2016 Dramatists Guild Fund Fellows to Present New Work at Playwrights Horizons

The Dramatists Guild Fund will host Annual Presentation of New Work by DG Fellows at Playwrights Horizons in New York on September 19, 2016 at 7:00 PM.

Hosted by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty, co-founders of the Fellows Program, the Presentation features excerpts from work by the 2015-2016 class including France-Luce Benson, EllaRose Chary, Tim Duncheon, Greg Edwards, Ben Green, Rachel Griffin, Brandon James Gwinn, Sylvia Khoury, Daniel Lazour, Patrick Lazour, Jerome A. Parker, Jonathan Payne, and Stacey Rose.

The Presentation will include the inaugural Thom Thomas Award given to a dramatist demonstrating outstanding talent and financial need. The $10,000 Award established by Iris Rainer Dart and Helen Lee Henderson on behalf of the late Thom Thomas (Beaches, The Musical; A Moon To Dance By) will be awarded annually to a selected dramatist from the Fellows Program alumni.

Work presented on September 19th has been developed over the past year under the tutelage of Michael Korie, Laurence O'Keefe, Diana Son, and Sheri Wilner as part of the Fellows Program.

Directed by Laura Brandel and Music Direction by Aron Accurso, the Presentation of work by DG Fellows will have performances by Jason Veasey, Zhailon Levingston, Alaska Day, Charlie Pollock, Amy Jo Jackson, Marcus Stevens, Christina Sajous, Samia Mounts, Rasha Zamamiri, Kate McGoingle, Chantal Jean-Pierre, Andy Lucien, Joe Medeiros, Charlie Pollock, Ugo Chukwu, Sheria Irving, Marjan Neshat, Hannah Elless, Remy Zaken, Babak Tafti, among others.

Presentation is by invitation only. Register your email address by contacting the Dramatists Guild Fund at rsvp@dgfund.org or 212-391-8384 to receive your invitation.

The Fellows Program is a nine-month intensive designed to train the next generation of American Playwrights and musical theater writers. Theater writers selected for the program meet with Program Chairs, guest artists, and industry professionals twice a month for feedback on their works in progress. Fellows also have regular sessions with experienced dramatists for one-on-one mentoring and, when possible, are offered internships or observerships with dramatists involved in professional productions.

Former Fellows include Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Academy Award winner, Frozen), Rajiv Joseph (Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Tony nominees for Best Score, A Christmas Story), Deborah Zoe Laufer (ATCA Steinberg Award, End Days), Masi Asare (inaugural Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award), and Adam Gwon (Fred Ebb and Richard Rodgers Award winner).

For more information on the Fellows Program, visit dgfund.org/programs/#fellows.