Cultural Stages: The Woodward Drama & Dance Initiative

A Special Thanks

Cultural Stages is a unique program designed to promote a greater understanding of world cultures through drama and dance. The project has been made possible by the generous support given by Ellis Woodward, UNH Class of '74.

The Woodward International Playwriting Prize is a global competition that seeks unproduced plays or unproduced English translations of produced plays, that focus on cultures outside the US.

For the 2022 prize, over 430 plays were submitted. A twenty-member selection committee was formed that consisted of ten current UNH Theatre and Dance students and ten non-students, that included faculty, theatre professionals and community members to select the winning play.

Eight plays were selected in September, 2021.
• Esmeralda and the Pacific Vortez by Vita Patrick Morales (Cultural Focus: Peru)
• Equal by Barry M. Putt, Jr. (Cultural Focus: Iran)
• Green Anarchy by Martin Nathan (Cultural Focus: multiple cultures)
• Kafka’s Joke by Rich Rubin (Cultural Focus: Central/Eastern Europe/Israel)
• Meyerhold by Laura Lewis-Barr (Cultural Focus: Russia) •
One of Us by Ron Elisha (Cultural Focus: Germany)
• Salim Salim by Stav Palti-Negev (Cultural Focus: Palestine)
• The Shaking Earth by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen (Cultural Focus: India)

The finalists plays then went to the Department of Theatre and Dance faculty and staff for their input before a winner and a first and second runner up were declared. The 2nd runner up play Meyerhold by Laura Lewis-Barr was given a reading in October, 2021, directed by Professor Aimee Blesing.The first runner up, The Shaking Earth by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen was given a zoom reading last March. This play required a full cast of actors of South Asian heritage. An international casting call was announced, and the play was performed with actors from India and across the US, directed by Dr. Jashodhara Sen.

Past Cultural Stages Projects have included: World Premiere of Song of the Pharoah In 2012, Mohammad ben-Abdallah, one of Ghana's foremost playwrights, was commissioned to write a play and teach an undergraduate playwriting course on the Durham campus. His world premiere, Song of the Pharaoh was produced by the Department of the Theatre and Dance and performed April 18-22 in the UNH Johnson Theatre. The piece, set in Egypt, migrates between ancient and modern times and incorporates "Abibigoro" a unique form of modern African theatre.

Guest Dance Instructor Theophilus Martey Guest instructor Theophilus Martey taught a class in African dance and drumming during the Fall 2012 semester. The student's work in the class culminated in an original dance piece performed in the Johnson Theatre at the end of the semester.

World Premiere of the play Sila Sila examined the competing interests shaping the future of the Canadian Arctic and local Inuit population. Set on Baffin Island in the territory of Nunavut, it follows a climate scientist, an Inuit activist and her daughter, two Canadian Coast Guard officers, an Inuit elder and two polar bears as they see their values challenged and their lives become intricately intertwined. Equal parts Inuit myth and contemporary Arctic policy, Sila uses puppetry, projections, spoken word poetry and three different languages; English, French & Inuktitut. Sila was written by Chantal Bilodeau and was the winner of the 2013 Woodward International Playwriting Prize.

World Premiere of the play SEMATAKAKI In 2015, Maria Tri Sulistyani & Iwan Effendi from Papermoon Puppet Theatre were commissioned to create a theatrical performance and teach an undergraduate course in puppetry and mask making on the Durham campus. The end result, Sematakkaki was produced by the Department of the Theatre and Dance and performed December 2-6, 2015 in the Hennessy Theatre.

Performance of Et'teffeh by the Algerian Theatre Company Istijmam On September 17, 2016, The Algerian Theatre Company Istijmam, on tour as part of Center Stage, brought their production of Et'teffehto the University of New Hampshire. This special production is made possible by funding from Cultural Stages: The International Drama and Dance Initiative.

World Premiere of The Bone Bridge The 2017 Woodward International Playwriting prize The 2017 recipient of the Woodward International Playwriting prize was The Bone Bridge by Trina Davies. A searing play that examined the war and genocide that took place in Serbian civil war.

Readings of the 2013 and 2017 Woodward International Playwriting prize 1st and 2nd runner up plays.
Hotel Jerusalem by David J. Swanson
Honor Killing by Sarah Bierstock
A Far Shore written by Douglas Huff