O'Neill Center Joins The Dramatists Guild Fund's Fellows Program

The Dramatists Guild Fund (DGF) announces it will continue expanding the Fellows Program through collaboration with the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

The O'Neill joins developmental theater organizations New York Stage and Film (NYSAF) and Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (RWR) who have selected one playwright or writing team from 2015-16 Fellows to participate in their respective residency programs.

Fellows selected for this year's development programs:

New York Stage and Film - Jerome Parker, July 13- 17

The O'Neill - France-Luce Benson, July 15 - 23

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat - Daniel and Patrick Lazour, July 31st - August 7th

"It is vital we support the coming generations of writers and provide tangible opportunities in their development if we want and expect there to be a thriving American theater," said Andrew Lippa, President of the Dramatists Guild Fund. "Partnering organizations like The O'Neill, New York Stage and Film, and Rhinebeck Writers Retreat ensure dramatists have the experiences to continue their training and establish their unique voices in the theater."

New York Stage and Film selected playwriting Fellow Jerome Parker to participate in their 2016 Powerhouse Season, an eight-week residency on the Vassar College campus in Poughkeepsie, NY. Each summer, nearly three hundred professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers; nearly fifty students in the training program; and various individual artists and companies in residence live and work together to develop and produce new work. Now in its 32nd year, the program is designed to meet and respond to projects at various stages of development. From workshops and readings to fully produced mainstage works, all are open to the public. For more information about NYSAF, visit www.newyorkstageandfilm.org.

In residence as a Playwright Observer at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, France-Luce Benson will have the opportunity to write, participate in master classes, observe plays by noted playwrights in development, and attend professional development seminars with the Conference artistic staff.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat will host writing team Daniel and Patrick Lazour for a weeklong retreat in Rhinebeck, New York this summer as one of nine retreats being offered to musical theatre writers. RWR was founded in 2011 by Executive Director Kathy Evans. With almost a decade of development experience leading the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), Ms. Evans created Rhinebeck Writers Retreat to provide a sanctuary for musical theater writers to develop their musicals in the Hudson Valley and to promote awareness for the creation of this uniquely American art form. For more information about RWR, visit www.rhinebeckwriters.org.

The Dramatists Guild Fund will host Annual Presentation of New Work by DG Fellows at Playwrights Horizons in New York on September 19, 2016 at 7:00 PM. The Presentation features excerpts from work by the 2015-2016 class including France-Luce Benson, EllaRose Chary, Tim Duncheon, Greg Edwards, Ben Green, Rachel Griffin, Brandon James Gwinn, Sylvia Khoury, Daniel Lazour, Patrick Lazour, Jerome Parker, Jonathan Payne, and Stacey Rose.

Work presented on September 19th has been developed over the past year under the tutelage of Michael Korie, Laurence O'Keefe, Diana Son, and Sheri Wilner as part of the Fellows Program.

Each year, a select group of playwrights and musical theater writers are accepted into the nine-month Fellows Program, which provides continued support and training through group sessions with theater professionals, one-on-one mentoring, and resources to build established careers.

Presentation is by invitation only. Register your email address by contacting the Dramatists Guild Fund at rsvp@dgfund.org or 212-391-8384 to receive your invitation.

The Fellows Program is a nine-month intensive designed to to train the next generation of American Playwrights and musical theater writers. Theater writers selected for the program meet with Program Chairs, guest artists, and industry professionals twice a month for feedback on their works in progress. Fellows also have regular sessions with experienced dramatists for one-on-one mentoring and, when possible, are offered internships or observerships with dramatists involved in professional productions.

Former Fellows include Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Academy Award winner, Frozen), Rajiv Joseph (Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Tony nominees for Best Score, A Christmas Story), Deborah Zoe Laufer (ATCA Steinberg Award, End Days), Masi Asare ( inaugural Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award), and Adam Gwon (Fred Ebb and Richard Rodgers Award winner).

For more information on the Fellows Program visit dgfund.org/programs/#fellows.