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Occasional updates from the front lines…

TREE wins PEN Center Award

It was just announced that Julie’s play TREE won the prestigious PEN Center West Award for Drama this year. The Awards ceremony will be held in November. A press release will follow soon.

BLUE BLOODS on CBS

Julie is working on the new CBS Television series Blue Bloods, which will premiere in September.  Not only does the series shoot in New York City, but the writers are based there, so Julie has taken up residence in Gotham City for the time being.  The drama was created by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, Emmy Award-winning writers of the Sopranos, and is being run by Ken Sanzel, previously of Numb3rs.

The story centers on the Reagans, a tight-knit clan of New York cops, led by Tom Selleck, also starring Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, and Len Cariou. For the Reagans, putting criminals behind bars is more than just a job—it’s the family business. They may clash over methods, internal politics and Sunday dinner, but they have one thing in common—they’ll stop at nothing to see justice served.

Here’s the show on the CBS site: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/blue_bloods/video/

NYC Industry Substance Abuse Forum

SAMHSA and The Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. Host “Picture This” Forum on Addiction Treatment and Recovery

WASHINGTON, DC (May 20, 2010) – The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. (EIC) hosted a Picture This Forum on Treatment and Recovery from Addiction issues at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Washington, DC today. The forum is part of an initiative by SAMHSA and EIC to bring together a panel of entertainment industry creators with addiction treatment and recovery practitioners, advocacy leaders and constituents to identify and discuss issues related to how treatment and recovery can be accurately conveyed in entertainment productions.

“SAMHSA commends the entertainment industry, EIC and NAB for using their influence to help increase awareness of substance use disorders and mental health issues through accurate and moving portrayals of people confronting these issues,” said Dr. H. Westley Clark, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, a division of SAMHSA. “Through these efforts the entertainment industry is performing an enormous public service to our nation.”

“There is much happening in the world today that can adversely affect people dealing with addiction problems and the need to promote the truth about recovery is more important than ever,” said Brian Dyak, EIC President and CEO. “It’s our hope and our belief that entertainment will be one of the ways that the public grows to better understand this issue and the potential for helping those suffering from addiction.”

The forum’s panel included entertainment industry figures Julie Hébert, Co-Executive Producer of “Numb3rs”; David Feige, Writer for “Drop Dead Diva”; Cheryl Horner Sirulnick, Executive Producer of “True Life” and “Gone Too Far”; Leah Weber, Assistant Producer of “One Life to Live”; and Moira McMahon, Director of Medical Research for “Private Practice”.

Nightblooms

Julie is excited to announce she has received a commission from The Wallace Alexander Gerbode and William and Flora Hewlett foundations for a new theater-dance piece, “Nightblooms,” to be written in collaboration with choreographer Deborah Slater. ODC Theatre in San Francisco will produce the play in 2011. Click Here to see the press release. Playwright Collaboration commissions are awarded to California playwrights to create new works with an artistic collaborator of their choice.