Arena Stage, Kansas City Rep, et al. Win 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Awards

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, is pleased to announce the first round of 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play awards granted to TCG member theaters across the U.S. The awards, totaling $485,000, allow 19 theaters the opportunity for extra time in the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, helping to extend the life of the play after its first run. A second group of 2011 awards will be announced in September.

Over the last five years, The Edgerton Foundation has awarded $ 3.6 million to 128 recipients. Forty three plays have been scheduled to have subsequent productions following their world premieres. Ten have made it to Broadway including Curtains, 13, Next To Normal, 33 Variations, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Time Stands Still, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, A Free Man of Color, Good People and Chinglish. Seven plays have been nominated for Tony Awards and four have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

"Rehearsing a new play is like bringing a group of adventurers together to explore a new land for the first time," said Tom Ross, artistic director of Aurora Theatre Company (Berkley, CA). "A script is certainly a map, but maps are only abstractions of distances and space. This extra rehearsal time will allow our adventurous cast and crew to cover more miles of artistic terrain."

TCG member theaters with a strong and consistent track record of producing new work are invited by the foundation to submit letters of inquiry to plays@edgertonfoundation.org. A panel of readers reviews the plays and, one-time grants ranging from $5,000 - $75,000 are awarded.

"Supporting new play development and the study of American theater is integral to improving the theater-going experience for all audiences," said Edgar Dobie, managing director of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater (Washington, D.C.) "This activity helps to find and nurture new voices that contribute in a profound way to the body of work we have the privilege to produce.

The 2011 Round One Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards were presented to:

Arena Stage, Washington, D.C. The Phoenix Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
Mary T and Lizzy K Current Economic Conditions
by Tazewell Thompson by Don Zolidis

Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley, CA Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea, MN
Salomania White Buffalo
by Mark Jackson by Don Zolidis

The Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, MO San Diego Repertory Theatre, San Diego, CA
Great Immensity Tortilla Curtain
by Steve Cosson & Michael Friedman by Matthew Spangler

La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, CA Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, IL
Milk Like Sugar March
by Kristin Greenidge by Frank Galati

Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago, IL Theatreworks, Palo Alto, CA
Eastland Fly By Night
by Andrew White, Andre Pluess by Kim Rosenstock, Michael Mitnick
& Ben Sussman & Will Connelly

Manhattan Theatre Club, New York, NY Trinity Repertory Company, Providence, RI
We Live Here Love Alone
by Zoe Kazan by Debora Salem Smith

Mixed Blood Theatre¸ Minneapolis, MN Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago, IL
On the Spectrum We Are Proud
by Ken LaZebnik by Jackie Sibblies Drury

New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch, NJ The Williamston Theatre, Williamston, MI
Jericho Dead Man's Shoes
by Jack Canfora by Joseph Zettelamaier

New York Theatre Workshop, New York, NY Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MAFood and Fadwa Ten Cents A Dance
by Lameece Issaq & Jacob Kader by John Doyle, Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart

The Old Globe, San Diego, CA
Nobody Loves You
by Itamar Moses & Gaby Alter

For more information on the plays, please visit: http://www.tcg.org/tools/newplays/2011.cfm

The Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, was piloted in 2006 with the Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles by offering two musicals in development an extended rehearsal period for the entire creative team, including the playwrights. The Edgertons launched the program nationally in 2007 and have supported 128 plays to date in 50 different Art Theaters across the country. The Edgerton Foundation received the 2011 TCG National Funder Award in June in Los Angeles.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, exists to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Founded in 1961, TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 12,00 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the US Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is the nation's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential sources for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre.