Young Playwrights Inc News

En Garde Founder Anne Hamburger, a Pioneering Producer of Site-Specific Theater in New York, Returns with New Festival Challenging 26 Emerging Artists to Think Big

Colt Coeur Artistic Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt and Managing Director Amy Ashton announce the company's 6th season. The 2015-2016 season will include World Premieres by MJ Kaufman and William Francis Hoffman. While Colt Coeur spends the year developing plays and creating innovative initiatives, this is the first time they will be presenting a two-play season.

HAMILTON composer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alexander Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow will be honored on Monday, November 9, 2015, at the New-York Historical Society's 2015 History Makers Gala at Cipriani Wall Street.

 BALLOON BOY: THE MUSICAL, a new musical featuring book, music and lyrics by Billy Recce, will be presented in the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival Developmental Reading Series.

The Ojai Playwrights Conference (OPC), one of the most acclaimed new play developmental programs in the country, announces its 18th season with an extraordinary program of playwrights, new play workshops and special performance events from August 2 through 9, 2015 in Ojai, California.

The City of Philadelphia declared June 1st, Stephen Sondheim Day, when the legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim was presented Arden Theatre Company inaugural Master Storyteller Award. Below, watch as fellow composer Jason Robert Brown presents the award to him!

Teatro Vista announces that Jose Antonio Cruz has joined their ranks as its new Development/Managing Director. Cruz brings a wealth of experience after having spent 11 years as Associate Producer, Board Member and Treasurer for The Spanish Reportory Theater Company (Repertorio Español) in New York City. Teatro Vista, the vanguard of Latino theatre in the United States, was also honored by The Joyce Foundation with its prestigious three-year Spotlight Grant that awards the company $2.5 million over three years.

Kathy Evans, Founding Executive Director of Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, announced the 17 writers and 8 new musicals selected for the fifth summer of weeklong retreats. For eight consecutive weeks beginning July 5th, each writing team will have a residency in Rhinebeck, New York. Writers are provided a private home, transportation, food, and a $400 stipend. This year's writers include Obie winner Kirsten Childs, Tony nominee Elizabeth Davis, and 2015 Jonathan Larson award-winners Charlie Sohne, Tim Rosser, and Sam Willmott, who also just won the Kleban Prize. 

Mayor de Blasio today appointed Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daryl Roth and reappointed George C. Wolfe to the Theater Subdistrict Council. As members of the Theater Subdistrict Council, they will be responsible for administering the Theater Subdistrict Fund and allocating grants with the goal of promoting the production of new theater work, developing new audiences, and showcasing Broadway's role in the history of American theater. Through its grants, the TSC has supported 37 theater education, audience development and accessibility programs as well as new theatrical works. From providing startup funds for new programs to enhancing or expanding existing programs of great impact, the TSC has recognized innovation and excellence in New York City theater.

Acording to the Chicago Tribune, theatre legend Stephen Sondheim will receive Chicago Public Library Foundation's 16th Carl Sandburg Award. As a part of the ceremony on October 21, 2015, Sondheim will be interviewed onstage by Scott Simon of NPR. The Carl Sandburg Literary Award is presented annually to an acclaimed author in recognition of outstanding contributions to the literary world and honors a significant work or body of work that has enhanced the public's awareness of the written word. The Carl Sandburg Award in the Arts is presented to an individual who embodies a spirit of creativity and social consciousness.

On March 22, musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim will celebrate his 85th birthday, and Buzzfeed has reached out to some of Broadway's finest to find out why they love his work. Barbra Streisand said:

PAGE 73 has awarded Nick Gandiello the 2015 P73 Playwriting Fellowship. Gandiello, who was selected from more than 450 applicants, will receive the company's top prize, which includes a $10,000 award and additional $10,000 budgeted for developing several new plays over the course of the year. Page 73 will also produce at least one public workshop for Gandiello this year.

'Oceanside' by Nick Gandiello will have its world premiere production at Merrimack Repertory Theatre under the direction of Melia Bensussen this winter. The production marks the first full-length professional production for Gandiello, an up-and-coming playwright whose work has received considerable national attention from playwriting conferences and workshops.

"Oceanside" by Nick Gandiello will have its world premiere production at Merrimack Repertory Theatre under the direction of Melia Bensussen this winter. The production marks the first full-length professional production for Gandiello, an up-and-coming playwright whose work has received considerable national attention from playwriting conferences and workshops.

the side project's historic 15th season will begin in November with a haunting two-show repertory in the spirit of the fall season. The plays, by local playwright Scott T. Barsotti and NY-based Mary Hamilton, will be helmed by Devon de Mayo and Josh Sobel, respectively -- two first-time collaborators for the side project who have gained attention in recent months as directors to watch.

the side project's historic 15th season will begin in November with a haunting two-show repertory in the spirit of the fall season. The plays, by local playwright Scott T. Barsotti and NY-based Mary Hamilton, will be helmed by Devon de Mayo and Josh Sobel, respectively -- two first-time collaborators for the side project who have gained attention in recent months as directors to watch.

According to Variety, London theatre critic David Benedict will soon pen a new Stephen Sondheim biography for Random House, titled: "How Did It Happen: The Life and Career of Stephen Sondheim." The book will include interviews withe the man himself, as well as information gathered from his frequent collaborators. Random House expects Benedict's first daft by December 2017.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) has announced the 2014-2015 Committee for the Joe A. Callaway Award, the only peer-given award for excellence in direction and choreography. The Committee, which will oversee the award for the theatre season, is Sue Lawless, William Martin, Barry McNabb, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Linda Burson, Jonathan Cerullo, Edie Cowan, Clinton Turner Davis, John Going, Richard Hamburger, Bruce Heath, Michael Montel, DJ Salisbury, and Amy Saltz. Sue Lawless will serve as Committee Chair.

After the dust settled from a January 2 deadline and the paper-cuts healed from over six hundred plays received from writers aged 18 or younger, eight playwrights have been named winners of the 2014 Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition.