NYCPlaywrights November 15, 2025
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NYCPlaywrights
Nov 15, 2025, 5:19:44 PM (6 days ago) Nov 15
to NYCPlaywrights
Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
THE RULES
by Domenick Scudera
A sharp, funny, and heartfelt drama about two estranged brothers-one a Long Island mechanic, the other a successful drag performer-reunited for their mother’s funeral. Their car ride home becomes a reckoning with tradition, masculinity, and unconditional love. The reading is directed by Emma Denson
The Italian American Playwrights Series aims to spotlight authentic Italian American voices and stories that reflect the diverse experiences, heritage, and cultural intersections of the Italian American community. Five selected plays are given a public reading at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU and at the Calandra Institute for Italian American Studies.
25 West 43rd Street
Dec 1 from 6pm to 8pm EST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-italian-american-playwrights-series-part-2-tickets-1969833631418?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Robert J. Pickering / J.R. Colbeck Award for Playwriting Excellence 2026
This annual award was established to honor past member and playwright, Bob Pickering, and to provide a vehicle for playwrights to see their works produced. In 2020, the award was renamed to also honor longtime BCCT member and Pickering director, J.R. Colbeck. $200 is awarded for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
***
Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Application - Cycle 4
As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the initiative is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.
***
Grosse Pointe Theatre announces their 13th Annual Ten Minute Play Festival in early May 2026. Ten-minute scripts for consideration will be accepted up to the deadline of midnight, November 30, 2025.
The theme for 2026 is The Waiting Room. Each play should center around some type of waiting area or room and the interactions of people who must spend time in that usually uncomfortable situation. Plays that do not involve a waiting room situation will be disqualified without notice.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** PLAYWRIGHTS PRIZES ***
In 2017, the Pulitzer Prizes will mark the beginning of their second century of giving prizes for Letters, Drama, and Music. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was one of seven original Pulitzers established in 1917. During its 99-year history, the dramatic prize has been awarded 84 times, leaving 15 years when no theatrical piece received the award. It’s purpose is the recognize the best theatrical stage work produced in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year.
Originally, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama conformed to the Broadway season, and plays produced from March 2 or one year through to March 1 of the next were considered. But in 2007, the eligibility period was changed from January 1 through December 31.
When the prize was first established only plays produced in New York were considered. However, that changed in 1992 when The Kentucky Cycle by Robert Schenkkan was chosen to receive the award prior to playing New York. Since that time, a large number of prize-winners have been chosen after receiving a production outside of New York and before ever coming to The Great White Way or Off-Broadway. This change recognized a shift in American playwriting that had occurred years before when new play development and production shifted from Broadway to the regional theatres of America.
More...
https://broadwayscene.com/the-pulitzer-prize-for-drama-a-winning-american-tradition-for-close-to-100-year/
***
Started in 2003 to support the development of emerging theatre practitioners engaged in 'bold, challenging and innovative performance', each year the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award supports a company or individual to create a show either for the Barbican's Pit Theatre, or a site-responsive, non-traditional show taking place in East London.
The Award is open to artists from any discipline of performance, but applicants have to be long-term normal residents of the UK or Ireland (3 years or more) with production experience of at least two or three fringe, or similar scale, productions in either the UK or Ireland. Well-established companies (with significant or large-scale production history and/or RFO funding) are ineligible, as are students in full-time education. Proposals must also be for new projects with no production history.
More...
http://sideshow-circusmagazine.com/research/funding-sources/oxford-samuel-beckett-theatre-trust-award
***
Since 1947, the Tony Awards have recognized an array of remarkable shows with the coveted title of Best Play. From timeless classics like Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to modern-day masters such as Alan Bennett’s The History Boys and Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse. Through their captivating narratives and spellbinding performances, the plays remind us why the Tonys have a knack for recognizing the timeless magic that leaves audiences longing for an encore.
More...
https://deadline.com/gallery/best-tony-award-winning-plays-shows/206_purpose_broadway_production_photos_2025_hr_final_credit_marc_j_franklin/
***
Tonight the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize announced that the 2025 award has been given to U.S. playwright a.k. payne for their play Furlough’s Paradise. Awarded annually since 1978, the prestigious international Prize is the largest and oldest award recognizing women+ who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. Selected from a cohort of eight finalists, payne has received a cash prize of $25,000 and a signed print by renowned artist Willem de Kooning, created especially for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Said payne in a statement, “I am so grateful to receive this award and join a list of some of my favorite writers whose plays have shaken how I understand the world and who have made it possible—through their words transcending space and time and/or their caring and abundant mentorship—for me to write: Katori Hall, Julia Cho, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Benedict Lombe, and Paula Vogel, to name a very select few.”
