Synkroniciti is thrilled to announce the winner of our “Belonging” Short Play Contest, Yu-Li Alice Shen with “Pearls Before Swine.” It was chosen from the largest field of plays we have received to date. There were four finalists, the other three being Allison Fradkin’s Heard Mentality, James Van Eaton’s Vertical Daylight, and John Patrick Bray’s A Johnnie Walker Christmas. There were several captivating plays that did not make finals–the field was deep.
“Pearls Before Swine” tells the story of Pearl, a Taiwanese American returned to Taiwan to settle the affairs of her estranged father, now deceased. Partaking of his store of German cigarettes and Johnnie Walker Blue, she is visited by the funeral director, Ephraim, an American relocated to Taiwan. Their encounter is an exploration of the cultural side of belonging, largely a mental construct supported by a sense of safety in our environment and community-based rewards. Ephraim shows us that we can belong in a place where we are not native if we are willing to buy into the community story. The dialogue is believable and smooth, never stiff or ponderous. Yu-Li leaves us hoping for the best for these fascinating characters.
You can read “Pearls Before Swine” in Synkroniciti’s “Belonging” issue, now available for pre-order here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Yu-Li Alice Shen is a playwright, audiobook narrator, and English professor. Her plays have won awards from ATHE-KCACTF and SETC and have been fully produced in Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Indiana, where she resides. Shen earned her BA in English literature from James Madison University and her MFA in playwriting from Virginia Tech, and she currently teaches at the University of Southern Indiana.
In her spare time, she sings and plays ukulele at local assisted living facilities, co-hosts a humor/improv podcast called Going Terribly, and lends her quirky, versatile voice to the audiobook narration industry – her work of which was recently a #1 Summer Audio pick on Oprah Daily! Connect on NPX, Audible, or IG @alice_in_punderland @goingterribly!