Playwrights' Center News

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Please help us welcome our 2017-18 Core Apprentices Kirk Boettcher (Augsburg College), Dionna Michelle Daniel (California Institute of the Arts) and Carlos Sirah (Brown University).

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We're excited to announce the incoming Playwrights' Center Core Writers, who will begin their three-year terms in July 2017: Kim Euell, Allison Gregory, Dipika Guha, C. A. Johnson, Carson Kreitzer, Andrea Stolowitz, and Stefanie Zadravec.

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Please help us welcome the 2017-18 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows: Bart Buch (puppet director and designer), Katharine Horowitz (sound designer), and Regina Marie Williams (actor).

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Please help us welcome the 2017-18 McKnight Fellows in Playwriting, Benjamin Benne and Rachel Jendrzejewski.

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Please help us welcome the 2017-18 McKnight National Residency and Commission recipient Mfoniso Udofia.

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Announcing the 2017-18 Jerome and Many Voices Fellows! Please help us welcome Jerome Fellows Mia Chung, Jessica Huang, Tim J. Lord, and Tori Sampson; Many Voices Fellows Stacey Rose and Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay; and Many Voices Mentee Julia Gay.

Read more about these brilliant artists:

https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-2017-18-jerome-fellows https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-2017-18-many-voices-fellows-and-mentee

Update, April 28, 2017: Diane Exavier was previously announced as a recipient of the 2017-18 Many Voices Fellowship. Since then, Diane had an exciting opportunity arise that prevents her from becoming a fellow with us.

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As part of our 45th anniversary, we commissioned four big-thinking theater artists—H. Adam Harris, Aditi Brennan Kapil, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and Kira Obolensky—to craft manifestos looking 45 years into the future. On Sunday, October 23 at 2:30 p.m., as the final event in our PlayLabs festival, they will perform these manifestos, followed by a community conversation with those present. Please join us, and spread the word! #playlabs #theater2060

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PlayLabs 2016 interview: Susan Soon He Stanton

PlayLabs 2016 features three new plays, including Core Writer Susan Soon He Stanton's we, the invisibles. Readings are Wednesday, October 19 and Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m. We talked with Susan about writing for specific actors, her unique writing space, and the future of theater.

"This play is much larger in scope and more deeply personal than anything else I have written. PlayLabs is providing the first opportunity to explore this play with an audience. I am particularly excited to share the true-life stories of immigrants in Minneapolis, a city where so many people share a similar experience."

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PlayLabs 2016 interview: Christina Ham

PlayLabs 2016 features three new plays, including Core Writer Christina Ham's new noir thriller West of Central. Readings are Tuesday, October 18 and Friday, October 21 at 7 p.m. We talked with Christina about mentors, collaborators, and researching historical plays.

“Typically, most noir features male protagonists, and I wanted to turn that on its head by utilizing a strong, black, female protagonist who has to navigate the cutthroat world of an explosively changing South Central Los Angeles.”

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PlayLabs 2016 interview: Ken Urban

PlayLabs 2016 kicks off Monday, October 17 with a 7 p.m. reading of Core Writer Ken Urban's new play The Remains. We talked with Ken about the play, his experience at the Center last year, and what being a playwright and musician have in common.

“In June 2015, as the United States had finally legalized gay marriage nationally, I filed for divorce from the man who had been my partner for 18 years. The end of our marriage felt truly tragic, not because it was the wrong choice, but because it was the right one, despite the fact that we genuinely still cared for each other. For Hegel, a ‘genuine’ tragedy is not a conflict between right and wrong, but instead a conflict between two rights. This play is my exploration of the tragedy of gay divorce.”

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Join us for PlayLabs 2016 October 17-23! New plays by Christina Ham, Susan Soon He Stanton, and Ken Urban, plus a showcase of work by our 2016/2017 playwriting fellows, a party, and #Theater2060 manifestos from H. Adam Harris, Aditi Brennan Kapil, Kwame Kwei-Armah, and Kira Obolensky. All events are free; reserve your tickets at https://pwcenter.org/playlabs

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Imagining theater forward since 1971

Follow our 45th anniversary tumblr! To celebrate our 45th season, we’ll be looking back on our 45 years (with photos from the archives, milestones, and memories) but also imagining theater forward the next 45 years by sharing quotes and manifestos from theater artists around the country responding to the question, “What will theater look like in 45 years?”

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Announcing our 45th anniversary season | Playwrights' Center

Since our founding in 1971, the Playwrights’ Center has been imagining theater forward. We'll be celebrating our 45th year all season long, including with a conversation series called #Theater2060 discussing how theater will change over the next 45 years. The following plays by Playwrights’ Center Core Writers will be featured in the 2016-17 season of staged readings: PLAYLABS:

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Welcome 2016-17 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows Sonya Berlovitz (costume design), Thomasina Petrus (acting), and Kimberly Richardson (acting)! Learn more about these artists.

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Writer announcement days are the best days! 

https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-2016-17-core-apprentices https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-2016-19-core-writers https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-francine-volpe-2016-17-mcknight-national-residency-and-commission-recipient https://pwcenter.org/news/meet-2016-17-mcknight-fellows-playwriting

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Please help us welcome the 2016-17 Jerome Fellows, Many Voices Fellows, and Many Voices Mentees!

» Jerome Fellows KATIE BENDER, EMILY FELDMAN, JESSICA HUANG, and KRISTIN IDASZAK (learn more)

» Many Voices Fellows BENJAMIN BENNE and MARISA CARR (learn more)

» Many Voices Mentees DREWCELLA MAE DAVIS and SHAVUNDA HORSLEY (learn more)

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TODAY from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. CST: Play by Play. Live, online playwriting to benefit the Playwrights’ Center’s Core Writer program. Contribute your words, plot twists, and more at https://pwcenter.org/play-by-play