FEAST! by Calamity West Named 2026 Laurents / Hatcher Award Winner

Trustees of the Laurents / Hatcher Foundation revealed that Feast!, a new play by acclaimed playwright Calamity West, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Laurents / Hatcher Award. The play will receive its world premiere at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. 

The Laurents / Hatcher Award includes a total prize of $150,000 — with $50,000 awarded directly to the playwright and $100,000 granted to the producing theater to support the play's production. One of the largest grants in the country dedicated to new theatrical work, the award is given annually to an un-produced, full-length play by an early-career American playwright. 

In addition, the Foundation announced two Citations of Excellence, each accompanied by a $25,000 award: Ryan Haddad for Good Time Charlie and Avery Deutch for Age of Mary. 

“Feast represents the kind of taut, socio-political writing that Arthur would have loved,” said Foundation President David Saint. “We are proud to support Calamity West and The Goodman Theatre on this highly charged theatrical debut.” 

“Receiving the Laurents Hatcher Foundation Award feels like entering into a dialogue that began long before I ever wrote a play,” said West. “Since my childhood, Arthur Laurents' work has deeply influenced and inspired me. West Side Story and Gypsy were the first to teach me that spectacle and social critique could share the same breath, while Rope and The Way We Were revealed how intimacy can carry enormous ideological weight and consequences. Both of these lessons have stuck with me from a very young age and were inherently guiding me through the development of Feast!. In a cultural moment where American authoritarianism can no longer be ignored, Feast! interrogates what we are prepared to normalize in exchange for belonging. I am profoundly honored to have this play recognized by a foundation rooted in Laurents' legacy, and am grateful for their commitment to ensuring that socially relevant new plays are not only celebrated, but produced.” 

Goodman Theatre will present the world premiere of Feast!, continuing its nearly century-long commitment to groundbreaking new work. 

“Calamity West has a vivid and wickedly incisive voice, and with Feast, she's written a wholly essential play,” said Goodman Theatre Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “It's a huge honor for The Goodman to be able to premiere this delicious provocation of a play.” 

About Calamity West 

Calamity West is an award-winning playwright and educator whose work has been developed, produced, and presented by leading institutions including The Goodman Theatre, Primary Stages, The Public Theater, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Roundabout Underground, the Lucille Lortel Theatre, the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and Jackalope Theatre Company. 

From 2022 to 2026, West is in residence at Primary Stages in New York as a member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group. During this residency, she has written FEAST! and Sgt. Hank Cole's Drama Club of Algona, both of which have received multiple staged readings and workshops in New York and Chicago. She will conclude her residency with Parallax (2026), a play examining community, power, and the fragile social order of HOAs. 

West teaches Writing for Performance at the University of Chicago, leading courses in Advanced Playwriting and New Play Development. She also teaches at Webster University, where she has led courses in playwriting and literature, as well as directed study mentorships. Additionally, West is a faculty member at the Einhorn School of Performing Arts at Primary Stages, where she teaches multi-level playwriting courses including Playwriting Fundamentals, First Draft Development, and Rewriting Your Draft. 

At the core of West's practice is a belief that bold theatre is essential in moments of political and social fracture. In an era shaped by the rise of global authoritarianism, she views theatre as a vital site of inquiry, dissent, and collective imagination. Her plays resist fear-driven narratives by insisting on complexity, moral tension, and human contradiction. For more information, visit calamitywest.com.