Rivers Wins 2018 Relentless Award
New York, NY – DG member Harrison David Rivers won the 2018 Relentless Award for his play The Bandaged Place. Rivers’ play was selected from over 2,000 submissions.
The award comes with $45,000 and the option to hold staged readings at the Old Vic in London as well as prominent theatres across the U.S.
The jury included playwrights Lynn Nottage, Eric Bogosian, and Thomas Bradshaw. Visit the American Playwriting Foundation website for submission details: www.americanplaywritingfoundation.org.
Goidel’s The Gap Receives 2018 Barrymore Award
Philadelphia, PA – DG member Emma Goidel won the 2018 Barrymore Award/Independence Foundation Award for an Outstanding New Play/Musical for her play The Gap, produced by Azuka Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.
Nominees included DG members R. Eric Thomas for his play Mrs. Harrison (Azuka Theatre), Brian Hill (book) and Neil Bartram (music and lyrics) for their musical Something Wicked This Way Comes (Delaware Theatre Company), and Colman Domingo and Patricia McGregor for their musical Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole (People’s Light).
The awards were handed out at a ceremony at South Philadelphia’s Bok on November 5, 2018.
2018/2019 Recipients of the DGF Writers Alliance Grants
New York, NY – We are thrilled to announce the second-ever recipients of the DGF Writers Alliance Grants. These Grants provide $5,000 to both a non-profit theatre’s production of a new work and $5,000 to the writer or group of writers whose work is being produced. Gary Garrison, who serves on both the DGF Advisory Board and the Writers Alliance Grant selection committee, said: “The DGF’s Writers Alliance Grant is the perfect combination of support for both writer AND theatre. It acknowledges that the writer has a story that should to be told while also smartly pointing to the theatre that should be telling it.”
Each writer is one whose work pushes boundaries and shows tremendous promise. Each of the producing theatres demonstrated superlative ethical standards in supporting the livelihoods and careers of writers. Tina Howe, who also serves on the DGF Advisory Board and the Writers Alliance Grant selection committee, said: “You should hear our squeals of delight as we choose our ten winners from across the country. We’re both democratic in our reach, yet autocratic in our insistence on high quality.”
These grants reflect DGF’s commitment to ensuring writers’ contributions to theatre are respected and to changing the national conversation about how writers are treated by the institutions that produce their work. Howe adds: “These grants function as both an example and opportunity for the entire theatrical industry.”
Writers Alliance Grants are the largest individual grants DGF has ever given to theatres and are among the largest grants DGF gives directly to writers. Writers Alliance Grants, developed in partnership with the Dramatists Guild of America, are awarded in celebration of working relationships that align deeply with DGF core values. Susan Birkenhead, also serving on both the DGF Advisory Board and the Writers Alliance Grant selection committee, said “We take great care to ensure that the theatres we help provide good contracts that treat our writers well.”
The full list of recipients include:
Writer: Stephan Wolfert, The She-Wolf of France;
Theatre: Amphibian Stage Productions, in Fort Worth, TX
Writer: Hansol Jung, Wolf Play;
Theatre: Artists Repertory Theatre, in Portland, OR
Writers: Bill Nelson and Joseph Trefler, Men with Money;
Theatre: Aurora Theatre, in Lawrenceville, GA
Writers: Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Suarez,
Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son;
Theatre: Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, WV
Writer: Gus Schulenburg, Operating Systems;
Theatre: Flux Theatre Ensemble in Forest Hills, NY
Writer: Nambi E. Kelley, Jazz;
Theatre: Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, CA
Writer: Christopher Johnston, Live Bodies for Sale;
Theatre: Playwrights Local in Cleveland Heights, OH
Writer: Morgan Gould, I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart;
Theatre: Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago, IL
Writer: Stephanie Alison Walker, The Abuelas;
Theatre: Teatro Vista in Chicago, IL
Writer: Chris Weikel, Secret Identity;
Theatre: The Other Side of Silence (TOSOS) in New York, NY
2019 Kleban Prizes Awarded
Sarah Hammond and Shaina Taub both received the 2019 Kleban Prize for most promising lyricists. Charlie Sohne received the prize for most promising librettist.
The winners will receive $100,000, payable over two years. They were chosen by a panel consisting of composer-lyricist (and Guild Council member) Amanda Green, actress Alison Fraser, and Eric Schaeffer, the Artistic Director of the Signature Theatre in Virginia.
The 2020 Kleban Prize in Musical Theatre applications are submitted digitally through a module on New Dramatists’ website between March 22, 2019 – May 22, 2019. Visit https://newdramatists.org/kleban-prize-musical-theatre
MacDowell Colony Fellowships
Peterborough, NH – The MacDowell Colony has awarded fellowships to 86 artists from eighteen states and nine countries including DG members Annie Baker, Kia Corthron, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, Aleshea Harris, and Jonathan Spector.
Fellows make use of uninterrupted time to work and enjoy the rare opportunity for multidisciplinary exchange. Artists with demonstrated financial need are eligible for travel grants and stipends to cover expenses that accrue at home while away at a residency. The MacDowell Colony awards more than 300 fellowships each year. The next application deadline is April 15, 2019 for the autumn 2019 residency period. www.macdowellcolony.org/apply-for-fellowship
