Laurents/Hatcher New Playwrights Award Announced

The Trustees of The Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, Inc are proud to announce the LAURENTS / HATCHER FOUNDATION AWARD, an annual prize to be given for an un-produced, full-length play of social relevance by an emerging American playwright. The foundation will provide a $50,000 cash award to the selected playwright and a grant of $100,000 to go directly towards the production costs of the play's premiere at a nonprofit theatre.

In addition to being one of the country's largest grants for new work, The Laurents / Hatcher Foundation Award is the first major award for playwrighting to be named in honor of a gay couple: Tony Award winning playwright and director Arthur Laurents and his partner of 52 years, Tom Hatcher.

Submissions for the inaugural Laurents / Hatcher Foundation Award will be accepted from invited applicants only, between June 15, 2010 and September 15, 2010 and reviewed by a panel chosen by the trustees of the foundation. The recipient shall be notified on March 15, 2011 and the premiere of the selected work must be scheduled for a mainstage production at a non-profit theatre within one calendar year following receipt of the award.

Currently represented on Broadway with the smash hit revival of West Side Story, Arthur Laurents' career as a writer for the stage and screen spans over 65 years, beginning with his play The Home of the Brave, which premiered on Broadway in 1945. Known for having written the books for musicals such as Gypsy and West Side Story as well as the screenplays for The Way We Were, The Turning Point and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, Mr. Laurents (who is currently 92 years old) continues to write new plays -- many of which have premiered at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, including his most recent, Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are.

Tom Hatcher, who died in October 2006, began his career as an actor but moved into real estate as a contractor and then as a developer. He created the private park adjoining the house in Quogue, Long Island that was home for the couple.

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