Advance Gender Equity Legacy Playwright $10K Grant Recipients Announced for 2026

Advance Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE) has announced Beth Piatote, D.L. Patrick, and Minita Gandhi as the recipients of the annual AGE Legacy Playwright (ALP) grants. Piatote worked recently as a theatremaker in AGE's home city of Portland, and is joined by Patrick, a native of Detroit, and Gandhi who is based in Los Angeles. The ALP grant program annually awards three recipients each with a $10,000 unrestricted grant.

The ALP awards were created in 2022 by AGE Founder Jane Vogel Mantiri to invest in emerging writers who have historically been underrepresented and underserved because of their gender, race, and age. Andréa Morales, AGE's Program Director, has curated and grown these awards, which are in their fifth year. The deNovo Initiative, a private foundation, underwrites the awards to further their mission supporting storytellers who challenge our values, opinions, and beliefs. AGE has awarded over $200,000 to ALP recipients and finalists over its five annual cycles. The ALP process begins in March when AGE invites emerging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) playwrights of marginalized gender* over age 40 to apply. As with past cycles, AGE closed the submission portal early after receiving a record number of applications, which speaks to the urgent need for this program.

Piatote, Patrick, and Gandhi are mature, experienced, theatremakers who have received many accolades, but for whom more than one professional production of their work has been elusive. Gandhi notes, “our industry has been hit so hard and many new work development hubs have shut down. So, what was already challenging to access… feels even more difficult to achieve.” Patrick seconds this, noting “this grant would give me time. Time to write. And re-write. And research… I recently had to go back to working a full-time job that is not theatre-related. This job makes it difficult for me to write for as long as I want, and I need to write if my work is to continue to progress, and my body of work to grow.” Piatote looks forward to being “more deeply connected to other theater makers… an ALP grant would assist me in circulating the play among actors, directors, and dramaturgs to support the development of the play; and overall support my development as a writer.”

AGE will amplify the grant recipients and finalists via newsletters and social media platforms. “What a joy it is each year to learn about, explore, and fall in love with these playwrights' work. I cannot wait to share their stories with Portland communities and beyond. These plays are needed now more than ever.” says Morales. Mantiri, a former child trauma psychologist and professional actor, explains that these unrestricted grants are “respecting our recipients' dignity and judgment. We are giving fully and freely, knowing that our recipients will make the world a better place. Together, we are doing something that seldom happens in a world still struggling to find pathways to equity.”

*AGE uses the term 'marginalized gender' to refer to our community who experience marginalization due to their genders. This includes cisgender women, transgender women, transgender men, and non-binary people, among many other marginalized gender identities.

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