VSA arts Presents 20th Annual Playwright Discovery Awards

September 1, 2004

Washington, D.C. (September 1, 2004) – VSA arts, an international organization that provides opportunities in the arts for children and adults with disabilities, will present its annual VSA arts Playwright Discovery Awards at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m.

The Playwright Discovery Award Program offers middle and high school students of all abilities an opportunity to examine, through the art of playwriting, how disability affects a person’s life.

The ceremony will feature a full production of “The Changeling,” a play that explores the complexity of a family’s response to a son with autism, written by 18-year-old Paul Baumbusch of McLean, Virginia. Baumbusch’s writing credits and awards include the 2004 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold Key Award for Excellence, the National Teachers of English Achievement Award in Writing (2003), and winner of Best One-Act Play at McLean High School in 2003.

As part of this year’s program, VSA arts also will recognize Leone Lewis of Fort Worth, Texas, the recipient of the second annual Playwright Discovery Teacher Award. This award honors teachers who have creatively brought disability awareness to their classrooms through the art of playwriting. Ms. Lewis, who teaches theater arts and technical theater at the Crowley Independent School District, invited her students to participate in this year's call for scripts. As a result, 31 of her ninth-grade students took on the monumental task of writing one-act plays for this year’s VSA arts Playwright Discovery Award. She plans to submit twice that number next year.

“Our Playwright Discovery program is a perfect example of how the arts can enrich education by offering a creative way to explore disability issues in a classroom setting,” said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. “We are incredibly proud of this year’s honoree and impressed by the quality of all of the submissions. Through playwriting, the students who participated have gained a greater understanding of disability and the enormous benefit that society gains from opening its doors to all.”

To receive an invitation, please call (202) 628-2800 or (202) 737-0645 (TTY), or email info@vsarts.org.

About VSA arts

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith. VSA arts is creating a society where people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. Nearly five million people with disabilities participate in VSA arts programs every year through a network of affiliates nationwide and in over 60 countries worldwide. More information may be found at www.vsarts.org

Media Contact

Marcia Rhodes, VSA arts, (800) 933-8721, pr@vsarts.org

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