Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards Announce Second Round of 2021-22 Recipients

Theatre Communications Group has announced the recipients of the second round of the 2021-22 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards. The awards, totaling $731,000, allow 16 productions extra time for the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, hoping to extend the life of the world premiere play after its first run. This round represents the second iteration of the New Play Awards after theatres' seasons were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last 16 years, the Edgerton Foundation has awarded over $15,116,000 to 474 productions, enabling many plays to schedule subsequent productions following their world premieres. Thirty have made it to Broadway, including: Curtains, 13, Next to Normal, 33 Variations, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), Time Stands Still, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, A Free Man of Color, Good People, Chinglish, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Bronx Bombers, Casa Valentina, Outside Mullingar, All the Way, Eclipsed, Bright Star, Hamilton, The Columnist, In Transit, A Doll's House Part 2, Indecent, Dear Evan Hansen, Oslo, Escape to Margaritaville, The Prom, JUNK: The Golden Age of Debt, SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical, and Head Over Heels. Sixteen plays were nominated for Tony Awards, with All the Way, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and Oslo winning the best play or musical awards. Eleven plays were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with wins for The Hot Wing King (2021), Cost of Living (2018), Hamilton (2016), The Flick (2014), Water by the Spoonful (2012), and Next to Normal (2010).

"As our theatre field emerges from the impacts of the Omicron variant, the Edgerton Foundation's transformational investment in new plays continues to provide inspiration and badly needed material support," said Teresa Eyring, executive director, TCG. "The Foundation's support of longer rehearsal processes has always been valuable, but now, as our field reopens with a focus on safety and inclusion, that support is truly life-giving. Theatre artists will have a chance to breathe, and to take the time they need after the losses of last year as they make the plays that will knit our country back together."

The second round of the 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards were presented to:

Darlin' Cory

Book by Phillip DePoy

Music by Kristian Bush

Lyrics by Phillip DePoy and Kristian Bush

Directed by Susan V. Booth

at Alliance Theatre

WILD: A Musical Becoming

Book by V (formerly Eve Ensler)

Music by Justin Tranter & Caroline Pennell with contributions by Eren Cannata

Lyrics by Justin Tranter, Caroline Pennell & V (formerly Eve Ensler)

With contributions by Idina Menzel

at American Repertory Theater

Change Agent

by Craig Lucas

at Arena Stage

American Prophet

by Charles Randolph-Wright, Marcus Hummon

at Arena Stage

The High Ground

by Nathan Alan Davis

at Arena Stage

English

by Sanaz Toossi

at Atlantic Theater Company & Roundabout Theatre Company

This Much I Know

by Jonathon Spector

at Aurora Theatre Company

Goddess

Conceived by Saheem Ali

Music and Lyrics by Michael Thurber

Book by Jocelyn Bioh

Additional Material by Mkhululi Z. Mabija

Choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie

Directed by Saheem Ali

at Berkeley Repertory Theatre

In the Upper Room

by Beaufield Berry

at Denver Center for the Performing Arts

Georgina and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley

by Lauren Gunderson, Margot Melcon

at Marin Theatre Company

Manor

by Moira Buffini

at National Theatre

Middle

by David Eldridge

at National Theatre

The Father and the Assassin

by Anupama Chandrasekhar

at National Theatre

Camp Siegfried

by Bess Wohl

at The Old Vic

The Mirror and The Light

adapted by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles

at the Gielgud Theatre, London's West End

Co-produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Playful Productions

In Every Generation

by Ali Viterbi

at Victory Gardens Theater

"We have lost so much in the past two years, and I don't take for granted that those of us still living are blessed to have survived. The pandemic has left many of us wondering, 'How do we move forward?' In Every Generation features the Levi-Katz family dealing with the fallout of situations beyond their control-much like the last two years we all just endured. This family moves forward with love, humor, joy, and a commitment to healing long-held hurts. I am hopeful this play inspires those who see it to do the same," said Ken-Matt Martin, artistic director, Victory Gardens Theater. "With the Edgerton Foundation's support of two additional weeks of rehearsal, director Devon DeMayo and playwright Ali Viterbi, along with the cast and crew, will be able work out technical challenges such as how the cast can pass and consume food safely in light of health concerns and execute dialect work since In Every Generation includes dialogue in three languages: English, Hebrew and Italian."

"The three Edgerton New Play Awards granted to Arena Stage across our current and upcoming seasons are critical to Arena's mission to uplift American artists and nurture the theater canon," said Edgar Dobie, executive producer, Arena Stage. "The additional rehearsal time afforded by the Awards will provide the time necessary to ensure each production premieres in the best form possible. We thank the Edgerton Foundation and Dr. Bradford Edgerton for this tremendous support and their continuing belief in the power of new works."

The Edgerton Foundation New Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, was piloted in 2006 with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles by offering two musicals in development an extended rehearsal period for the entire creative team, including the playwrights. The Edgertons launched the program nationally in 2007 and have supported 474 plays to date at over 50 different Art Theatres across the country.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, leads for a just and thriving theatre ecology. Since its founding in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to over 700 Member Theatres and affiliate organizations and over 7,000 Individual Members. Through its programs and services, TCG reaches over one million students, audience members, and theatre professionals each year. TCG offers networking and knowledge-building opportunities through research, communications, and events, including the annual TCG National Conference, one of the largest nationwide gatherings of theatre people; awards grants and scholarships to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and through the Global Theater Initiative, TCG's partnership with the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute. TCG is North America's largest independent trade publisher of dramatic literature, with 18 Pulitzer Prizes for Drama on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. TCG believes its vision of "a better world for theatre, and a better world because of theatre" can be achieved through individual and collective action, adaptive and responsive leadership, and equitable representation in all areas of practice. TCG is led by executive director and CEO Teresa Eyring and deputy director and COO Adrian Budhu. www.tcg.org.