An NNPN Rolling World Premiere (RWP) models a process for developing and producing new plays that results in stronger work overall and the momentum needed for a play to join the repertoire of frequently produced new American works. Each Rolling World Premiere connects three or more NNPN Member Theaters that choose to mount the same new play within a 12-month period, allowing the playwright to develop the work with a new creative team in each theater's community. To date, NNPN has championed RWPs with over one million dollars in financial support. Alumni plays have received hundreds of subsequent productions, recognition in markets across the world, been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, won Steinberg/ATCA, Stavis, PEN and Blackburn awards, and been adapted into feature films.
A bridge that spans a deep gorge draws tourists, joggers, and more than a few wandering souls. Reeling from the death of her mother, twenty-something Fay comes to the bridge looking for solace and a good place to vape, but what she finds is a journey of self-discovery. In the whimsically theatrical world of Jump, lights flicker, hearts heal - and you never know what surprises will literally fall from the sky.
Charly Evon Simpson's plays include Jump, Behind the Sheet, form of a girl unknown, it's not a trip it's a journey, and more. Her work has been seen and/or developed with The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Lark, Page 73, Ars Nova, Chautauqua Theater Company, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, National New Play Network through its NNPN/Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop and National Showcase of New Plays, and others. Charly was recently named the co-recipient of the Dramatists Guild's Lanford Wilson Award, was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle's John Gassner Award, and had two of her plays on the 2019 Kilroys List. Her play Jump is the first recipient of the David Goldman Fund for New Plays. form of a girl unknown will premiere at Salt Lake Acting Company this fall. She is working on a commission from Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan. She's currently a member of WP Theater's 2018-2020 Lab, The New Georges Jam, and Primary Stages' Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group. Charly is a former member of SPACE on Ryder Farm's The Working Farm, Clubbed Thumb's 17/18 Early Career Writers' Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood, The Amoralists' Wright Club, and Pipeline Theatre Company's PlayLab. BA: Brown University. MSt: New College, Oxford. MFA: Hunter College. www.charlyevonsimpson.com
Championing unique perspectives and emerging artists, Shrewd Productions is focused on women's voices, new plays, and work developed through a collaborative artistic approach. We are committed to creating high-quality theatrical experiences that are thoughtful, provocative, and entertaining, featuring the work of female and LGBT artists as we seek to provide a broader array of voices in American theatre and for Austin audiences.
Shrewd has been honored by 73 nominations and awards from the Austin Critic's Table, B. Iden Payne Committee, Broadway World, and Austin Theatre Examiner and inclusion on multiple "Best Of" lists in the Austin Chronicle. We are proud to be a member of the Austin New Works Theatre Community, building Austin's professional theatre community devoted to the development of original work. shrewdproductions.com
