Premiere Stages At Kean University Announces 2023 Bauer Boucher Playwriting Award Winners
Both winners will receive a cash prize and a one-day developmental reading of their plays with a professional cast and director.
By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 17, 2023
Premiere Stages, the professional theatre company in residence at Kean University, has named Kean University student Chad Colacurcio (Class of '23) and alumnus Steven Patrick (Class of '78 ) as the winners of the 2023 Bauer Boucher Playwriting Awards, named for longtime donors W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher. Both winners will receive a cash prize and a one-day developmental reading of their plays with a professional cast and director.
The reading of The Troubles by Chad Colacurcio will be held on Monday, January 23 at 3:20 p.m. in Kean University's Little Theatre. The Troubles is a poignant drama about Kasey, who escaped the North of Ireland during a period of titular, violent conflict only to confront additional tragedies as she struggles to help her family heal in 2003 New Jersey.
Queer artist, Chad Colacurcio just completed his final semester at Kean University in December of 2022, earning his B.A. in Theater. While attending Kean he wrote and staged a reading of the play I Am Beautiful, And based on the book written by Keiva Coreen and Sophia Ditchfield. Over the past decade, Chad has directed a theater recreation program in New Jersey. Along with his passion for writing and directing, Chad has also graduated from New York's MUD (Makeup Designory), where he completed their multimedia program.
The reading of X ≠ X (X Does Not Equal X) by Steven Patrick will be held on Thursday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Lantern Hill Senior Living. X ≠ X (X Does Not Equal X) is the provocative story of Professor Lloyd, whose new theory questions accepted concepts of reality and may be the ruin or salvation of his struggling college.
Steven is a 1979 Summa Cum Laude Graduate of Kean College. He is a partner in Ascendant Architecture & Interior Design, P.C. and has also had the pleasure of teaching as an adjunct professor at Kean University and Brookdale Community College. His first novel, Journey at Dusk was published by Ironbound Press and his first short play, Selective Service was produced and performed at Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center. Steven has written several novels, short stories, plays & screenplays including two novels published as e-books. He is also a visual artist and has shown and sold his constructivist wall sculpture pieces at the Barron Arts Center, The Arts Guild NJ, MCC Performing Arts Gallery, and the Edison Arts Society Gallery. Steven is married with two sons and a new granddaughter.
Honorable mentions include Tyler Sautner in the student category and Dustin Ballard and B.V. Marshall in the alumni category.
The Bauer Boucher Playwriting Award, established in 2014 through funding by Premiere Stages supporters W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher, recognizes the work of one Kean University student and one playwright from the alumni community on an annual basis. The Bauer Boucher Award supports Kean University writers with enhanced visibility, dramaturgical feedback, a cash award, and the opportunity to hear their play read out loud by an ensemble of professional actors. The selected plays are directed by John J. Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages, and performed by a cast of professional actors. The winning student receives a cash prize of $1,000 and the winning graduate receives a $2,000 award. Honorable Mention recipients receive $150 each.
Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Carole Shaffer-Koros and Robert Koros and ExxonMobil Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Union Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Investors Foundation, The Union County HEART Grant and through the generous support of individual patrons and local organizations. Discover Jersey Arts is our marketing partner. Visit JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State.
Premiere Stages is committed to producing topical plays and interactive programs that reflect people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, national origins, nationalities, ancestry, religious groups, gender expression or identities, sexual orientation, political beliefs, ages, abilities and disabilities.
Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere's play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university's academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages online at premierestagesatkean.com
Founded in 1855, Kean University is one of the largest metropolitan institutions of higher education in the region, with a richly diverse student, faculty and staff population. Kean continues to play a key role in the training of teachers and is a hub of educational, technological and cultural enrichment serving more than 16,000 students. The University's six colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate degrees, seven doctoral degree programs, and more than 70 options for graduate study leading to master's degrees, professional diplomas or certifications over a full range of academic subjects. With campuses in Union, Toms River, Jefferson and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, Kean University furthers its mission by providing an affordable and accessible world-class education. Visit kean.edu.
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