John Guare To Serve As Judge For Yale Drama Series

As announced by Francine Horn of the David C. Horn Foundation, the distinguished, award-winning playwright John Guare will serve as judge for the Yale Drama Series for three years - 2011, 2012 and 2013. Ms Horn said, "What an honor for the Foundation and the Series that John Guare will be our next judge. The job is mammoth and he embraces it with joy and enthusiasm."

In accepting the position, Mr. Guare remarked:

"In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright's dream. Edward Albee and Sir David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honored to be the judge for the next three years.

Are there guidelines? What are we looking for? Diaghilev said it best. When Jean Cocteau asked the great impresario what he wanted, Diaghilev simply replied 'Astonish me'. Don't worry. Sometimes the simplest truths can be the most astonishing. And then again - not. The Foundation and Yale's goal
is to uncover and give new voices to the theater. We welcome all entries to this celebration of the playwright."

The winner of the Yale Drama Series - given annually to an emerging playwright -- is awarded a prize of $10,000, publication of the play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre. The David C. Horn Foundation funds the annual international playwriting competition.

In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise and her play "blu" the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. Ms. Grise's play will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep (September, 2010) and be published by Yale University Press. LIDLESS, by Frances
Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world and UK premiere productions this year at the High Tide Festival (Suffolk) and Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland), as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia.

John Guare, PLAYWRIGHT
Author of such renowned plays as "House of Blue Leaves" (NY Drama Critics Circle Award in 1971 and four Tony Awards for its 1986 revival), "Six Degrees of Separation" (Obie, NY Drama Critics Circle Award, Olivier Award for Best Play) and "Landscape of the Body". John Guare won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for "Two Gentlemen of Verona" and also wrote the book for
the musical "Sweet Smell of Success". His play "Muzeeka" won an Obie Award and the Signature Theatre honored him with a season in 1998-99. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Guare's play, "A Free Man of Color", will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in a production directed by George C. Wolfe.

YALE DRAMA SERIES
Submissions for the 2011 Yale Drama Series competition must be postmarked no earlier than June 1, 2010 and no later than August 15, 2010. The competition is open to any original, unpublished, and unproduced full-length play in English. For complete contest rules, please visit www.dchornfoundation.org/.

YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Founded in 1908, Yale University Press is one of the largest and most distinguished American university presses. It publishes over 320 books a year in a wide range of disciplines, including history, literature, drama, art and architecture, American studies, philosophy, politics, religion, reference, music, and the sciences. www.yalebooks.com

Yale Repertory Theatre
A champion of new work, Yale Repertory Theatre has produced well over 100 world, American, and regional premieres-including two Pulitzer Prize winners and four other nominated finalists-by emerging and established playwrights. Eleven Yale Rep productions have advanced to Broadway, garnering more than 40 Tony Award7 nominations and eight Tony Awards, and Yale Rep itself is
the recipient of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. www.yalerep.org

THE DAVID Charles Horn FOUNDATION

The David Charles Horn Foundation was established in 2003 by Francine Horn to honor the memory of her late husband. David Horn was the publisher and CEO of Here & There, the leading international forecasting and reporting publication for the fashion industry. Ms. Horn created the Foundation to support new initiatives in the literary and dramatic arts to commemorate her
husband's lifetime commitment to the written word. www.dchornfoundation.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YALE DRAMA SERIES AND SUBMISSIONS, VISIT
www.dchornfoundation.org

2011 SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED JUNE 1, 2010 TO AUGUST 15, 2010

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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