Theatre Communications Group (TCG)has announced the recipients of the first round of the 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards. This round represents the first iteration of the New Play Awards after theatres’ seasons were cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The awards, totaling $1,072,000, allow 28 productions extra time for the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, hoping to extend the life of the world premiere play after its first run. More than 20 Guild members, including three Council Members and a DGI instructor, are among this year's award recipients.
The first round of the 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards were presented to the following dramatists:
Liz Duffy Adams (Born with Teeth), Catherine Butterfield (Top of the World), Satya Jnani Chavez and Andrew Rosendorf (Refuge), Vichet Chim (Bald Sisters), Jessica Dickey (Nan and the Lower Body), Daniel Goldstein and Dawn Landes (Row), Joshua Harmon (Prayer for the French Republic), Dave Harris (Tambo & Bones), Nancy Harris and Marc Teitler (The Magician's Elpehant), Michael Hollinger (Mr. Dicken's Hat), Samuel D. Hunter (A Case for the Existence of God), Rajiv Joseph (Letters of Suresh), Emily Kaczmarek (Soft Target), Kait Kerrigan (Father/Daughter), Kimber Lee (to the yellow house), Tim J. Lord ("We declare you a terrorist..."), Richard Oberacker (Bruce), Cinco Paul and Bekah Brunstetter (A.D. 16), Colette Robert and Dionne McClain-Freeney (The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents the 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel), Tori Sampson (This Land Was Made), Matt Schatz (Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill), Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow (Noir), Beth Steel (House of Shades), Shaina Taub (Suffragist), Sanaz Toosi (Wish You Were Here), Charlayne Woodard (The Garden), Doug Wright (Good Night, Oscar), and Lauren Yee (Mother Russia).
The Edgerton Foundation New Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, was piloted in 2006 with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles by offering two musicals in development an extended rehearsal period for the entire creative team, including the playwrights. The Edgertons launched the program nationally in 2007 and have supported 458 plays to date at over 50 different theatres across the country.