“At this moment in our history as a country, and as a Prize which honors women, trans and non-binary writers, we must acknowledge the very real threats that are being aimed at our hard-won freedoms,” said Blackburn Prize executive director Leslie Swackhamer in a statement. “We must remind ourselves of the power of our voices, and the special magic we create when we lift them at the theatre. Every voice on our stage tonight deserves to be honored, celebrated and heard.”
More...
https://www.americantheatre.org/2025/03/10/a-k-paynes-furloughs-paradise-wins-susan-smith-blackburn-prize/
***
The 61st annual PEN America Literary Awards were held May 8 at the Town Hall in midtown Manhattan, awarding nearly $350,000 in prizes to writers, editors, and translators at a ceremony hosted by broadcast journalist and television personality Tamron Hall. The event marked the return of one of the country’s largest literary awards programs following the cancelation of last year’s event and a number of awards, after a number of writers withdrew their books from consideration as part of a boycott over the organization's response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
At the outset of the ceremony, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, interim CEO of PEN America, took the stage to address the elephant in the room, if somewhat obliquely. “I want to acknowledge what happened last year,” she said. “It was a loss, a loss that we feel deeply.” She noted that the honorees and judges from last year’s prizes were currently in attendance: “Your work your voices and your presence here tonight in this gathering is essential, and we thank you.”
More...
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/97733-pen-america-literary-awards-return-after-a-tumultuous-year.html
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
THE RULES
by Domenick Scudera
A sharp, funny, and heartfelt drama about two estranged brothers-one a Long Island mechanic, the other a successful drag performer-reunited for their mother’s funeral. Their car ride home becomes a reckoning with tradition, masculinity, and unconditional love. The reading is directed by Emma Denson
The Italian American Playwrights Series aims to spotlight authentic Italian American voices and stories that reflect the diverse experiences, heritage, and cultural intersections of the Italian American community. Five selected plays are given a public reading at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU and at the Calandra Institute for Italian American Studies.
25 West 43rd Street
Dec 1 from 6pm to 8pm EST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-italian-american-playwrights-series-part-2-tickets-1969833631418?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The Robert J. Pickering / J.R. Colbeck Award for Playwriting Excellence 2026
This annual award was established to honor past member and playwright, Bob Pickering, and to provide a vehicle for playwrights to see their works produced. In 2020, the award was renamed to also honor longtime BCCT member and Pickering director, J.R. Colbeck. $200 is awarded for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
***
Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Application - Cycle 4
As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the initiative is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.
***
Grosse Pointe Theatre announces their 13th Annual Ten Minute Play Festival in early May 2026. Ten-minute scripts for consideration will be accepted up to the deadline of midnight, November 30, 2025.
The theme for 2026 is The Waiting Room. Each play should center around some type of waiting area or room and the interactions of people who must spend time in that usually uncomfortable situation. Plays that do not involve a waiting room situation will be disqualified without notice.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** PLAYWRIGHTS PRIZES ***
In 2017, the Pulitzer Prizes will mark the beginning of their second century of giving prizes for Letters, Drama, and Music. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was one of seven original Pulitzers established in 1917. During its 99-year history, the dramatic prize has been awarded 84 times, leaving 15 years when no theatrical piece received the award. It’s purpose is the recognize the best theatrical stage work produced in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year.
Originally, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama conformed to the Broadway season, and plays produced from March 2 or one year through to March 1 of the next were considered. But in 2007, the eligibility period was changed from January 1 through December 31.
When the prize was first established only plays produced in New York were considered. However, that changed in 1992 when The Kentucky Cycle by Robert Schenkkan was chosen to receive the award prior to playing New York. Since that time, a large number of prize-winners have been chosen after receiving a production outside of New York and before ever coming to The Great White Way or Off-Broadway. This change recognized a shift in American playwriting that had occurred years before when new play development and production shifted from Broadway to the regional theatres of America.
More...
https://broadwayscene.com/the-pulitzer-prize-for-drama-a-winning-american-tradition-for-close-to-100-year/
***
Started in 2003 to support the development of emerging theatre practitioners engaged in 'bold, challenging and innovative performance', each year the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award supports a company or individual to create a show either for the Barbican's Pit Theatre, or a site-responsive, non-traditional show taking place in East London.
The Award is open to artists from any discipline of performance, but applicants have to be long-term normal residents of the UK or Ireland (3 years or more) with production experience of at least two or three fringe, or similar scale, productions in either the UK or Ireland. Well-established companies (with significant or large-scale production history and/or RFO funding) are ineligible, as are students in full-time education. Proposals must also be for new projects with no production history.
