An original play that debuted at Lewis-Clark State College last year earned a national award for the professor who penned it.
Jef Petersen, the LCSC instructor who wrote “Emme and the Taking of the Woods,” is slated to be one of the recipients of the David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award on April 21 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the 54th annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, according to an LCSC news release.
In addition to a $1,000 cash prize, Petersen was offered a professional development residency in August with the O’Neill Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Conn.
In “Emme and the Taking of the Woods,” a precocious 9-year-old answers a mysterious call for help emanating from the woods. Emme faces a destructive force that is obliterating entire worlds across the multiverse in the epic adventure, which includes an assortment of companions to aid in the fight.
Nancy Lee-Painter, who co-directed the production, said Petersen “wrote this play as a love letter to his two children.”
Petersen also served as one of the directors for the play, which opened in October at the Silverthorne Theater.
