Downtown Urban Theater Festival Names KINGDOM COME Best Play

The musical KINGDOM COME, written by New York-basEd Matthew Osceola Webster, won BEST PLAY at the 10^thAnniversary season of the Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF). The festival featured 15 new works and ran from March 14 to 31, 2012 at HERE in SoHo, Manhattan, NYC.  The complete list of honored plays include: 

BEST PLAY CATEGORY

Winner - Kingdom Come by Matthew Osceola Webster

Second Place – Asylum by Cheril N. Clarke

Third Place – Kings by Anna Governali

BEST SHORT CATEGORY

Winner - Co-op by Barbara Kahn

Second Place - Standing At … by Chandra Thomas

Third Place - Undertow by Mel Nieves 

AUDIENCE AWARD

Winner - Asylum by Cheril N. Clarke 

In 2001, DUTF was founded with the purpose to build a repertoire of new American theatre that echoes the true spirit of urban life and speaks to a whole new generation whose lives defy categorizing along conventional lines. That purpose has been realized many times over, as 100 writers have created and refined their work for the stage and thousands of inspired audience members have applauded their performances.  DUTF inaugurated the festival in 2002 at HERE in SoHo to help revitalize the NYC downtown arts scene, which, at the time, was experiencing a severe downturn due to the WTC disaster.  It has been recognized as “one of the world’s best festivals for new works” and described as “not only prestigious, but a slice of heaven for playwrights who want the chance to freely express themselves.” (Lisa Mulcahy, Theater Festivals, Allworth Press, 2005). 

Visit DUTF online at www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Urban-Theater-Festival/152194641470752, www.twitter.com/DUTFNYC andhttps://www.youtube.com/dutfnyc.