VSA arts Award-Winning Student Playwright Phoebe Rusch Receives Nod from the Theater Alliance

August 2, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 2, 2006 – A one-act play by 2005 VSA arts Playwright Discovery award-recipient Phoebe Rusch, 17, from Highland Park, Ill., was selected by the Theater Alliance for production at the H Street Playhouse. The play, “¾ of a Mass for St. Vivian,” based on a true story of two young girls and an unlikely friendship set in the 1970’s, premieres on Thursday, August 10, 2006 and runs through September 3, 2006.

The VSA arts Playwright Discovery program offers middle and high school students of all abilities an opportunity to examine, through the art of writing a one-act play, how disability affects a person’s life. Rusch was selected out of 173 entries to receive a monetary award and a trip to Washington, D.C., to see her play performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in September 2005.

“The VSA arts Playwright Discovery program is about exploring disability through the written word and helping talented young writers take their craft to the next level. Phoebe deserves this opportunity and we congratulate her on her success,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts.

Rusch, a senior at Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, won first place in Interlochen’s 2005 creative writing contest, received four gold awards in the 2005 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and earned second place in Northlight Theater’s 2004 young playwrights festival, where her play, “Raisin and Nutella,” was produced as part of a double bill. She attended the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio at the University of Iowa and recently finished her new play, “Banana Rat.” After graduation Rusch plans to attend Georgetown University School of Foreign Service to study International Affairs.

For tickets visit www.theateralliance.com or call 866-811-4111.

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information visit www.vsarts.org.

Media Contact

Marcia Rhodes/VSA arts, (202) 628-2800 ext. 3883, marciar@vsarts.org