The Good Guys, Tiny, In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, and Fight Call. They have been produced and developed at Boston Court Pasadena, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights Horizons, The Playwrights Realm, Artists Repertory Theatre, Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, The Yale Cabaret, and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Sarah is under commission with Playwrights Horizons and Geva Theatre Center and has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, Wildacres, Hedgebrook, Fresh Ground Pepper, and SPACE on Ryder Farm, as well as a Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, Toulmin grant, and Edgerton Foundation grant. Essays include “Touch the Wound, But Don’t Live There” in American Theatre Magazine and “On the Loss of a Play and Things Worth Losing” on 3Views. Sarah has taught at Wesleyan University, SUNY Purchase, Occidental College, and New Haven’s Cooperative Arts High School. BFA Rhode Island School of Design. MFA Yale School of Drama.
LESLIE SWACKHAMER (Director) is an award-winning director and dramaturg of opera and theatre, particularly known for directing large works with bravura ensembles and bold visuals. Equally at home with new and established pieces, she has workshopped, directed, and produced over 100 new works at theatre and opera companies across America. A passionate advocate and activist for new plays and work by women, she is the Executive Director of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the oldest and largest international prize specifically honoring women+ playwrights. She also founded the Women Playwright’s Festival and was a founding board member and President of Theatre Puget Sound in Seattle. Theatres where her work has been produced include Southcoast Rep, The Alley Theatre, Stages Repertory Theatre, Madison Rep, Seattle Rep, The Empty Space, Florida Studio Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare, The Cherry Lane, ACT Theatre, The Cleveland Play House, American Stage, Cleveland Public, Intiman Theatre, Stages Brave New Works (Atlanta), and The Playwrights Center. Ms. Swackhamer holds an MFA in directing from the University of Washington School of Drama. She is a proud member of the professional unions AGMA and SDC.
CAST (Pictured Left to Right) Christine Friale, Pamela Garcia Langton, Kathryn Hunter-Williams, Susan Shofner, Miika Stewart, Kim Tobin-Lehl, and Pamela Vogel.
THE PRIZE
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, established in 1978, is given annually to recognize women+ who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. The winning playwright is awarded $25,000 and a signed and numbered limited edition Willem de Kooning print made especially for the Prize. Learn more at www.blackburnprize.org
STAFF
Leslie Swackhamer, Executive Director
Valerie Brea Ross, U.S. Administrator
Caroline Keely, U.K. Administrator
DIRECTORS OF THE PRIZE
Alex Kilgore, President
Adam Blackburn, Blair Brown, Jason Butler Harner, Evan Cabnet, Cabanné Gilbreath, Ann Gussow, Lady Hale, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Herrin, Jenny Jules, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Lucy Kerbel, Ben Power, Emily Reid, Lucy Reid, Indhu Rubasingham, Leslie Samuels, Matt Wolf, Jenny Worton
MISSION
4th Wall Theatre Company’s mission is to produce extraordinary professional theatrical experiences and to set a high standard for excellence in acting, direction, and design. Learn more at www.4thwalltheatreco.com
STAFF
Philip Lehl, Artistic Director, Co-Founder
Jennifer Dean, Managing Director
Catherine Dunaway, Development Manager
Gabriel Velazquez, Marketing Manager
Rubena Gracia, Box Office Associate
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gary Chiles, President
Patricia Larson, Secretary
Harriet Schubb, Treasurer
Kenneth Bohan, Howard M. Bookstaff, Dominic Cellitti, Sharyn Feller Harris, Michelle Mower, Carol Sugimoto