Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau Honored Tonight at 2015 Mimi Awards

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust will host the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards (the 8th Annual 'Mimi' Awards) honoring Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau tonight, November 16, 2015 at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023).

Scenes highlighting the playwrights' previous and new work will be presented at the ceremony. The evening will feature opening remarks by Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE, followed by readings of Jacobs-Jenkins' notable works and an excerpt from a new piece. Jocelyn Bioh will perform a monologue from NEIGHBORS; Chris Myers will perform from AN OCTOROON; and Jacobs-Jenkins will be joined that evening by Austin Durant, Brian Tyree Henry, Carra Patterson, Will Rogers andMichele Shay, who will perform an excerpt from WAR, which will premiere as part of Lincoln Center Theater's new season in Spring 2016. James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, will introduce Jacobs-Jenkins as he accepts his honor.

Kamilah Forbes, Artistic Director of HI-Arts/Hip Hop Theater Festival, will introduce Dominique Morisseau. The cast of the upcoming Atlantic Theater Company production cast of SKELETON CREW, including Jason Dirden, Lynda Gravatt, Marc Damon Johnson and Nikiya Mathis will perform scenes from the play, and Dominique Fishback will present an excerpt from JEZELLE THE GAZELLE. Both performances will be directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Also expected to attend are Steinberg Board of Directors members Carole Krumland, Jim Steinberg, Michael Steinberg and William Zabel; 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards Advisory Committee Members Jeremy Cohen, Paige Evans, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Neil Pepe, Bill Rauch, Carole Rothman and Chay Yew; as well as Stephen Adly Guirgis (Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award winner, 2014), Hilton Als, Annie Baker (Steinberg Playwright Award winner, 2013), Geneva Carr, Liza Colón Zayas, Lisa d'Amour (Steinberg Playwright Award winner, 2011) Mara Davi, John Ellison Conlee, Kamilah Forbes, Montego Glover, Wendy Goldberg, Barry Grove, Joshua Harmon, Stephen Henderson, David Henry Hwang (Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award winner, 2012), James Houghton, Tom Hulce, Rajiv Joseph (Steinberg Playwright Award winner, 2013), Stephen Karam, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Chilina Kennedy, Boo Killebrew, Lynne Meadow, Lynn Nottage (Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award winner, 2010), Ashley Park, Benj Pasek, Laura Pels, Joel Perez, Ira Pittelman, Conrad Ricamora, Daryl Roth, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Tracey Scott Wilson, Ryan Spahn, Sarah Stiles, Wesley Taylor, Neil Tyrone Pritchard, Michael Urie, Morgan Weed, Zoe Winters and more.

The Steinberg Playwright Awards are presented biennially to playwrights in early and middle stages of their careers, who have distinctive and compelling voices, and whose current bodies of work exhibit exceptional talent and artistic excellence. The awards celebrate the accomplishments of some of the most gifted up-and-coming American playwrights and honor the promise they hold for the future of American theater. Each recipient will receive a cash award of $50,000 and a statuette designed by David Rockwell, Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect.

In 2008, the Board of Directors created an advisory committee of prominent theater professionals to establish the awards criteria, nominate individual candidates and select each recipient. The 2015 Advisory Committee is comprised of Jeremy Cohen, Producing Artistic Director, The Playwrights' Center; Paige Evans, Artistic Director, LCT3; Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE; Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, Atlantic Theater Company; Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Carole Rothman, Artistic Director, Second Stage Theatre; and Chay Yew, Artistic Director, Victory Gardens Theater.

The Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust is made up of 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 his name and the name of 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.