SCript SYNOPSES
SAROYAN PAUL HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE 2016
WINNER
THE GOOD MINISTER OF HARARE BY JUNE CARRYL
A low-level bureaucrat is plunged into a nightmare wonderland of red tape, government thugs and revolutionary zealots after a visit from his father. When the past won't stay buried, do you turn a blind eye and live, or die a martyr in the bloody business of liberation?
FINALISTS
GUTTING BY JEREMY J. KAMPS
Fourteen year-old Kali and her mother Eunice return to the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina to find that “home” is no longer there. Despite the forces of systemic racism driving them away and apart, this mother and daughter learn that loving each other is both an act of resistance and renewal.
Fourteen year-old Kali and her mother Eunice return to the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina to find that “home” is no longer there. Despite the forces of systemic racism driving them away and apart, this mother and daughter learn that loving each other is both an act of resistance and renewal.
THE MADRES BY STEPHANIE ALISON WALKER
It’s Buenos Aires, 1979. Two women search covertly for Belen, nine months pregnant and one of the many disappeared people in Argentina’s so-called “Dirty War.”
It’s Buenos Aires, 1979. Two women search covertly for Belen, nine months pregnant and one of the many disappeared people in Argentina’s so-called “Dirty War.”
SAROYAN PAUL HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE 2014
WinneR
CARLA COOKS THE WAR BY LAURA MARIA CENSABELLA
Carla Cooks The War by Laura Maria Censabella, asks questions such as, "after a war, how do even innocent survivors take on the roles of victimizer and oppressor?" and "how do witnesses to the same atrocities harmonize their various interpretations of what actually happened, and what becomes of their ability to love and nurture if they don’t?"
Carla Cooks The War by Laura Maria Censabella, asks questions such as, "after a war, how do even innocent survivors take on the roles of victimizer and oppressor?" and "how do witnesses to the same atrocities harmonize their various interpretations of what actually happened, and what becomes of their ability to love and nurture if they don’t?"
Finalists
I AM NOT MINE BY SEVAN KALOUSTAIN-GREENE
Written by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene, I Am Not Mine, is a playwright's response to the Syrian Civil War/Revolution and examining the sins will be visited on the coming generations. Inspired by the Syrian Civil War and Greek Tragedies, this new play examines the unforeseen aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions.
Written by Sevan Kaloustian-Greene, I Am Not Mine, is a playwright's response to the Syrian Civil War/Revolution and examining the sins will be visited on the coming generations. Inspired by the Syrian Civil War and Greek Tragedies, this new play examines the unforeseen aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions.
MANAHATTA BY MARY KATHRYN NAGLE
Manahatta tells a narrative that focuses on one of the United States’ most egregious historical social justice atrocities: the genocide of the Native American Indians who lived there prior to the country’s inception. Interweaving the past and the present, it presents a patchwork quilt of questions regarding how the past social abuses continue to inform social and human rights issues today in America, inviting us to learn what it means to be Native in 21st Century America.
Manahatta tells a narrative that focuses on one of the United States’ most egregious historical social justice atrocities: the genocide of the Native American Indians who lived there prior to the country’s inception. Interweaving the past and the present, it presents a patchwork quilt of questions regarding how the past social abuses continue to inform social and human rights issues today in America, inviting us to learn what it means to be Native in 21st Century America.
SAROYAN PAUL PRIZE 2012
Winner
BELONGING TO THE SKY BY KELLY STUART
A young Armenian girl named Hatun is taken from an orphange by Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey). Her identity is erased and she is transformed into “Sabiha Gokcen” trained to become the world's first female fighter pilot in 1937. She becomes an icon of Turkish nationalism. In 2004, an Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, discovers her secret and publishes and article about Sabhia/Hatun. This revelation unleashes a set of violent events ending with his murder in the streets of Istanbul in 2007. Belonging To The Sky the tragic intersection of Hrant and Hatun.
A young Armenian girl named Hatun is taken from an orphange by Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey). Her identity is erased and she is transformed into “Sabiha Gokcen” trained to become the world's first female fighter pilot in 1937. She becomes an icon of Turkish nationalism. In 2004, an Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, discovers her secret and publishes and article about Sabhia/Hatun. This revelation unleashes a set of violent events ending with his murder in the streets of Istanbul in 2007. Belonging To The Sky the tragic intersection of Hrant and Hatun.
Finalists
DOON BY SEVAN KALOUSTIAN GREENE
Forgotten Breadis a scene cycle exploring various aspects of the Armenian Genocide, including survival and death, using personal family histories, eyewitness accounts, and documented historical events. It is not a docu-drama but written as a series of narrative scenes connected from one “generation” to the next.
Forgotten Breadis a scene cycle exploring various aspects of the Armenian Genocide, including survival and death, using personal family histories, eyewitness accounts, and documented historical events. It is not a docu-drama but written as a series of narrative scenes connected from one “generation” to the next.
NIGHT OVER ERZINGA BY ADRIANA SEVAHN NICHOLS
Ardavazt and Alice build a new life in the U.S. in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide but the past comes to haunt them in very different ways. Inspired by the playwright’s family history, this tender epic spans generations and countries in a fluid and magical narrative that will be scored with original music by Bulgarian composer, Penka Kouneva; directed by Daniella Topol, one of the most celebrated new play directors in the country. “How did my grandfather lose two families in one lifetime but not lose his heart?” was the question that began Adriana’s two-year journey to develop Night Over Erzinga, the inaugural commission of the prestigious Middle East America Award.
Ardavazt and Alice build a new life in the U.S. in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide but the past comes to haunt them in very different ways. Inspired by the playwright’s family history, this tender epic spans generations and countries in a fluid and magical narrative that will be scored with original music by Bulgarian composer, Penka Kouneva; directed by Daniella Topol, one of the most celebrated new play directors in the country. “How did my grandfather lose two families in one lifetime but not lose his heart?” was the question that began Adriana’s two-year journey to develop Night Over Erzinga, the inaugural commission of the prestigious Middle East America Award.
SAROYAN PAUL PRIZE 2010
Winner
ANOTHER MAN'S SON BY SILVA SEMERCIYAN
Beirut, Lebanon. 1958. The US military has been called in to quell civil violence. Behind closed doors, adisplaced Armenian family is embroiled in its own dispute over the domestic sphere. Lucine, an ambitious young nurse, is the main bread-winner. Her father, Khatchatur, is a genocide survivor struggling to find work. When Lucine falls pregnant out of wedlock, events are set in motion that will force the family to confront the hidden consequences of genocide.
Beirut, Lebanon. 1958. The US military has been called in to quell civil violence. Behind closed doors, adisplaced Armenian family is embroiled in its own dispute over the domestic sphere. Lucine, an ambitious young nurse, is the main bread-winner. Her father, Khatchatur, is a genocide survivor struggling to find work. When Lucine falls pregnant out of wedlock, events are set in motion that will force the family to confront the hidden consequences of genocide.
Finalists
HRIPSIME BY JOHNNA ADAMS
Hripsime is a tragedy set in 301 A.D. about the death of Armenia's first Christian saint, the beautiful Roman maid Hripsime. In order to protect her virtue from Armenia's mad king Tiridates, Hripsime must sacrifice the lives of all her friends and her own life as well. Hripsime's death is then the catalyst for Armenia's adoption of Christianity. The play is presented in the form of a classical tragedy, written in rhyming alexandrine verse and observing Aristotle's dramatic unities (time, place and action).
Hripsime is a tragedy set in 301 A.D. about the death of Armenia's first Christian saint, the beautiful Roman maid Hripsime. In order to protect her virtue from Armenia's mad king Tiridates, Hripsime must sacrifice the lives of all her friends and her own life as well. Hripsime's death is then the catalyst for Armenia's adoption of Christianity. The play is presented in the form of a classical tragedy, written in rhyming alexandrine verse and observing Aristotle's dramatic unities (time, place and action).
