NATIONWIDE: The TYA Tour Development Collective (TYA TDC) has announced a first round of commissioning awards for new artistic work for families and young audiences. In the first funding cycle, 34 artists applied, 10 were chosen to present to the collective, and four artists were selected: Daniel Carlton of New York City, Joshua Holden of Brooklyn, New York, Honolulu Theatre for Youth of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Inlet Dance Theatre of Cleveland, Ohio. They received a total of $74,000 in late April.
TYA TDC, launched in fall 2024, is an informal group of nine performing arts presenting organizations that came together to help individual artists and companies fund the development of new work designed for youth and family audiences to tour nationally. The steering team includes Sarah McCarthy of Dandelion Artists, Daniel Hahn of Playhouse Square, and Sara Morgulis of TYA/USA. The collective is administered by Michigan Maven Creative Associates. Members include Alden Theatre, Dayton Live, Des Moines Performing Arts, Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College, Playhouse Square, Walton Arts Center, Wharton Center for Performing Arts, and Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University.
NEW YORK CITY: The National Association of Musical Theatre’s 37th Annual Festival of New Musicals has announced its selections to be presented Oct. 23-24 at New World Stages in New York City. A committee of 23 theatre professionals selected eight new musicals out of 537 submissions. The musicals chosen are Alice Bliss (book by Karen Hartman, music by Jenny Giering, lyrics by Adam Gwon, based on Laura Harrington’s novel), Finn (created by Chris Nee, Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond, book, and lyrics by Chris Dimond and Chris Nee, music by Michael Kooman), The King of Harlem (book, music, and lyrics by John-Michael Lyles and David Gomez), Love Is Dead (book and music by Brett Ryback, book and lyrics by Jeff Luppino-Esposito), Particle (book by Selda Sahin, Autumn Reeser, and Derek Gregor, music by Derek Gregor, lyrics by Selda Sahin), Roja (book, music and lyrics by Jaime Lozano and Tommy Newman), Soft Magical Tofu Boy(s) (book, music and lyrics by Kevin Wong), and Wakeman (book, music and lyrics by Jenn Grinels).
MINNEAPOLIS: The Playwrights’ Center has announced its 2025-27 Venturous Playwright Fellows with Venturous Theater Fund. They are Nissy Aya (prunin, hoein n cuttin grapes, with HERE Arts Center), Madeline Easley (Feast for the Dead, with Soho Rep), Gethsemane Herron (KIN, with WP Theater and the Apollo Theater), and Seayoung Yim (Jar of Fat, with Theatre Battery). Each will receive a $25,000-per-year stipend, an annual healthcare allowance of $5,000 (totaling $60,000 for each fellow), over $15,000 per year in development and holistic artist support, and travel and housing to connect with other artists. Their partner theatres are eligible for a production subsidy of up to $75,000 to support productions of Venturous plays, and are promoted nationally. Three runners-up will also receive $10,000: Andrea Assaf (DRONE), Roger Q. Mason (Night Cities: A Bayard Rustin Ritual), and Jaymes Sanchez (A Plausible History of Xicotencatl II).
The Venturous Theater Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation, supports ambitious new work for the stage and the artists who create it. Along with the fellowship recipients, the Center shared “the Playwrights’ Center Venturous List” of nominated plays to encourage the theatre community to join in supporting challenging and adventurous theatrical work.
SAN FRANCISCO: The Playwrights Foundation has announced the 37 finalists and 128 semifinalists of the 47th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, one of the oldest new-play festivals uplifting early-career playwrights’ new works. It will be presented as a hybrid festival with both in-person and on demand options in fall 2026, having recently shifted to a biennial schedule. Finalists are Ali Littman, A Yourd, Ankita Raturi, AriDy Nox, Audley Puglisi, AZ Espinoza, Carla Ching, Cass Brayton, christina michelle watkins, Daria Miyeko Marinelli, Davis Alianiello, Deepak Kumar, DJ Hills, Edwin Rivera-Arias, Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel, Gaven D. Trinidad, Greg T. Nanni, Hasti Jafari, Jaymes Sanchez, Jordan Elizabeth Henry, Katherine Gwynn, Lisa Sanaye Dring, M.J. Kang, Matthew Morishige, Maxine Dillon, Maya De La Rosa-Cohen, Minna Lee, Monique Hafen Adams, Nicholas Kaidoo, P.C. Verrone, Peter Kim George, Priya Mohanty, Rebs Chan, Forest Malley, Sam Mueller, Sarah Galante, and Xavier Clark. Read the full list here.
