Novid Parsi To Receive National Theatre Conference’s Barrie And Bernice Stavis Playwright Award

The National Theatre Conference (NTC) will honor playwright Novid Parsi with the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, supported by Jean Bruce Scott, during its annual meeting in January 2026 in New York City. The award includes an honorarium of $2,000 and recognizes an outstanding emerging playwright each year.

Parsi’s play The Life You Gave Me was unanimously chosen by NTC’s Stavis Committee, which praised his bold and distinctive voice. A reading of the play, directed by Janet Hayatshahi, will be presented to NTC members and invited guests, followed by a moderated discussion of Parsi’s work and career.

Three other plays were named finalists for the award: The American Five by Chess Jakobs, Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia by Beth Hyland, and Plantation Black by Phaedra Michelle Scott.

In The Life You Gave Me, a son tries to save his mother—though she has other ideas, as do two mysterious strangers who compel him to retell the story until he finds what “right” truly means. Benjamin Burdick, Producing Artistic Director of Boise Contemporary Theater, who nominated Parsi, described the play as “rooted in the truth and specificity of an Iranian writer attempting to pay honest tribute to his mother. It contains a universal joy and a universal sorrow that is inherent in a parent–child relationship.”

“We are so excited for the opportunity to share this unique, dynamic piece with our membership during The National Theatre Conference,” said Risa Brainin, Chair of the Stavis Committee. “We know The Life You Gave Me is going to have a rich life in the American theatre.”

The Life You Gave Me premiered at Boise Contemporary Theater following development with Ashland New Plays Festival, BCT’s BIPOC Playwrights Festival, Illinois State University, The Road Theatre Company, and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. Parsi’s other plays have been developed or produced by Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Golden Thread Productions, The New Group, Playwrights Foundation, Queens Theatre, and Silk Road Rising, among others.

A MacDowell Fellow and two-time winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, Parsi is also a recipient of the Crossroads Project’s Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, a Relentless Award honorable mention, and a Jeff Award nominee for Best New Work. Born in New York and raised in Texas, he is the son of Iranian immigrants and holds literature degrees from Swarthmore College and Duke University. He lives in St. Louis with his husband.

Director Janet Hayatshahi, who will helm the January reading, is an Iranian-American theatre-maker based in Seattle. An Assistant Professor of Theatre at Seattle University, she has directed for companies including Seattle Shakespeare Company, Moxie Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, and Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company, and has served as Associate Artistic Director of Sledgehammer Theatre.

Founded in 1925, The National Theatre Conference brings together theatre professionals from across the country each year to discuss current issues and celebrate achievement in the American theatre. Since 1988, NTC has presented the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award to honor emerging writers, with past recipients including Sanaz Toossi, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Dominique Morisseau, Naomi Iizuka, Nilo Cruz, Theresa Rebeck, and Octavio Solis.

For more information, visit nationaltheatreconference.org.