FORGOTTEN BREAD BY SEVAN KALOUSTIAN GREENE
Forgotten Breadis a scene cycle exploring various aspects of the Armenian Genocide, including survival and death, using personal family histories, eyewitness accounts, and documented historical events. It is not a docu-drama but written as a series of narrative scenes connected from one “generation” to the next.
Forgotten Breadis a scene cycle exploring various aspects of the Armenian Genocide, including survival and death, using personal family histories, eyewitness accounts, and documented historical events. It is not a docu-drama but written as a series of narrative scenes connected from one “generation” to the next.
SAROYAN PAUL PRIZE 2008
Winner
NADIA BY LILY THOMASSIAN
Finalists
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD BY MATTHEW YALDEZIAN
FLESH AND TENDERNESS BY KRISTEN LAZARIAN
2013 PAUL SCREENWRITING AWARD
Winner
THE SECOND JOURNEY BY LEVON MINASIAN & ERIC DE ROQUEFEUIL
Yerevan, early 200's. Eleonore, a French-born Armenian who returned to Armenia 40 years ago, dies, leaving three generations of men: her 75-year-old husband Hovanes, her 40-year-old son Grigor, and Hovik, her 13-year-old grandson. Among the personal effects of his wife, a faithful and exemplary spouse, Hovanes is amazed to discover a package of love letters written in French, addressed to a man in Paris but never sent. Hovanes, a convinced communist, having already lived through the collapse of his ideals after the spectacular fall of Communism, must face another painful disappointment: family happiness, in which he so believed, also proves to be false. Grigor, who also discovers these letters, stumbles on a burdensome secret: his mother was pregnant with this man’s child.
His father is not Hovanes, but an unknown named Simon Badalian, living somewhere in Paris. Hovanes decides to leave for Paris to meet this Simon, to give him the letters, while secretly hoping that it is all a mistake and that Eleonore never knew this man. As for Grigor, he wants to find his natural father. So they leave for Paris, each of them hiding from the other his true motivation. Hovik also has a personal reason to be in Paris. A complex game of hide-and-seek thus begins, full of misunderstandings, situations, and unexpected revelations. Each character, through this play of mirrors and pretenses, will eventually find what he is seeking.
Yerevan, early 200's. Eleonore, a French-born Armenian who returned to Armenia 40 years ago, dies, leaving three generations of men: her 75-year-old husband Hovanes, her 40-year-old son Grigor, and Hovik, her 13-year-old grandson. Among the personal effects of his wife, a faithful and exemplary spouse, Hovanes is amazed to discover a package of love letters written in French, addressed to a man in Paris but never sent. Hovanes, a convinced communist, having already lived through the collapse of his ideals after the spectacular fall of Communism, must face another painful disappointment: family happiness, in which he so believed, also proves to be false. Grigor, who also discovers these letters, stumbles on a burdensome secret: his mother was pregnant with this man’s child.
His father is not Hovanes, but an unknown named Simon Badalian, living somewhere in Paris. Hovanes decides to leave for Paris to meet this Simon, to give him the letters, while secretly hoping that it is all a mistake and that Eleonore never knew this man. As for Grigor, he wants to find his natural father. So they leave for Paris, each of them hiding from the other his true motivation. Hovik also has a personal reason to be in Paris. A complex game of hide-and-seek thus begins, full of misunderstandings, situations, and unexpected revelations. Each character, through this play of mirrors and pretenses, will eventually find what he is seeking.
FINALISTS
THE 13TH IMAGE BY YERVAND KOCHAR & JEANI DI CARLO
Architect Moritz Berg moves with his wife Annie and two children, 6-year old Debra and 5-year old Willie, into the large home still occupied by his grandmother, Lillie in Berlin. Moritz’s concern of moving his young family into an ancient home with a stern and over protective maid, Marta, rapidly fades as the children establish an instant and inexplicable rapport with a mysterious and speechless Grandmother. With the Grandmother’s silent prodding that she shows only to them, the children find a picture from her family album which becomes their secret.
