Emily Sheehan Wins 2015 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award

The Seaborn Broughton and Walford Foundation (SBW) has announced that Emily Sheehan is the winner of the 2015 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award for her play Hell’s Canyon.

The $20,000 award for the development of a play or other approved performing arts project attracted 70 submissions from across Australia. Common themes in submissions this year included domestic violence, family interaction in an electronic age, migration, drugs and indigenous issues.

Sheehan’s play Hell’s Canyon was described by the SBW judging panel as “idiosyncratic, romantic magic realism” and “oddly moving.” The play follows Caitlin, 17, and Oscar, 15 who are on a self-funded road trip in regional Australia. Caitlin has promised Oscar she’ll be his girlfriend if he helps her reach her destination. But where are they heading? Hell’s Canyon is a wild ride into growing up and finding peace.

On accepting the SBW Award Sheehan said, “It's such a blessing to be accepting this award in a country where women are allowed to tell their stories, and where stories about women aren’t niche. It’s an exciting time for female artists, and for many artists our voice is through the work we make. It’s a privilege to be supported and championed in this way by the Seaborn Broughton and Walford Foundation, so that my play can become the fullest expression of itself.”

Emily Sheehan is an actor and playwright currently based in Melbourne. This year she completed her Masters of Writing for Performance at the VCA, where she was awarded a creative scholarship for excellence. In 2014 Emily was a Playwriting Australia Dramaturgy Intern, and a ATYP Fresh Ink mentee with Lachlan Philpott. Her short work Eating Sunshine was produced by ATYP and published by Currency Press.