Playwriting Events
Playwriting News
Alumna Melis Aker ’18 joins alumna Julia May Jonas '12 as a new member of the Ars Nova Plays Group 2019.
Tony Award-winning playwright and director of the graduate playwriting program David Henry Hwang has a lot to celebrate this month. His play, Soft Power, just won six Ovation Awards including best production. It was also recently announced on Deadline that he has been hired by Disney to write Hunchback, a live-action musical adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz will write the music.
This past December Playwriting alumnus Santino DeAngelo ’18, who according to the New York Times has a “gift for engaging melodies,” co-wrote and directed Porn Awards: The Musical at The Rockwell in Los Angeles. The production is a wacky vaudeville act and comedy burlesque about a small-time musical theater producer, Max, who tries to bring his dream of hosting a sexy award show to the big time. Along the way, Max introduces the audience to his famous Hollywood friends such as Susan Sarandon, Liza Minelli, Jennifer Coolidge, and more (all…
Alumna Samantha Chanse '12 has been awarded The Lark 2019-2020 Venturous Playwright Fellowship. Chanse will be awarded $50,000 over two years, as well as a Production Subsidy Grant of up to $50,000 to support a production of the play at a theater of her choosing. The fellowship supports the advancement of ambitious, risk-taking, and innovative plays by providing concurrent residencies for playwrights, and advocating for production of their plays by partner theaters.
The Colony, a thesis play by playwrighting alumna Gina Stevensen ’18, is the winner of the American Stage’s 21st Century Voices New Play Festival. The new play festival features live staged readings of five new plays from five exceptional up-and-coming playwrights from all over the United States. The staged reading will take place on Thursday, January 3 at the American Stage in St. Petersberg, Florida. To make a reservation visit American Stage’s website.
Alumnus Harrison David Rivers '09 won the 2018 Relentless Award for The Bandaged Place. The Relentless Award was established by The American Playwriting Foundation in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman after his passing. It is dedicated to Hoffman’s pursuit of truth in the theater and it’s the largest annual cash prize in American theater awarded to a playwright in recognition of a new play.
Six Alumni received nominations: Jennifer Lee '04 (Frozen), Ayad Akhtar '02 (Junk), Lauren Nicole Cipoletti '13 and Dave Register '15 (Harry Potter), Thomas Kitt '96 (SpongeBob SquarePants), and Mia Yoo '98 (La MaMa E.T.C.).
Alumna Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play got three nominations.
Fly written by Associate Professor Trey Ellis and co-writen by Ricardo Kahn received three awards at The NAACP Theatre Awards, including Best Production.
Professor Lynn Nottage has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The award marks another success for Nottage this spring. Nottage was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in drama for her playSweat, making her the first woman to win two Pulitzer Prizes in drama (she previously won the award with her play Ruined in 2009). Sweat also marks Nottage’s Broadway debut, where it is currently running at Studio 54.
Kristin Slaney's thesis play, Un-Utero, follows Mel and Becca, best friends who live in a town where all Planned Parenthood locations have recently shut down.
Alum Jessica Litwak '89 discusses their journey as an artist and creator.