New York, NY – Rattlestick Theater has announced playwrights AriDy Nox and a.k. payne as its 2023-24 Van Lier New Voices Fellows. The annual program provides substantial support to two playwrights of color under 30, including a living stipend, an artistic fund, mentorship with a chosen mentor playwright, workshops and readings of new work, as well as participation in Rattlestick’s larger artistic network. The Van Lier New Voices Fellowship is funded by New York Community Trust and the Jerome Foundation.

Rehomed in Spring 2022 from the Lark Play Development Center, the Van Lier New Voices Fellowship program will be overseen by Artistic Director Will Davis. Since 2011, the Fellowship has supported sixteen playwrights including Susan Soon He Stanton, Reginald Douglas, Christopher Oscar Peña, Anna Moench, Donja R. Love, C.A. Johnson, Christina Quintana, Brittany Allen, David Zheng, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Xavier Galva, Ife Olujobi, Edison Ventura Mata Diaz, Zora Howard, and outgoing 2022-23 fellows May Treuhaft-Ali and Minghao Tu.  These extraordinary playwrights have produced and presented dozens of works to thousands of audience members both regionally and throughout New York City, with many of these aforementioned fellows garnering Peabody, WGA, Princess Grace Awards, Pulitzer Prizes for Drama Finalists, and Susan Smith Blackburn Special Commendations.