James Anthony Tyler News

The New Black Fest and The Lark, two theater organizations dedicated to celebrating and advocating for stories that explore the intersection of art and social justice, are proud to announce the fifth annual The New Black Fest at The Lark. This week-long event is aimed at showcasing diverse and provocative work in a festival of Black theater artists from throughout the Diaspora, and will feature talkbacks, a panel event, and staged readings of four plays-in-progress. The festival will take place April 9-13, 2018, and will include works by 2017 Djerassi Writer in Residence France-Luce Benson (Deux Femmes On the Edge De La Revolution), 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award recipient Donja R. Love (soft), 2015 Princess Grace Award-Winner Jonathan Payne (Brother Rabbit), and artist, activist, and The New Black Fest alum Liza Jessie Peterson (Sistergurls and the Squirrel) who has performed excerpts of her one-person play The Peculiar Patriot in over 35 penitentiaries across the country.

Tony Award winner Billy Crudup begins performances tomorrow in the Vineyard Theatre production of Harry Clarke, produced by Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment. Harry Clarke is written by Obie Award winner David Cale (Lillian) and directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet).

On the heels of a sold out, twice-extended world premiere produced by Vineyard Theatre in association with Audible, Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, is pleased to announce that Tony Award winner Billy Crudup will return to the title role in Harry Clarke, written by Obie Award winner David Cale (Lillian) and directed by Leigh Silverman (Violet).

Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.

Just last night, the Tony Award-winning and acclaimed Williamstown Theatre Festival celebrated its annual gala, honoring Gary Levine, President of Programming at Showtime® and Former Managing Director at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield has announced the Williamstown Theatre Festival 2018 Summer Season, the 64th Season for the Tony® Award-winning theatre company, which will include three world premiere plays, a world premiere musical, and much more.

The Dramatists Guild of America is proud to announce they will present the 2018 Horton Foote Playwriting Award to playwright James Anthony Tyler at the Dramatists Guild's awards presentations in 2018. This year's award finalist is Fernanda Coppel. The Richenthal Foundation is again sponsoring the award.

59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to present the NYC premiere of SOME OLD BLACK MAN, written byJames Anthony Tyler and directed Joe Cacaci. Produced by Berkshire Playwrights Lab, SOME OLD BLACK MAN begins performances on Thursday, February 8 for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 4.

Now in its ninth season, the Obie Award winning The Fire This Time Festival has commissioned six playwrights to write new 10-minute plays for the 2018 festival, which will run January 15-28, 2018 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).

The Obie Award winning The Fire This Time Festival welcomes four new playwrights to the third cycle of their New Works Lab, which was created to help playwrights of African and African American descent develop new full-length projects over an eight month period, which will culminate in public readings in Spring 2018.

"My first supervisor was a African girl named Ann, and she had the nerve to tell me that I don't have a right to call myself African American. I had to tell that heffa just because your people sold my people doesn't mean I don't got African roots."

The Taft State Hospital for 'insane negroes,' an Iranian-American professor who is falsely identified as a terrorist, the pressures of climate change and economic survival in a small Australian coastal town, a complex look at race and love in war-time, a family business suffering from a neighborhood's crack epidemic, and a couple navigating a blizzard, a dead son, and a half-decorated Christmas tree will all be explored this summer atPlayPenn's annual new play conference.

Finborough Theatre's Summer Season features two premieres of vibrant new writing and two unique rediscoveries. The two new plays - Continuity by new Northern Irish playwright Gerry Moynihan and the European premiere of Dolphins and Sharks from new African-American playwright James Anthony Tyler - were both originally seen as staged readings as part of Vibrant 2016 - A Festival of Finborough Playwrights.

The New York premiere of Martin Zimmerman's Seven Spots On The Sun, directed by Weyni Mengesha, presented by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in collaboration with The Sol Project, celebrated its opening night on May 10. Attendees included Ethan Lipton, Leigh Silverman and Keith Randolph Smith. The opening night party and celebration took place at Macondo West (2 Bank St.), and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

The Playwrights' Center today announced the 2017-18 Jerome Fellows, Many Voices Fellows and Many Voices Mentee.

The Taft State Hospital for 'insane negroes,' an Iranian-American professor who is falsely identified as a terrorist, the pressures of climate change and economic survival in a small Australian coastal town, a complex look at race and love in war-time, a family business suffering from a neighborhood's crack epidemic, and a couple navigating a blizzard, a dead son, and a half-decorated Christmas tree will all be explored this summer atPlayPenn's annual new play conference.

SPACE on Ryder Farm, a non-profit artist residency program located on Ryder Farm, an idyllic 221 year-old working organic farm in Brewster, NY, announces its lineup for the 2017 Working Farm Reading Series to be held at Playwrights Horizons in New York City April 3-7, 2017. All readings are free, and farm-fresh bites inspired by the plays and prepared by SPACE chefs will be served at each reading.

Labyrinth Theater Company presents the world premiere of the witty and socially poignant production of Dolphins and Sharks by upcoming playwright James Anthony Tyler. The production, which marks Tyler's professional debut, is scheduled for February 9 - March 19 and is directed by Charlotte Brathwaite.