Christopher Shinn and Sheila Callaghan Win Chesley Awards

Playwrights Christopher Shinn and Sheila Callaghan will be the recipients of Robert Chesley Foundation awards this year. Shinn is best known for his critically acclaimed play Four; Callaghan’s latest, called Tumor, will be seen at the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab in July.

Shinn and Callaghan will accept their awards at The Tishman Auditorium of The New School for Social Research (West 12th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues) on Tuesday, June 25 at 7pm in an event that is free and open to the public.

The annual $1,000 award goes to openly gay and lesbian playwrights, either in honor of lifetime achievement or in celebration of emerging talent. The Chesley Foundation was created by Victor Bumbalo in memory of playwright Robert Chesley, who was a pioneer of gay theater. Past winners of Chesley awards include Doric Wilson, Paula Vogel, Chay Yew, Maria Irene Fornes, and Lisa Kron.