NEW YORK CITY: Manhattan Theatre Club has announced Tony-nominated playwright Bess Wohl (Liberation, Grand Horizons, Small Mouth Sounds) as the 2025-26 recipient of its annual Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship. Fully supported by the late philanthropist and former MTC patron Judith Champion, the fellowship provides artistic and financial resources to one playwright each season to write and develop a new commissioned play while in residence at MTC. Fellowship recipients participate in the life of the institution in a manner tailored to their strengths and interests, and are provided with a living allowance, access to office and rehearsal space, a ticket stipend, and a developmental workshop of at least one play during their fellowship year.
CHICAGO: ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence has announced six new 10-minute plays confronting gun violence as the winning selections of its fourth national short play competition, which will debut on Oct. 6 with a performance kicking off a nationwide evening of readings staged coast-to-coast. Created in 2019 by Michael Cotey, this year ENOUGH! received 127 submissions from 28 states. The winners were selected by Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, author Jason Reynolds, playwrights James Ijames, Kate Hamill, and Karen Zacarías, and dramaturg Ken Cerniglia. Each playwright will receive a $500 stipend, see their play published and licensed through Concord Theatricals’ Playscripts imprint, and receive membership and craft training with The Dramatists Guild. They are:
- Holding Space by Abby Dougherty (17, Georgia) investigates the emotional toll of healing and resistance following a school shooting.
- Oh Look, Another School Shooting! by Matias Finley (17, Wisconsin) questions the cyclical nature of gun violence in schools and the ideological finger-pointing that follows.
- Nobody Cares About Death by Ian Hodges (16, Florida) gives Death the chance to weigh in on the increasing number of gunshot victims he has to meet each year.
- The Perfect Victim by Payton Aurora Jones (19, California) examines the power of community care in the face of violence and systemic racism.
- We Didn’t Have to Meet Here by Pace Rundlett (16, Mississippi) highlights the variety of human stories behind the statistics of gun violence in America.
- Under Wraps by Olivia Stanley (19, Texas) dramatizes the dangerous escalation of intimate partner violence through movement and poetry.
NEW YORK CITY: Yangtze Repertory Theatre has announced the newest members of Project YZ, the company’s AAPI Artist Residency program. The 2025 recipients, who will receive $10,000 ($5,000 unrestricted, $5,000 in professional development) over one year, are the duo of writer-director Jing Dong and performer Julia Gu, playwright Jesse Jae Hoon, and writer and performer Jo Mei. During their one-year residency, Yangtze Rep will connect the resident artists with other collaborators, offer research support, and facilitate interviews, focus groups, and dramaturgical development and discussion with Yangtze’s artistic staff. Launched in 2022, the goal of Project YZ is to support and build an artistic home for AAPI immigrant artists.
NEW YORK CITY: The Jimmy Awards were presented on June 23 in a ceremony at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre, hosted by Josh Groban. The winners were Fabiola Caraballo Quijada of Dallas, representing the Broadway Dallas High School Musical Theatre Awards, and Chris Hayes of Las Vegas, representing the Nevada High School Musical Theater Awards. Both winners were presented with a $25,000 check to further their education, presented by the Nederlander Organization.
Finalists receiving $5,000 scholarships were Adam Bouchachia, representing Orlando’s Applause Awards; Dawson Fullingim, representing Tulsa’s Discovery Awards; JJ Korkin, representing Florida’s Kravis Center Dream Awards; Seger Ott-Rudolph, representing Washington, D.C.’s Brandon Victor Dixon Awards; Kayla Rae, representing Palm Springs, California’s Lucie Arnaz Awards; and Kinsley Stephens, representing Atlanta’s Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards/Shuler Hensley Awards. Additional winners receiving $2,500 scholarships were Rising Star for Gavin Evanson, representing Arizona’s Monte Awards; Best Dancer for Jamaur Houston, representing Broadway in Chicago Illinois High School Musical Theatre Awards; and Spirit of the Jimmys for Kevin Wilson, representing Boise, Idaho’s Patty Duke Awards.
Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble awards, co-presented by BOOP! The Musical, Hadestown, John Gore Organization, No Guarantees, and Thomas Schumacher, were given to Mira Cahalane, representing Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Dazzle Awards; Josiah D. Jennings, representing Durham, North Carolina’s DPAC Rising Star Awards; JJ McDonough, representing Philadelphia Independence Awards; Kash Stevenson, representing Midland, Pennsylvania’s Henry Mancini Awards; and Jayden Vega, representing Tampa’s Broadway Star of the Future Awards. Recipients of the 2025 Inspiring Teacher Awards were Elena Ferrante-Martin of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas and KoKo M. Thornton of Enloe High School in Durham, North Carolina. The student reporters were Jayden Hope Fernando from San Jose’s Rita Moreno Awards and Jose Antonio Morales from the Majestic Empire Foundation’s Joci Awards in San Antonio, Texas.
The National High School Musical Theatre Awards (the Jimmy Awards) are a national celebration of outstanding student achievement, recognizing individual artistry in vocal, dance, and acting performance and elevating the importance of theatre arts education in schools, presented by the Broadway League Foundation.
LOS ANGELES: Center Theatre Group has announced its 2025 CTG Leadership Circle Cohort, in which five staff members participate in an annual career development program. The latest cohort includes Alice Pelayo (institutional advancement), Fenyxx Wright (production), Natalia Quintero-Riestra (education and community partnerships), Peter Sullivan (marketing), and Ashphord Jacoway (education and community partnerships). The CTG Leadership Circle was developed to uplift, celebrate, and support early- and mid-career staff members in the company who are looking to continue to grow as arts leaders and professionals. They will participate in discussions and sessions exploring different leadership styles and practices, and identify resources to support their careers.
NEW YORK CITY: Rattlestick Theater has announced that Milo Cramer, Avery Deutsch, and Celeste Jennings will be its Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Cycle 3 Fellows. The finalists are Will Brumley, Hal Cosentino, Kallan Dana, Madison Fiedler, Xavier Galva, Abigail C. Onwunali, and Larry Owens. As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theatre, the New Works Incubator is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions. Cycle 3 Fellows were selected from a pool of 500 applications, in consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Council, which includes Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Chen, Halley Feiffer, and David Henry Hwang.
SALEM, CONN.: Live & In Color has announced Vaibu Mohan as the recipient of the 2025 June Bingham New Playwright Commission, for her play Bound to You. Laura Neill, Tidtaya Sinutoke, Charlene Adhiambo, and Vaibu Mohan are the 2025 finalists. The June Bingham New Playwright Commission honors the legacy of late artist and playwright June Bingham by providing support to a new generation of early-career women/femme and/or non-binary storytellers as they seek to create work that manifests change in the world. Live & In Color also selected Jesse J. Sanchez’s Zapata: A Folklorico Superhero Musical as its musical that will receive focused development and workshop opportunities through its annual retreat. Founded by director and choreographer Devanand Janki, Live & In Color is a creative incubator dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion in the American theatre.
PITTSBURGH: City Theatre Company has announced the winners of its 2025 Young Playwrights Contest: Echoes of Birthday Laughter by Mary Joyce (8th grade, Belle Vernon Middle School), Bolts and Apologies by Hayden Carr, AJ Montenaro, and Oliver Rent (7th grade, Keystone Oaks Middle School), Chaos and Reason by Tiana Ellis (12th grade, Washington High School), Rest Their Souls by Basil Lee (11th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12), and The Train of Memory by Isabella Blick (12th grade, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12). For over 25 years, City Theatre has held a regional playwriting competition for students in grades 7-12. The winners were chosen from over 300 submissions. They will have their plays professionally produced by City Theatre in its Young Playwrights Festival on Oct. 21-31, with public performances on Oct. 25-26. They will also be published in the Young Playwrights Anthology.
