2023 mazumdar AWARD

BLACK BEAR ISLAND
by KARISSA MURRELL MYERS

Following the mysterious death of her estranged childhood sweetheart, Amitra returns home for the first time in sixteen years and is plunged into a nightmare of secrets and lies. In this gripping psychological thriller, the ancient Pacific Northwest Forest engulfs the house and long-buried memories surface, forcing Amitra to confront the ghosts of her past in order to survive the present. With its masterful blend of mystery, suspense, and raw emotion, BLACK BEAR ISLAND explores the haunting power of guilt and the dangerous allure of nostalgia where reality blurs and the past refuses to stay buried.

“Receiving the Mazumdar Award for my play BLACK BEAR ISLAND is a great honor,” explains Myers. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to bring this piece to Buffalo and work with Alleyway Theatre. To be a part of their 40+ year legacy is deeply humbling; I find it inspiring how they passionately champion new voices and new work with a focus on collaboration and authenticity, especially because this is in direct alignment with my own personal artistic ethos.”

Karissa Murrell Myers is a Filipino-American theatre artist based in Chicago, where she works as a playwright, actor, producer, and casting director. She serves as the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Bramble Theatre Company. An O’Neill finalist, her plays include ON THE GREENBELT, BLACK BEAR ISLAND, BLOOD OF MY MOTHER’S, THE RED FORTUNE COOKIE, HOW TO MURDER…, FRAGMENTED, and HOW DO WE NAVIGATE SPACE? Her work has been developed and/or produced at Goodman Theatre, Strawdog Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, A Red Orchid Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, The Gift Theatre, American Blues Theatre, Silk Road, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, City Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Avalanche Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, Best of Playground-Chicago, Our Perspective: Asian American Plays, and Bramble. BLACK BEAR ISLAND was a Finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Karissa received an "Outstanding New Work" Jeff Awards nomination for the world premiere of ON THE GREENBELT, and is a three-time Semi-Finalist for the Blue Ink Awards. Her stage acting credits include working at Court Theatre, Remy Bumppo, Goodman Theatre, The House Theatre of Chicago, and Renaissance Theaterworks. Television work: Chicago Med, Chicago PD, The Big Leap, Exorcist, and Electric Dreams. She is the resident Casting Director for Strawdog, and works as a freelance casting director and consultant for various theatre companies around the US. She was featured in American Theatre Magazine’s “Theatre Workers You Should Know” for her work in casting, and in Newcity Stage's "Players 2023: Who Really Performs in Chicago Right Now". She teaches at the University of Illinois Chicago as an adjunct faculty member and has guest lectured at DePaul University, Ball State, and Utah State University. MFA in Performance from University of Hawaii at Manoa, BA in Directing and Acting from Boise State University, and proud graduate of The School at Steppenwolf 2019. Member of SAG-AFTRA and The Dramatist Guild. More at www.kmurrellmyers.com.

FINALISTS

• THE LOST WOMEN by Nubia Monks
• SIX MEN DRESSED LIKE JOSEPH STALIN by Dianne Nora
• WIFE OF HEADLESS MAN INVESTIGATES HER OWN DISAPPEARANCE by Yussef El Guindi

Semi-Finalists

• ASSUMING POSITIVE INTENTIONS by Deneen Reynolds-Knott
• BLOODY NOSES by Matilda Corley Schulman
• DHARMA by Nanya Agrawal
• FEAR AND WONDER by Jason Tseng
• FUGITIVES IN AMERICA by Jordan Ratliff
• GREEK TRAGEDY by Lia Romeo
• GROWING UP WITH BIG HAIR by Diana Suarez Mucci
• IN THE TIME OF THE APOCALYPSE by Kendra Augustin
• THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF GLASS by Dylan Zwickel
• THE MOUSE & THE MOUSTACHE by Anthony Dodge
• A NEW NEWER NORMAL by John Mabey
• THE PRINCESS AMPERSAND HAS SOME NOTES by Tiffany Antone
• REUNION by Nandita Shenoy
• SIGNS AND WONDERS (A DELIRIUM FOR A WOUNDED WORLD) by Fengar Gael
• SISTER by Lindsay Bourne
• TAKE ME BACK TO YELLOWSTONE by Mike Nappi
• WITHOUT GOD AS MY LOVER by Megan Medley
• THE WORLD FROM KAMPALA by Chris Weikel

2024 AWARD

Playwrights around the world (with or without representation) are encouraged to submit their plays and musicals each season for consideration for the Maxim Mazumdar New Play Award. The winning play receives a guaranteed cash prize and a full production in an upcoming subscription season.

The 2024 round of submissions for full-length, unproduced new works will open August 1, 2024.

While there are no requirements for style or content, Alleyway seeks plays that are wholly original, uniquely theatrical, and completely authentic. Winning plays will be production-ready, and must not have had a professional production (workshops, readings, or educational productions excluded).