The New Harmony Project Celebrates 31 Years of New Play Development

THE 31ST ANNUAL NEW HARMONY PROJECT KICKS OFF MAY 23RD

GATHERING IN THE QUAINT TOWN OF NEW HARMONY, INDIANA TO SUPPORT AND ELEVATE THE WORK OF WRITERS THAT EXPLORE AND CELEBRATE THE HUMAN SPIRIT

The New Harmony Project, an annual two-week writer's conference in the secluded town of New Harmony, Indiana, runs from May 23 - June 3, 2017. Each spring since 1986, The New Harmony Project has brought together writers from around the country whose works sensitively and truthfully explore the positive aspects of life. This year, The Project is thrilled to welcome Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief at Center Theatre Group, upcoming world premiere of The Homecoming Queen at Atlantic Theater Company) and Kirk Lynn (Co-Artistic Director of Rude Mechs, Stop Hitting Yourself at LCT) as Writers in Full Development. Joining them as Writers in Residence are Mashuq Mushtaq Deen (Award-winning queer theater artist, and a resident playwright at New Dramatists), Sherry Kramer (What a Man Weighs at Second Stage, New York Drama League Award), Mat Smart (2015 Equity Jeff Award Winner for Best New Work in Chicago with Royal Society of Antarctica, Samuel J. and K. at Steppenwolf and Williamstown Theatre Festival), and Lynn Rosen (two-time recipient of the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan New Play Commission and a resident playwright at New Dramatists and Women's Project Theater).

Over the course of the conference, The New Harmony Project offers a retreat from the outside world, and space for writers to fully immerse themselves in their work. The peaceful serenity of New Harmony, the site of two former utopian societies, is a world away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Writers in Full Development are joined by a full cast and creative team, and spend the conference working on one specific project, hand-picked following a rigorous selection process that saw nearly 300 submissions this year! Writers in Residence are offered support to work on multiple projects, and afforded the freedom to dive deep into their personal process.

The New Harmony Project boasts an impressive roster of past participants including Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning writer Robert Schenkkan (All the Way, The Kentucky Cycle), Theresa Rebeck (NBC's Smash, Seminar), Lee Blessing (Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee, A Walk in the Woods), Steven Dietz (Lonely Planet), John Pielmeier (Agnes of God, The Exorcist), James Still (Four Time Pulitzer Prize Nominee, The Velocity of Gary), Meredith Stiehm (Emmy Winner, Homeland, Cold Case), Danny Strong (Two Time Emmy Winner, Empire, Lee Daniels' The Butler), Dan O'Brien (The Body of an American), George Brant (Grounded, Marie and Rosetta), Idris Goodwin (How We Got On, The Way The Mountain Moved), ReGina Taylor (Drowning Crow, Crowns), Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51, Actually), Jim Leonard (Major Crimes, Dexter), Mark St. Germain (Freud's Last Session, The Cosby Show), Angelo Pizzo (Rudy, Hoosiers), Matt Williams (Five Time Emmy Nominee, Home Improvement, Roseanne), David McFadzean (Three Time Emmy Nominee, Home Improvement, Roseanne), and numerous others.

The New Harmony Project culminates in the Writers Night Celebration on June 3, 2017 at the award-winning New Harmony Antheneum Visitor's Center. The event will begin at 5:00 pm (CDT) with wine and hors d'oeuvres, followed at 6:00 pm with a rehearsed reading of Kirk Lynn's My Heart Is a Library, Yours Is a Museum, and will conclude with sunset cocktails and a celebration of the 2017 company at 8:45pm. Throughout the evening, The New Harmony Project will be hosting a silent auction to support the continued success of the mission. Tickets are available for $125 ($85 tax deductible) at newharmonyproject.org.

In April of 1986, a group of theater, film, and television professionals gathered in Indianapolis to explore the trend in the entertainment arts toward exploitative and sensational material. They concluded there was a need to engage and support writers whose work sought a goal beyond mere entertainment, work that sought to empower and uplift. It was out of this meeting that The New Harmony Project was created. For 31 years, The Project has inspired a community of artists dedicated to this mission, motivated by a desire to support stories of hope, optimism, and the resiliency of the human spirit. The New Harmony Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For information on how to support this unique and worthwhile organization, please visit newharmonyproject.org, or follow us on social media.

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