Tennessee Rep Announces 2010-11 New Works Fellowship Recipient

Tennessee Repertory Theatre has announced John Patrick Shanley as the recipient of its Ingram New Works Fellowship. Shanley won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Play for Doubt. He also wrote and directed the movie adaptation of Doubt. Earlier in his career, Shanley received the 1987 Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Moonstruck.

The Martha R. Ingram New Works Fellowship was created by Tennessee Rep co-founder Martha R. Ingram to provide an opportunity for theatre artists to develop new theatre works while in residency with Tennessee Rep. Past recipients include David Alford (Clara's Hands), Victoria Stewart (Rich Girl), and David Auburn (The Columnist).

Currently in its fourth year, the program has evolved to include a New Works Playwrighting Lab for local playwrights who will be mentored by John Patrick Shanley. The Lab offers these playwrights the opportunity not only to receive feedback but also to hear their works read by professional actors during the writing process. The New Works Fellowship and Playwrighting Lab culminate with staged readings at the Ingram New Works Festival.

"The Ingram Charitable Fund is thrilled to make this opportunity available in support of new works for the theatre," says Ingram. "New work is the life force of every art form. We have no better example than William Shakespeare who, after all, created nothing but new work. And the same can be said for Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, George Bernard Shaw, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and the list goes on.

"As Tennessee Repertory Theatre continues to be a leading regional theatre, it is thrilling to see the company collaborate with nationally-recognized playwrights such as David Auburn and John Patrick Shanley as well as foster the development of local playwrights through the New Works Lab that culminates with the New Works Festival. I am confident that this collaboration will not only have positive contributions to the Nashville theatre community, but also the American theatre landscape as a whole."

Shanley has written more than twenty plays, including Doubt and Defiance. He has also written screen plays for several motion pictures (Moonstruck, Joe Versus the Volcano, Congo, and Doubt, among others) and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries for Live from Baghdad in 2002.

"I could not be more excited to welcome John Patrick Shanley as Tennessee Rep's Ingram New Works Fellow for the upcoming season," says Producing Artistic Director René D. Copeland. "Directing Doubt was a professional highlight for me, so the prospect of getting to direct the staged reading of his new play that will debut at the Festival in June thrills me beyond words. But I am equally thrilled to have Shanley mentoring the members of the Playwrighting Lab. What a privilege for our local playwrights to get to work with someone of his talent and reputation! To have Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winners in back-to-back years speaks volumes to the vibrancy of our New Works Program, and I am elated that Tennessee Rep is in a position to share these new plays with Middle Tennessee and contribute in such a positive way to theatre on a regional and national level."

The Ingram New Works Festival is scheduled for June 1 - 11, 2011. The members of the Playwrighting Lab, whose works will also make debuts at the Festival, include Nate Eppler, Heidi Ervin, Joe Giordano, Shawn Knight, Mary McCallum, Christine Mather, and Lisa Soland.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.

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