Page 73 Unveils 12 Semifinalists For Its 2026 Playwriting Fellowship
Fellow receives $20,000 plus $10,000 in development support and a public presentation of new work.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 22, 2025
Page 73 has announced 12 semifinalists for the 2026 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship: Benjamin Benne, Kate Cortesi, Alexa Derman, Ryan Drake, JuCoby Johnson, Aditya Joshi, Chad Kaydo, Adin Lenahan, Dhari Noel, Abigail C. Onwunali, Anike Sonuga, and Mallory Jane Weiss.
Now in its 23rd year, the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship annually supports a playwright who has not yet had an Off-Broadway premiere in New York City. The fellowship includes a $20,000 honorarium, $10,000 in personalized development support, and at least one public presentation of a new play. Past recipients include Pulitzer Prize winners Sanaz Toossi and Quiara Alegría Hudes, Pulitzer finalist and Tony nominee Heidi Schreck, and Obie winners Clare Barron and Kirsten Greenidge.
Recent Fellows: Lori Felipe-Barkin (2025), jose sebastian alberdi (2024), Majkin Holmquist (2023), Marvin González De León (2022), Bleu Beckford-Burrell (2021), Emma Goidel (2020), Sanaz Toossi (2019), C.A. Johnson (2018), John J. Caswell, Jr. (2017), Hansol Jung (2016), Nick Gandiello (2015), Clare Barron (2014), Caroline V. McGraw (2013), Max Posner (2012), Janine Nabers (2011), Eliza Clark (2010), Heidi Schreck (2009), Tommy Smith (2008), Krista Knight (2007), Jason Grote (2006), Quiara Alegría Hudes (2005), and Kirsten Greenidge (2004).
About the Semifinalists (selected highlights)
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Benjamin Benne (Alma, In His Hands; O’Neill NPC; Blue Ink, National Latinx Playwriting Award; MFA Yale).
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Kate Cortesi (Great Kills, Love, Is Edward Snowden Single?; Princess Grace, Kilroys; commissions from Playwrights Horizons, Keen, South Coast Rep, Lortel).
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Alexa (Lex) Derman (developed by Playwrights Realm, Ars Nova, NYTW, O’Neill; Kernodle & Chesley/Bumbalo Prizes; TV work for Netflix/Hulu; commissions MTC/Sloan, EST/Sloan).
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Ryan Drake (you don’t have to do anything at HERE; NYTW Dartmouth Residency; Rita & Burton Goldberg Prize; teaches at CUNY Hunter).
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JuCoby Johnson (How It’s Gon Be, …but you could’ve held my hand, 5; O’Neill, Jungle Theater; McKnight & Jerome Fellowships; Sony TV Diverse Writers Program).
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Aditya Joshi (producer of La Traición en la Amistad at Repertorio; Sol Project/Latinx PC; TV: We Were Liars; FX limited series Shikaar; Tribeca short A West Side Story Story).
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Chad Kaydo (I’m Repeating Myself at The Brick; Clubbed Thumb ECWG; Great Plains Theatre Commons; MFA Hunter).
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Adin Lenahan (work at Abrons, Ars Nova, The Brick, Dixon Place; Page 73 & DGF fellowship finalist; O’Neill, Jerome Fellowship semifinalist).
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Dhari Noel (Lambda Fellow; Sewanee Scholar; Brown MFA; O’Neill & Bushwick Starr recognitions; works exploring race, gender, and inheritance).
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Abigail C. Onwunali (NYTW 2050 Fellow; Princess Grace winner; Youngblood member; Elliot Norton Award winner for performance; Yale School of Drama).
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Anike Sonuga (NYU Tisch/PH School; Clubbed Thumb ECWG; Exponential Festival finalist; multidisciplinary theatre/film maker).
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Mallory Jane Weiss (MacDowell Fellow; O’Neill NPC, Clubbed Thumb, Great Plains; audio play produced by Playing on Air; works published by BPPI and Concord).
About Page 73
Since 1997, Page 73 has championed playwrights who have not yet had an Off-Broadway premiere, offering production opportunities, career guidance, financial assistance, and development programs including the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship and Writers Group. The company received an Obie Award in 2020 “for providing extraordinary support for early career playwrights.”
Page 73 co-developed and (with Playwrights Horizons) produced Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. Other acclaimed premieres include Zora Howard’s STEW (Pulitzer finalist), Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can, Leah Nanako Winkler’s Kentucky, Max Posner’s Judy, Clare Barron’s You Got Older, George Brant’s Grounded, John J. Caswell, Jr.’s Man Cave, and Susan Soon He Stanton’s Today Is My Birthday. Nearly two-thirds of the 160+ writers supported by Page 73 have gone on to New York or regional productions.
Looking ahead, Page 73, Clubbed Thumb, and MCC Theater will remount Ro Reddick’s Cold War Choir Practice Off-Broadway in February 2026, following the sold-out Summerworks 2025 run. Directed by Tony Award nominee Knud Adams, tickets will go on sale in November.
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