Company Of Fools Chosen As Associate Member Of National New Play Network

Company of Fools (COF) is proud to announce that it is the first theater in Idaho to join the ranks of the country's most prestigious supporters of new theatrical work - the National New Play Network (NNPN). COF joins American Shakespeare Center, Florida Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Native Voices at the Autry, San Francisco Playhouse, Skylight Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, The Public Theater and another 50 or so internationally recognized theatres across the United States as one of NNPN's associate members. Membership in NNPN will help COF expand its longstanding commitment to supporting new plays and commissioning new theatrical work.

As member of NNPN, COF will have access to a powerful and influential network of theatres as well as NNPN's grants and funding programs. These include:

• NNPN's flagship initiative, the Rolling World Premiere program, which gives playwrights and theaters the rare opportunity to bring a play from development to production in multiple locations across the country.

• The New Play Exchange, which provides a cutting-edge, efficient and streamlined way for new plays to be discovered and shared.

• The National Showcase of New Plays, which sets the stage for theater makers, publishers and agents to experience the new, production-ready work being championed by NNPN member theaters.

• NNPN's Commission programs and Collaboration Fund initiatives, which bring new work to the world through member theater initiatives, theater-to-theater collaborations and theater-to-playwright collaborations.

• The MFA Playwrights' Workshop, the National Directors Fellowship, and the Producers in Residence program, which provide important career-shaping opportunities for diverse annual classes of promising writers, directors and producers.

• The International Exchange program, which fosters cultural and geographical consciousness through travel exchanges between U.S. artists and artists abroad.

"NNPN is an amazing organization, supporting hundreds of playwrights every year, and exposing hundreds of thousands of theatre patrons to the very best of new playwriting every year," said Scott Palmer, Producing Artistic Director at Company of Fools. "Our entire team is excited to support that mission and bring incredible new theatre to our community with NNPN's help."