2026 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Finalists Revealed
Finalists include Berlin by Mickle Maher, produced by Court Theatre; Lions by Alice Yorke and Scott R. Sheppard, produced by Lightning Rod Special and more.
The American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association (ATCA) revealed six finalists for the 2026 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, recognizing the playwrights who produced the best scripts that premiered professionally outside of New York City in 2025.
The top award, which carries a $25,000 honorarium, and two citations valued at $7,500 each, will be presented on May 2 at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif., as part of the annual Pacific Playwrights Festival. At $40,000, Steinberg/ATCA is the largest national new play award program of its kind.
In 1977, ATCA began to honor new plays produced at regional theaters, as a way of balancing the existing awards landscape, which often focuses on works produced in New York. No play is eligible if it has gone on to a New York production within the award year. Since 2000, the award has been generously funded by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.
The 2026 finalists, listed alphabetically by title, are:
Berlin by Mickle Maher, produced by Court Theatre (Chicago, IL)
Lions by Alice Yorke and Scott R. Sheppard, produced by Lightning Rod Special (Philadelphia, PA)
Mother Russia by Lauren Yee, produced by Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle, WA)
The Pilon by Zach Barr, produced by Red Theater (Chicago, IL)
The Staircase by Noa Gardner, produced by South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, CA)
Things With Friends by Kristoffer Diaz, produced by American Blues Theater (Chicago, IL)
These six finalists were selected from eligible scripts recommended by ATCA members from around the country and evaluated by a committee of theater journalists, led by Kelsall. Other participating committee members included Nancy Bishop (Chicago, IL), Lindsay Christians (Madison, WI), Amanda Finn (Chicago, IL), Mike Fischer (Milwaukee, WI), Lou Harry (Indianapolis, IN), Martha Wade Steketee (New York, NY), Doug Strassler (New York, NY), and Bob Verini (Boston, MA).
Past recipients of ATCA's New Play Award include August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Lanford Wilson, Lee Blessing, Michael Cristofer, Marsha Norman, Lauren Yee, Moises Kaufman, and Qui Nguyen. Last year's honoree was Purpose by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
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