NEC's Cutting Edge Playhouse 2016 Emerging Playwrights Competition Begins This June

Beginning in June 2016, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC) will deepen its commitment to discovery, development and presentation of superior theatre with four consecutive weekends of exciting and innovative productions showcasing up-and-coming Black playwrights. The Emerging Playwrights Competition is NEC's 2016 Pilot Project, marking NEC's return to the solid and impressive development and training format that established the company as an American theatre icon for over three decades. Performances will take place June 9th through July 3rd at LaMaMa ETC in The Downstairs theatre, 66 East 4th St., New York, NY 10003. To purchase tickets visit The Negro Ensemble Company website at www.necinc.org or by phone by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111 Monday thru Friday 9-9 & Saturday and Sunday 10-8. For further information and group rates call the NEC office at 212-582-5860.

Scripts for the competition were solicited nationally and internationally; seeking new plays from developing playwrights. NEC's play selection committee then chose four scripts possessing dramatic quality and stage-worthy capabilities. The selected plays are: Hercules Didn't Wade In The Water, by Michael A. Jones; depicting the struggle for life and unfulfilled dreams amidst Hurricane Katrina, (directed by Charles Weldon) June 9-12. Brian Wade's Le Blanc, features a non-linear tale of the rags-to-riches-to demise and redemption of a world famous dancer, (directed by Pharah Jean-Philippe) June 16-19; Swing, by Holly M. Eaton explores the extreme consequences resulting from an attempt to escape a past that remains current and constant, (directed by Jeannine Foster-McKelvia) June 23-26; and Hurricane House, by Wendell Edward Carter features a crisis-stricken Southern family within a house "in the eye of the storm" employing a semi-realist dramatic structure (directed by NEC Board Member Justin Lord) June 30-July 3 (www.hurricanehouse.info). All performances will run Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

During the La MaMa 4-day run, each production will be judged separately by a panel of industry professionals to determine which will be awarded a slot in NEC's 2018 production season. The works will be scrutinized using a predetermined set of criteria; relevance of content, clarity of the playwright's voice, dramatic and thematic structure, authenticity of the script, full exploration of themes and execution of concept, and overall effectiveness and execution of the production. The successful playwright will initially work with a director, dramaturg, and a set of actors to fine-tune the script in an intense 6-month development process. In the following 6 months, instruction will shift to production with director, actors and design staff developing the piece for stage presentation. After a year of development, the play will enter NEC's 2018 season schedule. Audience participation voting will offer an opportunity for a slot in NEC's annual Reading Series 2018 should the public choice differ from the professional tabulation.

Karen Brown, NEC Executive Director and Pilot Project Executive Producer, believes NEC's Cutting Edge Playhouse to be a tremendous step forward in defining the thrust for the company's future. "We are continually vigilant in seeking, developing and presenting works that speak to our current thought and the changing perspectives of our multi-faceted voice," said Ms. Brown. "This project reflects our past by establishing a professional platform for new artists beginning with the voice of burgeoning playwrights to performers, designers and production and technical staff in a develop component to present superior quality art. The format is innovative in that our means of discovery differs from past efforts. But our intent and determination echo the direction we believe the founders designed."

Charles Weldon, Artistic Director added, "Having been a company member for over 40 years, I think the project is well worth developing. We are extremely proud of the new artists that have come aboard and are working to develop and showcase these inspired young artists in a strong, positive light. I truly believe we are looking at the playwrights who can define our future."

Since NEC officially began in 1967, it has nurtured numerous emerging Black playwrights, launching the careers of such eminent dramatists as Charles Fuller (A Soldier's Play), Samm-Art Williams (HOME), and Steve Carter (Eden, Nevis Mountain Dew), NEC's premiere playwriting instructor. NEC has produced more than two hundred new plays and provided a theatrical home for more than four thousand cast and crew members. Among its ranks have been some of the best Black actors in television and film, including Samuel L. Jackson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Denzel Washington, Adolph Ceasar, Louis Gossett Jr., Sherman Hemsley, Phylicia Rashad, and BeBe Drake. The NEC is respected worldwide for its commitment to excellence, and has won dozens of honors and awards. While these accolades point to the larger success of the NEC, it has created something far greater. It has been a constant source and sustenance for Black actors, directors, and writers as they have worked to break down walls of racial prejudice.

NEC'S CUTTING EDGE PLAYHOUSE is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

This program Is supported, in part, by Public Funds from The New York City Department Of Cultural Affairs In Partnership With The City Council, and with support of The Coalition of Theatres of Color.