Sheila Callaghan and Theresa Rebeck Among Finalists for This Year's Susan Smith Blackburn Prize

American playwrights Sheila Callaghan and Theresa Rebeck are among the finalists for the 2013-2014 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for new English-language plays by female authors.

Callaghan is a finalist for her play Elevada, submitted by Yale Repertory Theatre, and Rebeck's Zealot is on the list after being submitted by StageFARM. Additional finalists include Caroline Bird's Chamber Piece, submitted by the UK's Lyric Hammersmith; Alexandra Collier's Holy Day, submitted by Australia's The New Group 5; Lucky Kirkwood's Chimerica, submitted by the UK's Almeida Theatre; Lauren Gunderson's I and You, submitted by the National New Play Network; Lucy Prebble's The Effect, submitted by the UK's Headlong; Joanna Murray-Smith's Switzerland, submitted by Sidney Theatre Company; Beth Steel's Wonderland, submitted by Hampstead Theatre; and Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag, submitted by the UK's Playful Productions.

The 2013-2014 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize judges panel includes National Playwrights Conference Artistic Director Wendy Goldberg; performers Jessica Hecht, Jim Parsons, and Lia Williams; playwright Simon Stephens; and director Phyllida Lloyd. The winner of the Prize, announced in late February, will receive $25,000 and a signed print by artist William de Kooning.