Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the first round of recipients of the 2024-2025 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards. The awards, which total $601,000, allow 11 productions extra time for development and rehearsal, in hopes of extending the life of a world premiere play after its first run.
This year's recipients include Anna Ziegler's The Janeiad at Alley Theatre; Zora Howard's Bust at Alliance Theatre; Shayan Lotfi's What Became of Us at Atlantic Theater Company; Ayad Akhtar's McNeal at Lincoln Center Theater; Erika Sheffer's Vladimir at Manhattan Theatre Club; Tanika Gupta's A Tupperware of Ashes at National Theatre; Joe Penhall's The Constituent at The Old Vic; Bess Wohl's Liberation at Roundabout Theatre Company; Meghan Kennedy's The Counter at Roundabout Theatre Company; Noa Gardner's The Staircase at South Coast Repertory; and Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's Kyoto at Royal Shakespeare Company, a co-production with Good Chance.
"With Primary Trust by Eboni Booth receiving the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the profound impact of the Edgerton Foundation on the new play sector grows even clearer,” LaTeshia Ellerson, co-executive director of national engagement at TCG, said in a statement. “That support is also more necessary than ever. As the aftershocks of the pandemic increase the difficulty of producing new work, the support of the Edgerton Foundation grants critical extended rehearsal periods so the artists can fully realize their visions. That leads to not only successful premieres, but to many subsequent productions in theatres nationwide."
Along with Primary Trust, past recipients of the Edgerton Foundation's awards include Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Cost of Living, Next to Normal, The Prom, Head Over Heels, Prayer for the French Republic, and more.
The Edgerton Foundation New Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, was piloted in 2006 with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles by offering two musicals in development an extended rehearsal period for the entire creative team, including the playwrights. The Edgertons launched the program nationally in 2007 and have supported 545 plays to date at over 50 different Art Theatres across the country.
Visit TCG.org for more information.
