Dramatists Guild Foundation Awards Zeniba Now With 2023 Thom Thomas Award

The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) has announced multifaceted artist Zeniba Now as the recipient of the 2023 Thom Thomas Award, given annually to an alumnus of the DGF Fellows program who demonstrates great artistic skill. 

Since 2016, DGF has awarded the Thom Thomas Award to commemorate playwright Thom Thomas' endless passion for nurturing the next generation of dramatists and his appreciation of DGF's support of writers. The Award grants the recipient $10,000 to use towards livelihood expenses, project expenses, travel expenses – anything that will support their ability to create their best work.

“Winning this award is an utter delight and a deeply meaningful shift toward prosperity for me. Being a former DGF Fellow, I truly know how marvelously talented the pool of applicants is and I am honored to be this year's selection. Generous gifts, prizes, and awards are the foundation of my artistic sustainability and I am touched that my work connected with the panelists,” Zeniba said. 

Zeniba Now is a musical storyteller and artscientist from Los Angeles, CA. Her work aims to inspire magic and possibility in human consciousness. Millions of people have enjoyed her performances online and on stage. As a writer, her work includes the shorts: “Beloved” (PBS, #BARS at The Public), “To Be on Hold Forever” in HUMAN RESOURCES (St. Louis Rep, Woolly Mammoth), “The Nap Anthem,” and full lengths: THE LOOPHOLE (The Public Theater) and TAKE THE LEAD (forthcoming). Her one-woman specials “iQuit: Millennial Retirement Gala” and “Sincerely, Z” can be seen on TikTok and Youtube. In addition to the 2023 Thom Thomas Award, she is the winner of the 2020 Richard Rodgers Award, 2021 Vivace Award, 2021 Jonathan Larson Grant, a Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellow, a 2023 MTF Maker, an Independent Film School Lab member, an Alumni Residency Writer for #BARS at The Public, and West High's Funniest Senior. Her music can be heard on the streaming service of your choice, and her videos are available on Youtube or Tiktok.

The Thom Thomas Award is made possible through the generous support of Thomas' longtime friends and colleagues Iris Rainer Dart and Helen Lee Henderson. 

“Thom was a thoughtful, gifted man and writer and my close friend for sixty years,” Rainer Dart said. “I am proud to have been one of the founders of this award and moved by the legacy he left behind. Thom wanted to give young writers the breathing room and the time to create. Thanks to this award, they will have some measure of both.”

Past recipients are: Avi Amon (2021); Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Julia Meinwald, Benjamin Velez (2020); Riti Sachdeva (2019); Stefanie Zadravec (2018); Sylvan Oswald (2017); and Chisa Hutchinson (2016).  

For more information about the Thom Thomas Award, the DGF Fellows program, and how to support dramatists throughout their careers, visit https://dgf.org. 

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