blu

Memory, history, and culture collide with the starlit rooftop dreams of a myth-inspired character as Soledad and her partner, Hailstorm, redefine family on their own terms after the death of their eldest son in Iraq. blu,steeped in poetic realism and contemporary politics, challenges us to try to imagine a time before war. Selected as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama competition from more than 950 submissions, Virginia Grise's play blutakes place in the present but looks back on the not too distant past through a series of prayers, rituals, and dreams. Contest judge David Hare commented, "Virginia Grise is a blazingly talented writer, and her play blustays with you a long time after you've read it." Noting that 2010 was a banner year for women playwrights, he added, "Women's writing for the theatre is stronger and more eloquent than it has ever been."

Virginia Grise received her MFA degree from the California Institute of the Arts and is a recipient of the 2010 Princess Grace Award in Theater Directing. In addition to the Yale Drama Award, her play blu was a finalist for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Latino/a Playwrighting Award and the Alliance Theatre's Kendeda Award.