Onyekachi Iwu Wins 2026-2027 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award

Vineyard Theatre has announced that Onyekachi Iwu will receive the theatre's 2026-2027 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. This award will be presented at The Vineyard's annual Emerging Artists Celebration on Monday, December 7.

The Vineyard's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is given annually to an exceptionally promising early career writer. The award includes a cash prize and a yearlong residency to develop new work.

Onyekachi Iwu is a Nigerian American playwright and director from Nashville, TN. As a playwright, Iwu is an inaugural member of the Cherry Lane Theatre Playwrights Collective, a nine-month developmental program under the direction of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Annie Baker. Iwu was also an inaugural member of the 2020-2022 American Theatre Group Playlab. Her Southern horror play, the magical south, was a finalist for the Drama League Beatrice Terry Residency, the Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers, the Crossroads Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, and the UCROSS + The Blank Theatre's Future of Playwriting Prize. Born to a Nigerian father and an American mother from Alabama, Iwu draws inspiration from the cultural traditions and rituals of Nigeria and the Deep South. Iwu's work often explores themes of love, sisterhood, violence, and transformation. As a director, Iwu was a member of the 2022-2024 WP Theater Directing Lab. She has developed new work with National Black Theatre, MCC Theater, New Dramatists, Mercury Store, Public Theater, and The Civilians. She was the Associate Director for the Tony Award-winning play, Stereophonic, directed by Daniel Aukin at Playwrights Horizons, on Broadway, and on the production's First National Tour. She was also the Associate Director for Strategic Love Play, directed by Katie Posner at the Minetta Lane Theatre, and the Assistant Director for The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, directed by Anne Kauffman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and on Broadway.

Paula Vogel PLAYWRITING AWARD

Paula Vogel's long and cherished relationship with The Vineyard began with the theatre's acclaimed production of How I Learned To Drive, directed by Mark Brokaw, in 1997; the play won the Pulitzer Prize, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards for Best Play; premiered on Broadway in 2022 and received two Tony nominations including Best Revival of a Play. Her production of Indecent at The Vineyard moved to Broadway in 2017, marking Vogel's Broadway debut and winning two Tony Awards. Ms. Vogel's play The Long Christmas Ride Home, also directed by Mark Brokaw, premiered at The Vineyard in 2001.

The Vineyard's Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is given annually to an exceptionally promising early career writer. The award includes a cash prize and a yearlong residency to develop new work.

Previous recipients of the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award are Tarell Alvin McCraney (2008), Rajiv Joseph (2009), Kara Lee Corthron (2010), Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (2011), Erika Sheffer (2012), Christopher Chen (2013), Clare Barron (2014), Boo Killebrew (2015), Kate Tarker (2016), Antoinette Nwandu (2017), Jeremy O. Harris (2018), Charly Evon Simpson (2019), John Caswell Jr. (2020), Ryan J. Haddad (2021), T. Adamson (2022), Mara Nelson-Greenberg (2024), Jake Brasch (2025) and Ro Reddick (2026).

The Vineyard Theatre Council will host the Emerging Artists Celebration, an intimate, donor-exclusive evening to celebrate The Vineyard's artistic community and support early career artists. For additional information, or to inquire about attending the event, please contact Vineyard Theatre at 212-353-0303 or email development@vineyardtheatre.org.

The Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is presented annually by Vineyard Theatre and is made possible through the generosity of The Tournesol Project. The Emerging Artists Celebration is sponsored by Morgan Stanley and Armanino.

In addition to welcoming Onyekachi as an artist-in-residence, Ato Blankson-Wood, 2025-2027 Colman Domingo Award recipient, and Keenan Tyler Oliphant, 2025-2027 Susan Stroman Directing Award recipient, continue their residencies this season. DOWNLOAD HEADSHOT

ABOUT THE VINEYARD

Vineyard Theatre (Sarah Stern, Artistic Director; Moogie Brooks, Managing Producer) is dedicated to developing and producing new plays and musicals that push the boundaries of what theatre can be and do, and to nurturing a community of fearless theatremakers whose work expands the form, the field, and the larger culture. The Vineyard has transferred 11 shows to Broadway, seven directly after their acclaimed Vineyard premieres: Lucas Hnath's Dana H. and Tina Satter's Is This A Room; Paula Vogel's Indecent; Nicky Silver's The Lyons; Kander, Ebb and Thompson's The Scottsboro Boys; Bell and Bowen's [title of show]; and Avenue Q by Marx, Lopez and Whitty (Tony Award, Best Musical). Four additional shows launched at The Vineyard have been revived in their first Broadway productions: Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning How I Learned to Drive; Lanie Robertson's Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill; Becky Mode's Fully Committed; and Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning Three Tall Women.

From our home in NYC's Union Square, The Vineyard develops and premieres new plays and musicals which go on to be seen around the country and the world. Jeremy O. Harris' play “Daddy” received its London premiere at the Almeida; Ngozi Anyanwu's Good Grief and David Cale's Harry Clarke were recorded by Audible; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Gloria, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and transferred to Chicago's Goodman Theatre; Paula Vogel's Tony Award-winning Indecent aired on PBS's Great Performances and was one of the most-produced plays nationwide in 2019; Colman Domingo's Dot is being adapted into an AMC series; Is This A Room is now HBO's Reality, John J. Caswell's Scene Partners, starring Dianne Wiest, was live-streamed around the world, and most recently, Avenue Q returned to London's West End in 2026.

Over 44 years, The Vineyard's work has been recognized with the industry's highest honors, including Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, a special Drama Desk, Obie, and Lucille Lortel Awards for artistic excellence and support of artists. Most recently, the company's 2025 world-premiere of Nazareth Hassan's Bowl EP was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and received the Obie Award for Outstanding New Play, and Sarah Gancher received the Obie Award for playwriting for The Wind and the Rain: Story about Sunny's Bar.

The Vineyard's critically-acclaimed 2025-2026 season included the world-premiere of Anne Washburn's The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire, directed by Steve Cosson; the world-premiere of Bughouse, conceived and directed by Martha Clarke with script by Beth Henley and starring John Kelly; and the world-premiere of ||: Girls :||: Chance :||: Music :||, written and composed by Roth-Vogel Commission recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist Eisa Davis and directed by Tony award-winner Pam MacKinnon, co-produced with American Conservatory Theater.