VSA arts Playwright Discovery Evening at the Kennedy Center

August 29, 2006

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 29, 2006 – VSA arts will present the world premiere of “Mistakes, Inc.” during its 22nd annual VSA arts Playwright Discovery Evening Thursday, September 28, 2006 in the Family Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s award-winning playwright is Jonathan Mayer, 18, from Longwood, Fla.

The Playwright Discovery Award 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. Mayer’s play, “Mistakes, Inc,” a comedy that explores what would happen if people could erase their mistakes by calling a toll-free number, was selected out of 250 entries. The cast will be lead by Rebecca Herron, a 2006 nominee for the Helen Hayes Award for best supporting actress in a resident musical. The night will also include a celebration of the literary arts through selected performance poetry from the VSA arts Writing Project.

Mayer, a freshman at Harvard University, has written one-act plays, short films, and full-length screenplays and was selected as a National Merit Finalist, an AP Scholar with Distinction, and a Stanford University QuestBridge Finalist. Mayer has worked with the International Thespian Society and the Orlando Repertory Theatre as both an actor and director.

The Playwright Discovery Selection Committee included Allan Buchman, Artistic Director of The Culture Project in New York City; Jack Hofsiss, Tony Award Winning Director; Janet Allard, Playwright; and Tony Award-winning producer, Fred Zollo. The production is fully accessible to all and directed by Theatre Alliance founder, Paul-Douglas Michnewicz, designed by Helen Hayes Award-winning designers Tony Cisek, Dan Covey, Mark Anduss, and costume designer Kathleen Geldard. Mayer will receive a monetary award and a trip to Washington to see “Mistakes, Inc.” performed at the Kennedy Center.

In 2003 VSA arts established the Playwright Discovery Teacher Award to recognize teachers who creatively bring disability awareness to their classrooms though the art of playwriting. This year’s recipient is Deanna Ableser, a drama teacher at Richard Henry Dana Middle School in Hawthorne, Calif. She receives $1,000 to support playwriting activities in her classroom.

“Our Playwright Discovery program provides an artistic and creative component to education for students and teachers,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. “We congratulate both Jonathan and Deanna for their talented ability to bring exposure to disability awareness.”

The 2005 Playwright Discovery award-winning play was “¾ of a Mass for St. Vivian” by Phoebe Rusch.

Visit www.vsarts.org/play for complimentary tickets.

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.