NEW CANAAN, CONN.: The Tow Foundation has announced the latest cohort for its Playwrights-in-Residence program. Eleven nonprofit theatres in New York City have been selected for a $75,000 grant to support their selected playwright for the year, culminating in a full production of each playwright’s new play.
“This funding is not a transactional exchange,” said Tow Foundation president and executive director, Emily Tow, in a statement. “It is about creating a platform for untold stories and the audiences they collectively reach. The deep partnerships built through this program are central to the Foundation’s mission. We are thrilled by the collective talent and creative energy of the incoming cohort and hope this residency will be transformative for each playwright and theater.”
The Playwrights-in-Residence are listed below.
2019-20:
- Ars Nova , Liza Birkenmeier
- Manhattan Theatre Club, Emily Feldman
- Playwrights Horizons, Will Arbery
- Primary Stages Company, Jiehae Park
- Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Ren Dara Santiago
- The Public Theater, Erika Dickerson-Despenza
- MCC Theater, C.A. Johnson
2020-21:
- Atlantic Theater Company, Gracie Gardner
- New York Theatre Workshop, Victor I. Cazares
- Roundabout Theatre Company, Dave Harris
- Soho Rep, Jillian Walker
“The Tow Foundation helped open doors for me that I previously struggled to open, and they did so with such grace and support,” said Patricia Ione Lloyd, in a statement. Lloyd is a Tow playwright whose play, Eve’s Song, ran at the Public last year. “With their support my play about the lives and deaths of black women, black girls and black trans women was brought to life. You can change hearts and minds with a good story – and The Tow Foundation by your side.”
