First Vogel Playwriting Award Presented to McCraney
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 31, 2007
The Vineyard Theatre celebrated its 25th Anniversary with the presentation of the first Paula Vogel Playwriting Award to recipient Tarell Alvin McCraney. The Vogel Award, a new prize to be given annually by The Vineyard to an emerging playwright of exceptional promise, was presented to Mr. McCraney on Monday, January 29, during the theatre company's 25th Anniversary Gala at The Rainbow Room in New York City.
Named in honor of playwright and teacher Paula Vogel -- whose play How I Learned to Drive debuted at the Vineyard Theatre in 1997, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama -- comes with a cash prize and a staged reading of the recipient's work, as previously announced by The Vineyard Theatre's artistic director Douglas Aibel. Among those on hand to pay tribute to Vogel and celebrate The Vineyard's silver anniversary were playwright John Guare, actors Julianne Moore, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, S. Epatha Merkerson, director Bart Freundlich, Anna Paquin, Lewis Black, Lili Taylor, Paul Rudd, Veanne Cox, and Marsha Mason.
Tarell Alvin McCraney is a third-year MFA playwriting student at Yale School of Drama and author of the recently acclaimed play The Brothers Size-- about which Jason Zinoman wrote in his 1/19/07 review in The New York Times , "Listen closely, and you might hear that thrilling sound that is one of the main reasons we go to the theater, that beautiful music of a new voice." An actor as well as playwright, McCraney is also the author of Without/Sin and the plays Run, Mourners, Run and In the Red and Brown Water.
The Brothers Size -- which recently concluded a limited run at The Public Theatre as part of the Under the Radar Festival -- is a drama about two brothers in the bayou country of Louisiana. About the Vineyard's new playwriting award, Mr. Aibel says, "I can think of no better way to mark the Vineyard's anniversary than to honor Paula Vogel for her extraordinary contributions to the theatre by creating this award in her name. Paula's work has been an inspiration to all of us at the Vineyard - daring, deeply felt and important. Her plays have electrified audiences around the world, and just as significantly, she has been a nurturing and guiding force for a whole new generation of young playwrights. She is an American theatrical treasure, and it feels very fitting that we will acknowledge and encourage the talent of an emerging playwright each season with an award that bears her name."
The recipient of the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award will be chosen each year by a rotating committee comprised of members of Vineyard's artistic staff and of its resident community of artists.Vogel's other plays include The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Baltimore Waltz and The Mineola Twins. Vogel also heads one of the country's leading playwriting programs at Brown University.The Vineyard's 25th season is presently underway with a rare revival of J.M. Barrie's play Mary Rose, in previews now prior to its official press opening February 20, directed by Tina Landau.The Vineyard Theatre is located at 108 East 15th Street. For performance and ticket information about the Vineyard Theatre season, call the box office at 212-353-0303 or log on to www.vineyardtheatre.org.
The Brothers Size -- which recently concluded a limited run at The Public Theatre as part of the Under the Radar Festival -- is a drama about two brothers in the bayou country of Louisiana. About the Vineyard's new playwriting award, Mr. Aibel says, "I can think of no better way to mark the Vineyard's anniversary than to honor Paula Vogel for her extraordinary contributions to the theatre by creating this award in her name. Paula's work has been an inspiration to all of us at the Vineyard - daring, deeply felt and important. Her plays have electrified audiences around the world, and just as significantly, she has been a nurturing and guiding force for a whole new generation of young playwrights. She is an American theatrical treasure, and it feels very fitting that we will acknowledge and encourage the talent of an emerging playwright each season with an award that bears her name."
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