Primary Stages Announces Virtual Celebration of 25 Years of The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group

PRIMARY STAGES announced today that they will hold a digital celebration for the 25th Anniversary of The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group on Thursday May 20, 2021 at 5pm ET. The evening will also celebrate Noelle Viñas, the recipient of the 2021 Jeffry Melnick Award.

"Noelle Viñas is a truly singular artist. Her work is at once personal and deeply imaginative, delving into the evocative space in between realities," said Primary Stages Associate Artistic Director Erin Daley. "She boldly explores provocative themes like religion, politics, and identity with a grounded empathy and creative theatricality. We are thrilled to be able to honor her with this award and hope that it makes more people aware of this extraordinary playwright."

In 2015, Jeffry Melnick worked with Primary Stages to set up an annual playwriting award for an exceptional playwright who has yet to have had a major production. Jeffry believed that talent often goes unrecognized and wanted to honor those whose work so often goes under the radar.

For this year's award, Primary Stages reached out to a slate of artists from across the field to submit nominations. This year's nominators were Inda Craig-Galván, Susan Soon He Stanton, and the Latinx Playwrights Circle (Guadlís del Carmen and Oscar A.L. Cabrera, Artistic Directors). The other finalists for this award were Lena Barnard, J. Nicole Brooks, and Andrew Rincón. Oscar A. L. Cabrera and Guadalís Del Carmen will present this year's award.

In addition to celebrating Noelle Viñas, the evening will feature a retrospective look back at 25 years of The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, highlighting some Group Members' favorite memories, plays they've written, and their advice to up-and-coming writers; a panel discussion including shared snippets of new plays with past and present Group Members featuring Joshua Allen ("Empire," "Hostages," The Last Pair of Earlies), Bekah Brunstetter ("This Is Us," The Cake at MTC) , Elizabeth Irwin (My Mañana Comes, current Writers Group Member), and Matthew Paul Olmos (so go the ghosts of méxico); and other surprise announcements with special guest Theresa Rebeck.

To register for the event, email SpecialEvents@PrimaryStages.org.