Christopher Chen and Zora Howard Win the 2025 Steinberg Playwright Awards

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust announced the two early-to-mid-career playwrights who will be honored with 2025 Steinberg Playwright Awards in the amount of $100,000 each. The 2025 recipients of the “Mimi” Awards are Christopher Chen and Zora Howard.

The “Mimi” Awards are presented annually to playwrights in the early and middle stages of their careers who have unique and compelling voices, and whose work exhibits exceptional talent and artistic excellence.

Chen’s plays, including Caught, The Headlands, Passage, The Late Wedding, You Mean To Do Me Harm, and The Hundred Flowers Project, have been produced at companies such as Lincoln Center (LCT3), American Conservatory Theater, Soho Rep, The Play Company, Crowded Fire, Singapore Rep, S.F. Playhouse, The Wilma, InterAct Theatre, and Shotgun Players. His play The Motion will be produced at The Arena Stage this spring.

Howard’s plays include Pulitzer Prize finalist Stew, Hang Time, Bust, The Master’s Tools, AtGN, and The Motions. Her work has been developed at Cinereach, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, La Napoule Art Foundation, Stillwright, and Cape Cod Theatre Project, among others.

The 2025 Advisory Committee of prominent theater professionals is comprised of producing artistic director of Ojai Playwrights Conference Jeremy B. Cohen, artistic director of Center Theatre Group Snehal Desai, artistic director of Playwrights Horizons Adam Greenfield, dramturg Sarah Lunnie, artistic director of Seattle Rep Dámaso Rodriguez, artistic director of Arena Stage Hana S. Sharif, and producing artistic director of the Playwrights’ Center Nicole A. Watson.