NEW YORK CITY: Town Stages has announced the recipients of the third annual Sokoloff Creative Arts Fellowship and its inaugural Residency Program. The fellows will receive approximately 400 hours of available weekly workspace in Town’s venue to work, rehearse, write, meet, organize, connect, and collaborate. With support and guidance from Town’s leadership and board, the cohort will work in community for a full year.
This year’s cohort consists of Adam Odsess-Rubin (National Queer Theater), Adefolakunmi Adenugba (ISE-DA), Adrianna Mateo, Aimée Sophie Garcia, Alie B. Gorrie, Amy Jo Jackson, Andi Lee Carter, Andrea Prestinario (Ring of Keys), AriDy Nox, Arpita Mukherjee (Hypokrit Theater Company), Brandon Powers, Bryanna Bradley, Darlene Arrington, Denitia Odigie, Diana Oh, Dustin H. Chinn, Florencia Iriondo, Hester Li (LAUNCH), Janelle Lawrence, Jasmin Richardson, Jolaubi Osho (HERoines Inc.), Julian Hernandez, Julián Mesri, Kate Douglas, Kristin Yancy (MinuteZero), Laura Winters, Lili Torre, Matthew J. Schneider, Mei Ann Teo, Mika Kauffman (Trans Theatre Alliance), Nancy Sun, November Christine, Rachel Gita Karp, Rebecca Louise Miller, Shakina Nayfack (Savage Godx), Sugar Vendil, Sydney Baloue, Tia DeShazor, Tiff McFierce, Trevor Latez Hayes, Troy Anthony, Zachariah Ezer, Zach Infante, Althea Stevens and Amoy Barnes, Emily Hartford and Ned Massey, Jacob Jarrett & Nina Roy, Julia Cavagna and Kate Bell (Theater to the People), Iyvon Edebiri and Katy Donnelly (The Parsnip Ship), Larissa Marten and Leia Squillace (Herd).
The inaugural resident artists were selected from the 2019 fellowship class and will receive a second year consisting of expanded fellowship resources and extended evening hours. Additionally, the residents will operate as community leaders, providing another layer of guidance for the 2020 fellows.
The 2020 Resident Artists are Charlotte Arnoux, Éamon Boylan, Molly Powers Gallagher, Tess Howsam, Rachel Lin, Anna Lubina, Benjamin Moniz, Marina Montesanti, Zach Morris, Tara O’Con, Alex Parrish, Tidtaya Sinutoke, Jeff Tang, Will Thomason, Rebecca Vineyard, Vanessa Walters, Emma Rosa Went, and Jamila Youngstedt.
“Just four weeks ago, we were celebrating how far we’ve come—having grown our operation to expand the size of this vital program,” said Town founder and CEO Robin Sokoloff in a statement. “Then three weeks ago, we welcomed our new class of fellows in. There is so much we don’t know about COVID-19. This unfolding health and labor crisis is sending shockwaves through our industry. While we can’t be together at Town at this time, we are going digital and supporting folks from there.”
Over the past two years, Town Stages has supported more than 600 events, created more than 1,000 local jobs, and subsidized over 5,200 hours of arts programming to the public. This is all in addition to a fellowship program geared toward artists whose work is accessible, ethical, pioneering, enterprising, and inclusive.
“Affordable and accessible space should not be a privilege, it is a human right,” Sokoloff said in her statement. “Making space for today’s community leaders who are building a more compassionate and inclusive world is our business.”
Opened in 2017 in partnership with Sokoloff Arts, Town Stages is a cultural space and institution located in Tribeca. With its goal of advancing equity for arts, hospitality, civic, and social justice workers, the organization centers the voices of women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, immigrants, and people of all abilities.
