COVID MONOLOGUES Playwrights And Partnering Theatres Announced

Covid Monologues has announced the selected playwrights and partnering arts organizations for our research-based theatre project on COVID-19 research. Playwrights will collaborate with public health researchers and theater artists in Baltimore to develop monologues on a variety of COVID-19 research areas, including racial and ethnic health disparities, social media and medicine, and healthcare workers.

Through a competitive application process of over 60 applicants, Covid Monologues, with input from independent reviewers, selected eight playwrights from all over the country from backgrounds spanning playwriting, public health and museum curation. Selected playwrights are Kelleen Blanchard, Christin Cato, Alli Hartley-Kong, Jess Kim, Reynaldo Piniella, Shawn Reddy, Lane Stanley and Britt Willis.

"We were taken aback by the volume of applicants, and the incredible talent and range of perspectives applicants offered," says Saraniya Tharmarajah, project lead for Covid Monologues.

Covid Monologues is proud to be producing their monologues with Baltimore partnering arts organizations including Arena Players, Asian Pasifika Arts Collective, Fells Point Corner Theatre, Single Carrot Theatre, The Strand and Two Strikes Theatre Collective.

A virtual performance is planned for February 2021.

Fulbright Alumni and public health researchers Saraniya Tharmarajah and Emily Hurley received a grant from the U.S. Department of State's Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund to create Covid Monologues. Covid Monologues aims to use research-based theatre to creatively disseminate and humanize emerging peer-reviewed research on health, behavior and societal aspects of COVID-19 to audiences outside of the research community, including lay audiences and policymakers. In addition to translating COVID-19 research, the project aims to build community resilience by promoting creativity through collaborations between artists, scientists and policy makers.

In April 2020, the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs invited U.S. citizen alumni of all U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, to apply for small grants of as part of the Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund Rapid Response funding opportunity. Exchange alumni from across the United States submitted proposals for public service projects that addressed issues related to the COVID-19 crisis and helped build community resilience.

The Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented in partnership with the Partners of the Americas. For more information visit https://alumni.state.gov. For questions on ECA exchange programs, contact ECA-Press@state.gov.

For more information visit Singlecarrot.com.

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