Drama Student Awards

The Drama Program offers several awards for outstanding student work. Below is a list of the annual drama awards:

Leota Diesel Ashton Prize in Playwriting
This award comes from a women’s group, the Wednesday Club, in memory of Leota Diesel Ashton, who endowed the prize. It is for the most outstanding play or (as of 1994) screenplay written by a student.

A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Competition
Named in honor of A.E. Hotchner, a 1940 graduate of Washington University and author of numerous screenplays, novels and plays, the annual competition awards the playwright(s) the honor of having his or her play workshopped and made eligible for a full theatrical production. The competition is open to all university students.

Stephen H. Duncan Prize in Technical Theatre 
This prize was endowed in 1991 by Jack Altman (husband of Maureen Altman, former PAD departmental secretary 1990-1995 and then head of the Private Label Division of Brown Group International) to fill the need for a prize in technical theatre. It is named for the Altmans' friend Stephen Duncan, who was Administrative Assistant of the Performing Arts Department from 1986-1994.

Margaret Ewing Prize for Acting 
This award was instituted by Morris Carnovsky, former graduate of Washington University and noted Shakespearean actor, when he appeared there in King Lear in October 1976. Margaret Ewing was an acting teacher at John Burroughs School and a very good friend of Mr. Carnovsky.

Herbert E. Metz Prize (Literary Criticism)  
This prize is funded by donations from former students of Herbert Metz who retired in 1991after a 36-year career of teaching in the Performing Arts and English Departments. The prize is for an outstanding essay by an undergraduate or graduate student.

John Jutkowitz Memorial Prize in Performing Arts 
This award was originated by Professor Herbert Metz who was responsible for donations made in honor of this former graduate, John Jutkowitz. Jutkowitz was a very fine and accomplished young actor who passed away at a young age.

Excellence in Graduate Writing
Initiated in 2015, this award is presented to a Master’s student in Theater and Performance Studies who has shown outstanding writing ability.