2003 WINNERS

FIRST PLACE: (a tie for First Place) 
King Christina by Martha Kearns
Ruby's Story by Ron Osborne

THIRD PLACE:
​Interview by Valerie Killigrew

FINALIST:
Outburst by Leroy Clark 
The Turtle Gets There Too by Arni Ibsen 

HONORABLE MENTION
Cry Wolf by Deborah Mulhall
Shades by Paula J. Caplan
Penny Candy by Carmen Betancourt
German Look East by Connor Kerns

PLAY LOG LINES / SYNOPSES:
FIRST PLACE WINNER (a tie for First Place):
King Christina by Martha Kearns.
She was young... she was brilliant... she was a King. A true story about King Christina of 17th century Sweden whose heroism challenged and conquered a divided Europe and whose faith changed the course of history.
  
FIRST PLACE WINNER (a tie for First Place):
Ruby's Story by Ron Osborne.
June 1944, and the world is at war. On a small truck farm far away from the front lines, a war of another kind rages. Here, teenage Ruby relates her family's struggle -- and eventual victory -- over prejudice, self-loathing, delusion and fear. 

THIRD PLACE WINNER: Interview by Valerie Killigrew.
Written from an absurdist perspective. Ilias Tride built an empire around things he realizes are irrelevant to happiness and is ready to abandon everything to an obsessive admirer who has come to interview for his position. The true scope of Tride's affliction is revealed, and in the end he is left questioning the worth of his very existence. 

FINALIST:
Outburst by Leroy Clark 
A gay high school teacher stands firm against the prejudice of his small-town-America community. He encounters hatred, prejudice and betrayal from those he believed in and loves. Through the struggle, he finds great inner strength and the
courage to stand firm in the face of overwhelming adversity.
 
FINALIST: The Turtle Gets There Too by Arni Ibsen.
William Carlos Williams. Ezra Pound. Two different philosophical views explored over the course of 70 years in a script that leaves the audience questioning their deepest values.

UPDATES FOR 2003 WINNERS

Ruby's Story by Ron Osborne was given a full production by 13th Street Repertory in NYC as a direct result of the reading produced by New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest. 
Ruby's Story was produced by 13th St Repertory May 20 - July 10, 2004.

Ruby's Story was produced for a 2nd time by 13th Street Repertory June 12 – July 19, 2009.

Ron Osborne: "I don't know how to thank you for the opportunity to see RUBY on your stage... The entire cast was special ... Troy Miller's direction was exceptional!"

Ron Osborne: "Thanks so much for the comment sheets -- I thought they were extremely well done, in fact superior to those provided by other competitions." 

Ruby's Story went on to be published by Samuel French and has had numerous productions across the United States.

King Christina by Martha Kearns received a reading with Q & A at 13th St Rep on June 27, 2004.  Ms. Kearns also received extensive mentoring from Sandra Nordgren regarding producing theatre in NYC.

Interview by Valerie Killigrew received a reading with Q & A at 13th St Rep on April 25, 2004.

Another of Ms. Killigrew’s plays, Beyond the Invisible Enemy, received a reading with Q &  at 13th St Rep in August 2004 and subsequently went on to receive the Bronx Council for the Arts Playwriting Award. 

Interview and Beyond the Invisible Enemy were given a full production by 13th Street Rep Nov 2 - Dec 2, 2006 as a direct result of the two readings produced by New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest.

Outburst by Leroy Clark.  Although not one of the first three winning scripts, Outburst is a stunning work and received a reading with Q & A  at 13th St Rep on March 28, 2004. Leroy Clark revised the script based on the reading and the Q & A afterwards and the play had another reading with Q & A at the rep on June 13, 2004. 

Outburst received a production May 3-19, 2013 at the Acrosstown Repertory Theater in Gainesville, FL.

The Turtle Gets There Too by Arni Ibsen. Although not one of the first three winning prize scripts, The Turtle Gets There Too received a reading at 13th St Rep on July 31, 2005.

Cry Wolf by Deborah Mulhall was given a full production by 13th Street Repertory in NYC as a direct result of a reading and Q & A produced by New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest. 
Cry Wolf was produced by 13th St Repertory Oct 7 – Nov 27, 2004. 

Shades by Paula J. Caplan.  Although not one of the first three winning prize scripts, Shades received a development workshop at 13th Street Rep from June 28-July 2, 2004 and a reading on July 11, 2004.

Penny Candy by Carmen Betancourt.  Although not one of the first three winning prize scripts, Penny Candy received a reading with Q & A at 13th St Rep July 18, 2004.

Fenced In by Jeff Elwell.  Although this play about racial prejudice did not receive Honorable Mention, it is a stunning work that could easily have been considered as a winning script except for one issue.  Jeff Elwell was sent an evaluation addressing that issue. Mr. Elwell said the evaluation was one of the most in-depth, explicit evaluations he had received as a writer and was most helpful to him regarding rewriting the script.