2013 Steinberg Playwright 'Mimi' Awards Set for November 18

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust today announced that the Sixth Annual Steinberg Playwright "Mimi" Awards will be presented on Monday, November 18, 2013. The "Mimi" Awards are presented biennially to honor the accomplishments of some of the most gifted up-and-coming American Playwrights and to recognize the promise they hold for the future of American theater.

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust will present two playwrights with the Steinberg Playwright Awards during this year's ceremony, which will be held at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. The Steinberg Playwright Award is given to dramatists in early and middle stages of their careers, who have distinctive and compelling voices, and whose current bodies of work exhibit exceptional talent, artistic excellence, and continued potential for powerful contributions to the American theater. The 2013 recipients will be formally announced in September 2013.

This year's event will also recognize and honor 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award recipient, David Henry Hwang, whose Fall 2012 celebration was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy. The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award is presented biennially to honor and encourage the artistic excellence and achievement of an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater.

The Steinberg Playwright Awards and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award are presented in alternate years. Past recipients include:

· David Henry Hwang, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2012

· Lisa D'Amour and Melissa James Gibson, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2011

· Lynn Nottage, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2010

· David Adjmi, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2009

· Tony Kushner, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2008

These playwrights were each presented with a monetary award along with "The Mimi," a statuette designed by Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell.

In 2008, the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust established an Advisory Committee of prominent theater professionals responsible for establishing the criteria for the Steinberg Playwright Awards, as well as the nomination and selection processes. The 2013 Advisory Committee is comprised of Susan Booth, Artistic Director, ALLIANCE THEATRE; Jeremy Cohen, Producing Artistic Director, The Playwrights' Center; Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE; Todd London, Artistic Director, New Dramatists; Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, Manhattan Theatre Club; Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, Atlantic Theater Company; and Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

The members of the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust are Carole A. Krumland, James D. Steinberg, Michael A. Steinberg, Seth M. Weingarten and William D. Zabel.

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust was created by Harold Steinberg in 1986 in the names of himself and his late wife Miriam. The Trust's primary mission is to support and promote the American theater as a vital part of our culture by nurturing American Playwrights, encouraging the development and production of new American plays, and by providing significant support to theater companies across the country.

Since its inception, the Trust has given in excess of $70 million to more than one hundred not-for-profit theater organizations. These gifts have funded countless productions, as well as the commissioning of playwrights, playwriting programs and arts-in-education outreach programs for thousands of children in an effort to create and educated new generations of theatergoers.

The Trust also collaborated with the American Theater Critics Association to create and fund the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. The award is presented annually during the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theater of Louisville. Recipients of this award include Robert Schenkkan, Yussef El Guindi, Bill Cain, E.M. Lewis, Moises Kaufman, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Lee Blessing, Craig Lucas, Lynn Nottage, Nilo Cruz, Horton Foote, Jane Martin and ReGina Taylor.