More...
http://sideshow-circusmagazine.com/research/funding-sources/oxford-samuel-beckett-theatre-trust-award
***
Since 1947, the Tony Awards have recognized an array of remarkable shows with the coveted title of Best Play. From timeless classics like Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to modern-day masters such as Alan Bennett’s The History Boys and Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse. Through their captivating narratives and spellbinding performances, the plays remind us why the Tonys have a knack for recognizing the timeless magic that leaves audiences longing for an encore.
More...
https://deadline.com/gallery/best-tony-award-winning-plays-shows/206_purpose_broadway_production_photos_2025_hr_final_credit_marc_j_franklin/
***
The Lambda Literary Awards - The Lammys, as they are also known, cover a range of books as diverse as the community that produces them. Writers of fiction, poetry, mysteries, erotica, drama and even horror get their chance in the spotlight and a shot at an engraved glass trophy. Xtra talked with the Lambda Literary Foundation’s executive director, Tony Valenzuela, for his take on the importance of the awards and tips for attending the swank event.
When the Lambda Awards were launched, it was hard for books with LGBT themes to get attention. How much has that changed since the awards have been around?
The Lambda Literary Awards - The Lammys, as they are also known, cover a range of books as diverse as the community that produces them. Writers of fiction, poetry, mysteries, erotica, drama and even horror get their chance in the spotlight and a shot at an engraved glass trophy. Xtra talked with the Lambda Literary Foundation’s executive director, Tony Valenzuela, for his take on the importance of the awards and tips for attending the swank event.
When the Lambda Awards were launched, it was hard for books with LGBT themes to get attention. How much has that changed since the awards have been around?
More...
***
The Whiting Foundation has announced the 2025 winners for the 40th anniversary of the Whiting Awards. Among the 10 writers honored for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, Liza Birkenmeier was awarded for drama, receiving $50,000. The prizes are designed to recognize excellence and promise in a spectrum of emerging talent, giving most winners the chance to devote themselves full time to their own writing, or to take bold new risks in their work.
More...
https://www.americantheatre.org/2025/04/09/liza-birkenmeier-receives-40th-annual-whiting-award-for-drama/
The Whiting Foundation has announced the 2025 winners for the 40th anniversary of the Whiting Awards. Among the 10 writers honored for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, Liza Birkenmeier was awarded for drama, receiving $50,000. The prizes are designed to recognize excellence and promise in a spectrum of emerging talent, giving most winners the chance to devote themselves full time to their own writing, or to take bold new risks in their work.
More...
https://www.americantheatre.org/2025/04/09/liza-birkenmeier-receives-40th-annual-whiting-award-for-drama/
***
Tonight the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize announced that the 2025 award has been given to U.S. playwright a.k. payne for their play Furlough’s Paradise. Awarded annually since 1978, the prestigious international Prize is the largest and oldest award recognizing women+ who have written works of outstanding quality for the English-speaking theatre. Selected from a cohort of eight finalists, payne has received a cash prize of $25,000 and a signed print by renowned artist Willem de Kooning, created especially for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.
Said payne in a statement, “I am so grateful to receive this award and join a list of some of my favorite writers whose plays have shaken how I understand the world and who have made it possible—through their words transcending space and time and/or their caring and abundant mentorship—for me to write: Katori Hall, Julia Cho, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Benedict Lombe, and Paula Vogel, to name a very select few.”
“At this moment in our history as a country, and as a Prize which honors women, trans and non-binary writers, we must acknowledge the very real threats that are being aimed at our hard-won freedoms,” said Blackburn Prize executive director Leslie Swackhamer in a statement. “We must remind ourselves of the power of our voices, and the special magic we create when we lift them at the theatre. Every voice on our stage tonight deserves to be honored, celebrated and heard.”
More...
https://www.americantheatre.org/2025/03/10/a-k-paynes-furloughs-paradise-wins-susan-smith-blackburn-prize/
***
The 61st annual PEN America Literary Awards were held May 8 at the Town Hall in midtown Manhattan, awarding nearly $350,000 in prizes to writers, editors, and translators at a ceremony hosted by broadcast journalist and television personality Tamron Hall. The event marked the return of one of the country’s largest literary awards programs following the cancelation of last year’s event and a number of awards, after a number of writers withdrew their books from consideration as part of a boycott over the organization's response to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
At the outset of the ceremony, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, interim CEO of PEN America, took the stage to address the elephant in the room, if somewhat obliquely. “I want to acknowledge what happened last year,” she said. “It was a loss, a loss that we feel deeply.” She noted that the honorees and judges from last year’s prizes were currently in attendance: “Your work your voices and your presence here tonight in this gathering is essential, and we thank you.”
More...
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/97733-pen-america-literary-awards-return-after-a-tumultuous-year.html
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