Donald Margulies News

This week, Dramatists Play Service's social media channel, a?oeDPS On Air,a?? features the most-produced playwright in America, Lauren Gunderson (a?oeSilent Skya??) reading from her play about William Shakespeare's legacy, a?oeThe Book of Will.a??

It was just announced by Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy that Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop has officially won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This year's finalists included: Will Arbery's Heroes of the Fourth Turning and David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori's Soft Power.

The Pulitzer Prize Board today will present the 2020 award winners' (originally scheduled for Monday, April 20) for Prizes in Journalism, Books, Drama and Music. Who will win this year? Tune in right here at 3pm to watch the announcement live!

This morning as I was compiling my Spotlight Series on Bill Wolski and his equally talented wife Holly Baker Kreiswirth of Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro, Bill shared an amazingly wonderful description of the ever-so-fleeting magic of performing live theatre which brings a playwright's scripts to life and often unites a cast as life-long friends. His post centers on his first-hand experience in the Little Fish production of THE COUNTRY HOUSE by Donald Margulies, which was directed by Holly and featured a talented cast of six, including Belinda Howell. Frannie Morrison, Richard Perloff, Maire-Rose Pike, Patrick Vest and Bill Wolski. And his post speaks so clearly to me that I immediately reached out to him, and have been given permission to share his words as a Spotlight Series today.

This week, Dramatists Play Service's social media channel, a?oeDPS On Air,a?? features Diane Davis (a?oeHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Twoa??) reading the last monologue from a?oeThe Model Apartmenta?? by DPS playwright Donald Margulies (2000 Pulitzer winner for a?oeDinner with Friendsa??).

Town Hall Theatre Company has announced four compelling plays and musicals for its 76th 2020/21 Season, entitled GROWING UP.  

How do we create strong, vivid, and memorable characters? In this module from MTC Education viewers will explore making bold choices, view an excerpt from MTC's production of Donald Margulies' LONG LOST, and create a character for whom you will write a monologue.

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has selected six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg / American Theatre Critics Association 2020 New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2019.

As the shutdowns continue and it becomes increasingly obvious that a?oeregulara?? theatre isn't starting back up as soon as we'd hoped, it's also increasingly obvious that adjusted, adapted performances like these are more important than ever.

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues returned with an incredible all-new third edition last night on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. 20 actors were been paired with theatre's top writers, who crafted unique pieces especially for their actors.

In this time of uncertainty, the best one can do---and hopefully you've been doing so!---is to stay indoors and quarantine. While it's no news that many businesses and industries have been affected by the virus, an industry that has largely been impacted is certainly the arts. With cinemas and theatres temporarily closed, communities are unfortunately unable to attend the venues they frequent in order to be immersed in stories that help them escape reality for two hours. So, through the inability to review shows, I reached out to a friend of mind and collaborator, Alex Munro, whom I worked with on in #MeToo Monologues: Stories for Healing (2019) and the halted Where Words Once Were (2020), to not only do a spotlight but to also get some thoughts on what folks can do in order to help specifically theatres sustain themselves throughout these alarming, volatile times.

The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues are back by popular demand with an all-new third edition tonight on IGTV @24hourplays and at https://24hourplays.com/viral-monologues/. 20 actors have been paired with theatre's top writers, who have crafted unique pieces especially for their actors.

Geffen Playhouse today announced six productions that will make up the 2020/2021 season in its Gil Cates and Audrey Skirball Kenis Theaters, with two additional productions to be announced. This marks the 25TH anniversary season for Geffen Playhouse, which will launch September 8, 2020, and run through July 25, 2021.

The acclaimed one woman show 'Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies' will be given a closed industry reading later this month, directed by Karen Carpenter (Harry Townsend's Last Stand, Love Loss and What I Wore) and starring Jessica Sherr, presented at Open Jar Studios.

South Coast Repertory Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Paula Tomei today announced the lineup for the 2020 Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF). The annual showcase of new works, part of the theatre's new-play development arm, The Lab@SCR, includes two world-premiere productionsa?"The Scarlet Letter by Kate Hamill and I Get Restless by Caroline V. McGrawa?"and five staged readings. PPF runs April 24-26, with morning, afternoon and evening events. Single tickets and value-priced ticket packages are now on sale at www.scr.org.

My Name is Lucy Barton opened just last night, Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Check out photos from the star-studded red carpet!

Master Teacher SUSAN MERSON is founder and moderator of both the Los Angeles and New York Writers Bloc which has supported the work of fiction standouts Janet Fitch and David Bezmozgis; Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies, Emmy winner Jane Anderson, popular nonfiction authors Jamie Cat Callan and Laurie Graff, and YA standouts Kim Purcell and Barbara Bottner will be conducting another series of writing workshops in New York this Spring.

My name is Lucy Barton is officially in previews on Broadway! Four-time Emmy winner, two-time Golden Globe winner, three-time Academy Award and four-time Tony nominee Laura Linney returns to Broadway in a haunting new solo play adapted by Rona Munro from the bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout.

The board of the Hermitage Artist Retreat in the United States announced today that the organisation has chosen Andy Sandberg as its Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer as of January 1, 2020. Sandberg succeeds Bruce Rodgers, who is retiring after serving as the Hermitage's Executive Director since 2005. Sandberg, an accomplished director, writer, and Tony Award-winning producer whose national and international career has been committed to new work and artist development, was selected following an extensive national search. In his new role, Sandberg will be responsible for overseeing the organisation's operations, artistic programs, administration, and strategic plan.

Each year, Broadway champions works both new and old, welcoming a fresh crop of plays from playwrights both at home and abroad every season. Their works enrapture audiences, offering takes on comedy, drama, history and everything in between, dazzling in their relevance, sparkling in their spectacle, and often challenging in their complexity.