2007 SMITH PRIZE WINNER ANNOUNCED
Black Gold by Seth Rozin

NNPN is pleased to announce that Philadelphia playwright Seth Rozin's new comedy BLACK GOLD has been chosen to receive the 2007 Smith Prize. The Smith Prize is awarded annually to the best new play focusing on American politics. The play is currently scheduled to be produced by two NNPN member companies: InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, PA from January 25 - February 24, 2008 and Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis, IN from April 10 - May 4, 2008.

Written in a unique theatrical style, wherein 6 actors play over 100 characters creating an epic tale that chronicles actions all around the globe, BLACK GOLD is a hilarious, fast-paced, vaudevillian take on what happens when Curtis Walker, a man living in Detroit’s inner-city, tries to find a sure-fire way to earn the cash he needs to send his only son to college. His answer? He purchases an oil rig on eBay, drills in his back yard, taps into one of America’s largest oil reserves, and turns world politics on its head.

Seth Rozin is the recipient of two playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts as well as a new play commission from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. His plays include MEN OF STONE (produced by Theater Catalyst in 2001, nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play, published by Playscripts, Inc.), MISSING LINK produced by InterAct Theatre Company in 2002, nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play), REINVENTING EDEN (showcased by the National New Play Network in 2005, produced by InterAct in 2006), THE SPACE BETWEEN US (readings at Abingdon Theatre in New York and InterAct), and BLACK GOLD (showcased by the National New Play Network in 2006, additional production scheduled at Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis in 2008). He has also written the book and lyrics for a new musical entitled GONE WITH THE WIND: THE TRUE-LIFE STORY OF JOSEPH PUJOL, about the rise and fall of the world’s greatest farter. Seth is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of InterAct Theatre Company in Philadelphia, where he has directed over 40 productions, including Israel Horovitz's LEBENSRAUM (winner of Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play, Outstanding Overall Production of a Play, and Outstanding Ensemble), and Jason Sherman's IT'S ALL TRUE (nominated for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production). He has twice been named "Best Director" by the Philadelphia Inquirer (for the world premiere of Thomas Gibbons' 6221 in 1993 and for LEBENSRAUM in 1999). Seth has also directed for the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Blue Heron Theatre and the 45th Street Theatre in New York, as well as Act II Playhouse, Venture Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, and the University of Pennsylvania. He served as Chair of the National New Play Network from 2002-2006.

Finalists for the 2007 Smith Prize were HARM’S WAY by Shem Bitterman, which received a reading at NNPN's 2007 National Showcase of New Plays in November 2007 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington D.C. in place of BLACK GOLD, which was featured in a reading during the 2006 National Showcase; DANNY CASOLARO DIED FOR YOU by Dominic Orlando; and HOLY GHOST by John Tuttle.

The winner of the first annual Smith Prize, announced in December 2006, was Peter Gil-Sheridan's TOPSY TURVY MOUSE, which is receiving its World Premiere production at NNPN member Borderlands Theatre in Tucson, AZ. The production is scheduled to run February 14 - March 8, 2008.