Playwrights Realm Announces 2015-16 Writing Fellows
The Playwrights Realm has selected Sam Chanse, Lauren Feldman, Jonathan Payne, and David Zax as its 2015-16 writing fellows. The four early-career playwrights were selected from a pool of 280 applicants, which was then narrowed to a group of 12 finalists, who were interviewed by the Realm’s artistic staff members.
As this year's fellows, the writers will join the Playwrights Realm to work on a new play over the course of nine months. Through creative development with the Realm’s artistic director, Katherine Kovner, and associate producer, Kate Pines, each writer brings a play from draft form to production-ready state. Additionally, the selected playwrights will receive a $3,000 stipend, an internal reading, and use of the Realm’s office space.
The fellowship culminates in a final reading of each playwright’s finished work in the INK’D Reading Festival. The writers will work with a designer to help develop the physical world of their scripts and see select elements of these designs translated to the stage. All readings in INK’D are open to the public and are free of charge. The festival will take place in May 2016.
"David, Jonathan, Lauren, and Sam are four fiercely talented playwrights," said Kovner. "They have such different theatrical styles, yet they share an ambition of scope and a rigor of craft that is awe-inspiring. I know they will gain a tremendous amount from one another, as well as from The Realm, and I’m honored to get to spend the next nine months as their colleague."