They observe it every night under their sheets with a flashlight; this enigmatic image affects them in a profound and terrifying way.At their new kindergarten the children grow strangely overprotective of each other. Puzzled, the kindergarten workers appoint a social worker, Elmar Fleischer who comes to suspect child abuse and launches an obsessive campaign to break the Berg family. Faced with the destruction of her family and haunted by nightmares and lucid dreams involving her children and the new house, Annie searches desperately for the cause of her children's behavior, which she eventually links to their odd connection with their great grandmother.After much effort, Annie discovers Lillie’s secret; that she was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, who grew up in orphanages in France before marrying Moritz’s German grandfather.
Annie attempts to connect the mystical cords of her family’s past, but Moritz fails to see the connection between their present turmoil and a distant and depressing past. They fight and argue. But the more Annie learns about the Armenians’ story of suffering and denial, the more powerful she becomes in defending her children against both the social worker's campaign to break her family and her own husband's fears.Meanwhile, the children become increasingly obsessed with their secret picture.
Architect Moritz Berg moves with his wife Annie and two children, 6-year old Debra and 5-year old Willie, into the large home still occupied by his grandmother, Lillie in Berlin. Moritz’s concern of moving his young family into an ancient home with a stern and over protective maid, Marta, rapidly fades as the children establish an instant and inexplicable rapport with a mysterious and speechless Grandmother. With the Grandmother’s silent prodding that she shows only to them, the children find a picture from her family album which becomes their secret.
They observe it every night under their sheets with a flashlight; this enigmatic image affects them in a profound and terrifying way.At their new kindergarten the children grow strangely overprotective of each other. Puzzled, the kindergarten workers appoint a social worker, Elmar Fleischer who comes to suspect child abuse and launches an obsessive campaign to break the Berg family. Faced with the destruction of her family and haunted by nightmares and lucid dreams involving her children and the new house, Annie searches desperately for the cause of her children's behavior, which she eventually links to their odd connection with their great grandmother.After much effort, Annie discovers Lillie’s secret; that she was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, who grew up in orphanages in France before marrying Moritz’s German grandfather.
Annie attempts to connect the mystical cords of her family’s past, but Moritz fails to see the connection between their present turmoil and a distant and depressing past. They fight and argue. But the more Annie learns about the Armenians’ story of suffering and denial, the more powerful she becomes in defending her children against both the social worker's campaign to break her family and her own husband's fears.Meanwhile, the children become increasingly obsessed with their secret picture.
1915 BY GARIN K. HOVANNISIAN AND ALEC MOUHIBIAN
On April 24, 2015, an obsessive Diasporan director named Simon is staging a play to relive and redeem the controversial truth about what really happened in the Armenian Genocide exactly one hundred years before. The play stars his wife Angela and a Hollywood star playing the Turkish colonel who rescues her—a role that has the Armenian community up in arms, boycotting the production as forcefully as the deniers. But the real troubles lie inside the theater. In the final rehearsal before showtime, everything starts to go mysteriously wrong, putting Simon’s life, his marriage, and most importantly the show itself in danger. As Angela and the others struggle to fully become their roles, it turns out that the ghosts of the past are alive—and their fate depends on this historic performance of 1915.
On April 24, 2015, an obsessive Diasporan director named Simon is staging a play to relive and redeem the controversial truth about what really happened in the Armenian Genocide exactly one hundred years before. The play stars his wife Angela and a Hollywood star playing the Turkish colonel who rescues her—a role that has the Armenian community up in arms, boycotting the production as forcefully as the deniers. But the real troubles lie inside the theater. In the final rehearsal before showtime, everything starts to go mysteriously wrong, putting Simon’s life, his marriage, and most importantly the show itself in danger. As Angela and the others struggle to fully become their roles, it turns out that the ghosts of the past are alive—and their fate depends on this historic performance of 1915.
