University of Southern Maine

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Vermont Playwrights Award Winner Announced

June 13, 2008

The Valley Players, a community theater in Waitsfield, Vermont, is proud to announce the winner of the 2008 Vermont Playwrights Award: “Small Talk” by Thomas A. Power of Falmouth, Maine. Everyone is invited to meet the playwright and to a reading of the play on Sunday, June 15 at 7 pm at the Valley Players Theater following the Valley Players Annual Meeting.

In this thought provoking play, the innocence of youth and the wisdom of age find common ground as they expose the questions which dominate their lives. Illness and the inevitable passing of loved ones make the need to understand seem time-driven and therefore the losses even more poignant.

Set in the library-study of the family home, a precocious granddaughter and tenacious grandfather share their concerns and views of parenting, religion, hypocrisy and love with spiritual guidance from Mimi, the insightful grandmother who only offers advice from behind the scenes.

Playwright Thomas Power is a professor and member of the theatre Department of the University of Southern Maine where he teaches acting, directing and play writing. As the artistic director of the nationally recognized Children’s Theatre of Maine during the 1970’s, he authored many plays performed by that professional company. Professor Power collaborated with Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in a rewrite of one of Vonnegut’s plays, “Happy Birthday, Wanda June” and staged a number of Vonnegut’s works during the 1980’s with notable actors including Tony Shalhoub. One of his original plays was the winner of the 1990 Moss Hart Award and a musical based on the life of the Irish pirate queen, “Grannia.” Power is a member of the Dramatist Guild.

 “Small Talk” is the 22nd play to receive the Vermont Playwrights Award, which was established in 1982 to promote the theater arts and to encourage and support the creation of original plays by residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Winning playwrights receive a cash prize of $1,000 and the possibility of production. The award is supported by the Audrey Mixer Endowment Fund, which was formed in memory of one of the Valley Players most talented actresses by her husband, Richard Mixer.  Deadline for submissions of plays is February 1 of each year.

The Valley Players, a community theater in Waitsfield, Vermont is celebrating 29 years of successful theater. In addition to producing plays and musicals and providing the Vermont Playwrights Award, the group provides scholarships and support for local schools and community groups, makes the theater available for events and performances, and owns the Mad River Valley Craft Fair which runs over Labor Day Weekend. The Valley Players has its own theater on Rte 100 and welcomes new participants to join its many endeavors. More information on the Valley Players may be found on the web at http://www.valleyplayers.com .

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