BROOKLYN: The Farm Theater has awarded their 2023-24 College Collaboration Project commission to Dipti Bramhandkar. Bramhandkar will be in residence at multiple universities throughout 2023-24 to develop a new play in collaboration with different college theatre programs.
Next month, Bramhandkar will be in residence at Centre College in Danville, Ky., as the Farm Theater’s 2023-24 playwriting fellow. Centre College will produce the world premiere of her play Soft Launch, which follows a group of friends navigating their dreams and anxieties after college graduation.
To develop her new play for the College Collaboration Project, Bramhandkar will be residence at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., in November 2023, at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., in February 2024, and at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro in April 2024.
The College Collaboration Project has multiple schools commission an early-career playwright to write a play that each school will independently produce throughout the academic year. The full-length play will feature a minimum of five characters, the majority of which will be under 30 years of age so that undergraduate actors can successfully play them. The play will reflect the students’ thoughts on a theme that the playwright suggests.
The 2023-24 College Collaboration Project will be the 11th installment from the Farm Theater.
Bramhandkar is a Mumbai-born, New York-based playwright and filmmaker. Her recent play Is There Even Porn in India? was workshopped in London and presented at the LAByrinth Theater Company’s Barn Series. Her play Islands of Contentment was produced by Hypokrit Productions and the Tank, and her solo show American Rookie had a sold-out run at Luna Stage and is currently on tour. Her pandemic-inspired audio story collection was featured by WNYC. Bramhandkar holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. from the University of Cambridge and is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company.
The Farm Theater develops early-career artists that may not have had the support system afforded to others through workshops, productions, and mentoring. The centerpiece of Farm Theater’s programming is the College Collaboration Project, which has commissioned 11 playwrights and worked with 20 universities so far.
