NJ Agwuna News

Mabou Mines will present a 50th Anniversary Celebration of Work, reaching back into the company’s brimming five-decade history of innovative theater as a launchpad into the next 50 years (June 23–25; beginning 5pm June 23; 5pm–11 pm June 24; and 12pm–11pm June 25).

On Friday, May 20, 2022, one hour before the Drama League Awards, Board President Bonnie Comley, Kirk Iwanowski, Mary Jain, and the Board Hosted a VIP Reception at the Drama League Awards right next to the Ziegfeld Ballroom. While the Drama League Distinguished Performance nominees were lining up for the dais, a cocktail party was in full swing in the adjacent ballroom.

The stage directors receiving the fellowships, assistantships and residencies of the 2022 Drama League Directors Project: NJ Agwuna, Jean Carlo Yunén Aróstegui, Jennifer Chang, Andrew Coopman, Justin Emeka, Nadia Guevara, Emily Hartford, Susanna Jaramillo, Ibi Owolabi, Logan Gabrielle Schulman, Noam Shapiro, Jessica Natalie Smith, and Kendra Ware.

Taylor A. Blackman's new play Riverside Drive, directed by recent Barbara Whitman award recipient NJ Agwuna (Clyde's on Broadway), Riverside Drive will receive Industry Readings on May 3rd, 2022 at 11AM & 2PM.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced the recipient and four finalists for the 2022 Barbara Whitman Award.

Barrington Stage Company has announced casting for the first two shows of its 2022 season: the 1978 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Show, and the world premiere play, Andy Warhol in Iran by Brent Askari (BSC’s American Underground) which opens the St. Germain Stage from June 2-25.

Just last night, BroadwayWorld was on hand at the season two launch party of Survival Jobs: A Podcast where co-hosts Samantha Tuozzolo and Jason A. Coombs mingled and celebrated with friends including past, present and future guests at the Broadway hotspot Glass House Tavern in midtown Manhattan.

Barrington Stage Company will produce a 2022 season that will feature two Tony Award-winning musicals, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, four world premieres and one of the true absurdist masterpieces of 20th century theatre.

This month, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

The Playwrights Realm, in partnership with law firm Dyer Harris LLP, announces playwright and performer Nkenna Akunna; costume designer Dina El-Aziz; actor and writer Isra Elsalihie; playwright, director, and scenographer Abhishek Majumdar; and composer Tidtaya Sinutoke (ฑิตยา สินุธก) as the recipients of the 2021 International Theatermakers Award (ITA).

This new initiative allows Professional Company Members to receive up to $10,000 to subsidize as much as 50 percent of the fee of a woman stage director or conductor who is contracted for the first time by the company.

The Glimmerglass Festival, the summer opera and musical theater festival in Cooperstown, New York, has announced plans for the summer of 2021 in the wake of its 2020 season cancelation due to COVID-19. The 2021 season will run July 15 through August 17.

Every winter JAG Productions invites 30-50 artists to the snowy mountains of Vermont to develop full-length plays at their new works festival of Black Theatre, JAGfest. They put up 5 companies of early-career theatre-makers in cozy dwellings for one week to support the development of audacious and alluring works that illuminate black life and black aesthetics.

Urban Stages has announced a February virtual production, THE HEROES AND VILLAINS MONOLOGUES, streaming February 5- 12, 2021 at urbanstages.org. Creative Consultant Bara Swain serves as the project's producer with Kim T. Sharp as the production manager. 

For the first time in its 19-year history, ABC Talent and Casting will present its annual ABC Discovers: Talent Showcases virtually, as part of the company’s legacy and commitment to create powerful opportunities to discover, nurture, and recognize talent.

On July 8, 2020 at 7 pm EST, TheaterWorksUSA will host a free virtual community event for the entire family entitled Telling Our Stories and Talking About Race. The evening will include the reading of two short plays from the five play series 'Free Play: Open Source Scripts Toward an Antiracist Tomorrow' by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest,  the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing.  The festival series that began January 10, 2020 continues with an evening of short plays with The Lover  by Harold Pinter, directed by NJ Agwuna,  and Appearances by Tina Howe, directed by Lindsey Hope Pearlman.  

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) presents the 36th annual Directorfest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Directorfest began January 10 and concludes on February 4, 2020 at various locations around NYC: The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). For festival details and tickets, visit directorfest.org or call (212) 244-9494 x102. Industry/Theatre Professionals may request tickets by emailingDirectorFest@dramaleague.org.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. The festival series that began January 10, 2020 continues with an with The Lover by Marcus Gardley, by Harold Pinter, directed by NJ Agwuna, and Appearances by Tina Howe, directed by Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly. The limited engagement begins Friday, January 31, 2020 at 7:30pm for three performances through February 1, 2020 at The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street). Tickets are priced at $45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members.

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) will present the 36th annual *DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing.