Valencia College Theater to Stage Winner of its Play Competition, Beginning 4/3

The Valencia College Theater today announced that Stephen DeWoody has been named the winning playwright of the college's 21^st annual Original Play Competition among Florida playwrights.

DeWoody's play, "Mountain Rose: The Ballad of Rose Anna McCoy," was selected from among 40 submissions of full-length, original manuscripts written by playwrights from around the state. The contest stipulates that plays must never have been produced on stage before.

Valencia's theater department will produce the premiere of "Mountain Rose" on Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater on Valencia's East Campus. Additional performances will be held April 4 to April 7 at 7:30 p.m. nightly.  Following the performance on Friday, April 6, audience members can participate in a "talk-back" with the writer and actors.

This is the second time in three years that DeWoody has won Valencia's original play competition. His play, "Doors," was produced at the college in 2010.  His newest work, "Mountain Rose: the Ballad of Rose Anna McCoy," takes place in the 1880s in the rugged terrain of Appalachia, and involves members of the famous feuding families, the Hatfields and the McCoys. When the beautiful and feisty Rose Anna McCoy falls in love with young Johnse Hatfield, the play begins as what seems to be a simple "Romeo and Juliet" tale, but it quickly becomes darker and more complicated.

The script has gone through a developmental process at the college, in collaboration with the playwright, and the premiere is being directed Julia Allardice Gagne, Valencia's artistic director.  The scenery has been designed by Valencia College theater professor Greg Loftus, who has done set design professionally throughout the country. Lead actors include Valencia students Nicholas Lougheed and Samantha Ann Schwartz.

Tickets are $10 for the public, $8 for students, seniors and Valencia College staff, and admission is free for Valencia College students with their college I.D. card.

Seating is limited in the Black Box Theater and latecomers may not be seated. Please arrive 30 minutes before the 7:30 p.m. curtain time.

To purchase tickets online, go to valenciacollege.edu/arts. To receive a $2 discount on each ticket, enter the code VALENCIAWEB. Tickets may also be purchased by calling the college box office at 407-582-2900.

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