Vineyard Theatre Hosts Emerging Artists Luncheon With Colman Domingo

Donna Hanover and Colman Domingo will host a luncheon on Thursday, June 9 at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South in Manhattan). The event will celebrate and raise funds for Vineyard Theatre's artistic and education programs. Playwright Branden Jacobs Jenkins will be presented with the Vineyard Theatre's 4th annual Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, given each year to a gifted emerging playwright.

On hand to celebrate the honor will be the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel; former Paula Vogel Award winner Rajiv Joseph, author of BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO now on Broadway; Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage; stars of the Vineyard Theatre's world premiere of the Tony-nominated musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, Brandon Victor-Dixon and Sharon Washington, along with the musical's Tony-nominated book writer David Thompson; actresses Kathleen Chalfant and Betsy Aidem; playwright Anne Washburn, Glenn Davis from the cast of BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, and [title of show]'s Michael Berresse, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen, who are currently back at the Vineyard with their new work NOW.HERE.THIS.

An actress, journalist, and the former first lady of New York City, Donna Hanover recently appeared in The Vineyard's world-premiere production of Christopher Shinn's play PICKED. Mr. Domingo, a Tony nominee for his performance in the musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, appeared in The Vineyard's world-premiere of the Kander and Ebb musical as well as in his solo show, A BOY AND HIS SOUL.

Named in honor of playwright and teacher Paula Vogel -- whose plays THE LONG CHRISTMAS RIDE HOME and HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE (Pulitzer Prize for Drama) debuted at The Vineyard - the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is presented annually by The Vineyard to an emerging playwright of exceptional promise. The residency-based award comes with a cash prize and artistic development support over the 2011-12 season. Mr. Jacobs-Jenkins is the author of the play NEIGHBORS and an adaptation of THE OCTOROON.

Proceeds from the luncheon benefit The Vineyard's artistic and education programs.

The Paula Vogel Playwriting Award is made possible through the generosity of the Tournesol Foundation.

The Paula Vogel Award's first recipient was playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose play WIG OUT! was a popular and critical success when it debuted at The Vineyard in 2008. Rajiv Joseph was the Vogel Award's second recipient, followed last year by Kara Lee Corthron, author of the plays ETCHED IN SKIN ON A SUNLIT NIGHT, LADYBUG GONNA GETCHA and JULIUS BY DESIGN.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a Brooklyn-based playwright, dramaturg, and performer, who has spent the past year living in Berlin on a Fulbright Fellowship. His work has been seen at The Public Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, PS122, Soho Rep, New Dramatists, The Matrix Theatre, Theater Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany and The National Theatre in London and he is working on commissions from Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 and Yale Repertory Theater. He is a former New York Theatre Workshop Playwriting fellow, an alum of the Soho Rep Writers/Directors Lab and Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, and a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup. His honors include a Princess Grace Award, the Dorothy Strelsin Playwriting Fellowship, and a fellowship in playwriting from the New York Foundation for the Arts. He also holds an M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU.

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