Pride Films and Plays is delighted to announce that 22 writers have been named semi-finalists in Women's Work. Nine plays and 13 screenplays with lesbian themes or characters have been selected as semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Stage and Sapphics on Screen categories.
"We were thrilled with the quality of the work submitted," said PFP's Executive Director David Zak. "And the fact that we received entries from 14 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Israel, and South Korea indicates that material like this has a far greater appeal than might be assumed."
Allison Fradkin, Literary Coordinator for the event, assembled a reading team of 25 film and theater professionals across the country who served as adjudicators for this round of judging. The readings continue with another panel of judges, and the five finalists in each category will be announced mid-June. These ten works will be performed as staged readings in the Hoover-Leppen Theater of Center on Halsted, Chicago, the week of July 25 to 31. A full performance schedule will be announced when the finalists are named.
Semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Stage category (which includes plays and performance pieces) are: Bad Dog by Jennifer Hoppe-House, Doctoring by Nastaran Ahmadi, Life on Mars by Trish Cole, Outlook by Kathleen Warnock, Patient HM by Vanda, Raising Ricci by Marilynn Barner Anselmi, Still Fighting It by Cassie Keet, The Double by Barbara Lhota, and Where There's a Will by Ro Robusto.
Semi-finalists in the Sapphics on Screen category (which includes teleplays and screenplays) are: '70s Shuffle by Diane Edington, A Cop's Guide to Good Eats in San Francisco by Sarah Dunham, Directions by E. L.P. Lundberg, Girls Out Loud by Pat Branch, I Promise Not To Tell by Diane Wilson, Leap of Faith by Alicia Lomas-Gross, Lost Dog by Mary Guzmán, Love and Kate by Tonina Kelly, Or Best Offer by Nicola Dixon and Nancy Zafris, Saint John the Divine in Iowa by Lyralen Kaye, Shelby's Vacation by Nancy Beverly, The Basement by Dawn Marie Guernsey, and Veterans Day at The Blitz by Eva Zimet.
Here is a press blurb for each work. Author bios are at the end of the release.
Semi-finalists for Sapphics on Stage are:
Bad Dog by Jennifer Hoppe-House, Los Angeles, CA
Molly has fallen off the wagon and driven her Audi through the house. When her beleaguered wife escorts her home from the hospital, Molly finds her far-flung, dysfunctional family descending to intervene.
Doctoring by Nastaran Ahmadi, Brooklyn, NY
In this comedy, a chain reaction of fiascos reveals one too many secrets when two friends learn that each of their romantic obsessions hides behind facades of different sorts.
Life on Mars by Trish Cole, St. Mary's City, MA
Life on Mars chronicles the final 10 minutes a lesbian fugitive spends on Earth while waiting to board, in shackles, the last penal transport to Mars.
Outlook by Kathleen Warnock, New York, NY
Susan's got a girlfriend with intimacy issues, a daughter who's getting ready to leave the nest, and then there's the mysterious Brown from UPS. It's not like there's such a thing as a magic wand...or is there?
Patient HM by Vanda, New York, NY
A lesbian neuroscientist is haunted by her memories of her lost lover as she treats a man who hasn't had a new memory in 55 years.
Raising Ricci by Marilynn Barner Anselmi, Rocky Mount, NC
A lesbian couple returns to their Southern roots looking for healing and acceptance after the death of their son.
Still Fighting It by Cassie Keet, Los Angeles, CA
Lack of communication is highlighted in this family dramedy, when the eldest daughter of the Harkey women returns home from college with her serious girlfriend.
The Double by Barbara Lhota, Chicago, IL
In this re-imagined 1940s screwball comedy that weaves together multiple love stories examining gender and sexual identity, a young actress, Minnie,discovers her attraction to a rising female starlet.
Where There's a Will by Ro Robusto, Scottsdale, AZ
Four women of different personalities and backgrounds must spend three weeks under the same roof in order to inherit $100,000. Of course, no one gets along. Just when you think you know the reason...think again.
Semi-finalists for Sapphics on Screen are:
'70s Shuffle by Diane Edington, Los Angeles, CA
Micki, straight, undercover FBI in '70s NYC, is pursuing a fugitive anarchist. Smitten, Gaby, dyke bartender/politico, naively guides Micki through her Mafia underworld, into her bed, and into her heart, while the Mob and FBI plot to blow them both away.
A Cop's Guide to Good Eats in San Francisco by Sarah Dunham, San Francisco, CA
A neo-noir thriller set in the foodie world of San Francisco, A Cop's Guide explores a young woman's struggle with recovery in a world defined by, and obsessed with, appetite.
Directions by E. L.P. Lundberg, Brooklyn, NY
In a story that unravels in reverse, Directions follows three 26-year-old New Yorkers as they struggle with relationships that exist outside of hetero-normativity. Is that which separates us what ultimately binds us to one another?
Girls Out Loud by Pat Branch, Los Angeles, CA
A 30-something cynic gives up on romantic love and knocks herself up just in time to meet the woman of her dreams. This bundle of joy might have three baby mamas!
I Promise Not To Tell by Diane Wilson, Gualala, CA
Despite the limits 1966 Southern culture imposes on same-sex and inter-generational relationships, 14-year-old Reed and 26-year-old Cara fall desperately in love.
Leap of Faith by Alicia Lomas-Gross, Colton, CA
A timid lesbian Catholic schoolteacher falls for a student's devout mother and must convince her that they are more than just friends.
Lost Dog by Mary Guzmán, San Francisco, CA
Cristina stumbles out of rehab with no job, no money, one friend, and a 90-day chip. When her friend is murdered, she is so devastated she vows to find the killer.
Love and Kate by Tonina Kelly, Atlanta, GA
When a rising culinary star launches the publicity tour for her cookbook, an impetuous new publicist forces her into a devastating image adjustment as a provocative lesbian chef - to rave reviews.
Or Best Offer by Nicola Dixon (Philadelphia, PA) and Nancy Zafris (Columbus, OH)
When a young American woman travels to Vancouver to win over the success-driven, India-born mother of her girlfriend, the campaign is wildly complicated by her unconventional hosts.
Saint John the Divine in Iowa by Lyralen Kaye, Boston, MA
A progressive Episcopal minister confronts the moral dilemma about whether to marry her daughter to a woman she doesn't like...when the price is the loss of her priesthood.
