The Louis Sudler Prizes

Monica Hannush

Monica Hannush, a Film and Media Studies major, is a playwright, lyricist, and essayist whose original musical, Under, staggered audiences in live performances both at Yale and at the New York International Fringe Festival. Entitled Under for “under pressure,” “under the influence,” and “undergraduate,” the work provides a view into the tumultuous reality of the lives and relationships of Yale students who struggle with mental health. One of Monica’s professors says, “No one else could write so unflinchingly about, or capture so accurately, the tithe of stress exacted by the elite college experience.”  In both her use of language and in striking wordless scenes, Monica evokes shock, pain, disgust, laughter, and breathtaking fear.

For her past accomplishments on page and stage, and for her future work, Yale College is proud to award the Louis Sudler Prize for excellence in the creative arts to Monica Hannush.