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.: San Diego Theatres has announced that seven local nonprofit arts organizations will receive funding support through the 2025-26 Balboa Theatre Grant Fund: City Ballet, Golden State Ballet, San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, La Jolla Music Society, Classics 4 Kids, Mariachi Scholarship Foundation, and Teatro Máscara Mágica. $40,500 in grants was allocated to offset costs associated with presenting events at the Historic Balboa Theatre between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026 (this year’s requests totaled more than $100,000). The Balboa Theatre Grant Fund was established to help reduce financial barriers for San Diego-based nonprofit organizations seeking to perform at the Balboa Theatre. The funding helps cover direct event-related expenses including license fees, staffing, technical equipment, and ticketing services–all of which support the ability of nonprofit groups to bring performances to the Balboa Theatre stage.
NEW YORK CITY: New York Theatre Workshop has announced that its 2050 Artistic Fellows for 2025-26 are directors Miguel Bregante and Adam Coy, solo performer Rachel Lin, and playwrights Abigail C. Onwunali and Mary Treuhaft-Ali. The 2050 Administrative Fellows for 2025-26 are Chandler Gregoire (development), Angela Guerra (marketing), Kimmarie McCrann (artist workshop) and Julie Monteleone (education and engagement). Each year, NYTW invites a cohort of fellows to join the company in making art, engaging in deep conversation, and being in community.
NEW YORK CITY: Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre has announced new resident artists who will present developmental readings, workshops, and fully staged productions as part of its 2025-26 season. This season, the cell will present 28 new projects with over 53 resident artists, including Gelsey Bell, é boylan, Patti Bradshaw, Josh Brown, Dan Caffrey, Camille Cooper, Dan Daly, Kallan Dana, Alexa Derman, Steph Del Rosso, Anne DeMelo, Matt Dickson, Stephen M. Eckert, Zachariah Ezer, Dan Giles, Daniela Garcia-Arce, Samuel Golland, Mackenna Goodrich, Annaporva Green, Dante Green, Gabby Gubitosi, Lauren Holmes, Daniel Holzman, Mya Ison, Jesse Itskowitz, Kedian Keohan, Kenneth Keng, Noah Latty, Lee LeBreton, Zoe Lesser, Ying Ying Li, Joonas Lemetyinen, Sam Mueller, Honor Molloy, Robert Norman, Caitlin Ryan O’Connell, Jessica O’Hara-Baker, Alexandra Palocz, Liz Peterson, Drew Praskovich, Maleek Rae, Utkarsh Rajawat, Joe Rivera, Dominique Rider, Betsy Rosen, Francesca Sabel, Stephen Santa, Brian Joél Sanchez, Griffin Stanton-Ameisen, Will Steinberger, Dina Vovsi, and Christopher Williams.
The cell’s Artist-in-Residence Program is for playwrights, composers, theatrical designers, choreographers, and interdisciplinary artists developing new and experimental work. Grantees receive a stipend of up to $5,000, a 1-5 week space grant at the cell, creative development, dramaturgy, casting assistance, technical support, administrative services, 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsorship, marketing, ticketing, videography, and photographic documentation.
LANSING, MICH.: The 2025 Lansing Stage Journal Thespie Awards have been announced. Among the winners are Williamston Theatre, which received six awards for its productions of A Case for the Existence of God, Baba, and Thirst, including best original play for Terry Guest for the latter. Other big winners include Riverwalk Theatre, which received 15 awards including Best Musical for Urinetown and Best Play for Angels in America, and Midway Theater Company, Peppermint Creek Theatre Company, and Michigan State University, each receiving two awards.
PHOENIX: Arizona Theatre Company has announced Edwin Sánchez as its 2025 National Latine Playwrights Award winner for his play Lottery Boy. He will receive a reading on Oct. 4 at the Tempe Center for the Arts, as part of the theatre’s 2025 National Latine Playwright Award and Festival. At the festival, Sánchez will be presented with the award and participate in a post-show roundtable discussion. The award creates a greater awareness of historically excluded Latine writers’ stories, under the leadership of ATC playwright-in-residence and NLP award and festival director Elaine Romero.
