Lucille Lortel Theatre Announces Winners of 3rd Annual NYC Public High School Playwriting Fellowship

The Lucille Lortel Theatre is pleased to announce the recipients of the 3rd Annual NYC Public High School Playwriting Fellowship, created as an opportunity for aspiring young writers citywide to get unparalleled access to professional theater artists for mentoring. The Fellows and Finalists of the program represent every borough of NYC. Each aspiring playwright submitted an original 10-minute play, and was judged by the following panel of playwrights and directors: Preston Burger,a??Gethsemane Herron, A.J. Muhammad,a??Cherry Lou Sy, and Gabriel Vega Weissman. Plays were chosen based on dramatic structure and the playwright's individual voice.

Fellows will meet with a mentor to discuss their play and learn more about playwriting as a career. This year's mentors are Bleu Beckford Burrell and Nilan. Fellows work directly with their mentor, and then with director Kimille Howard (Assistant Stage Director at the Metropolitan Opera, Cofounder of the Black Classical Music Archive, Broadway:a?? Ain't Too Prouda??(Assistant Director)), to learn what the role of a director is and how they collaborate with a playwright to create a theater work.

All plays will be presented in a special live performance on May 22 at 4pm (location TBD) with Kimille Howard directing all works. In addition to the unique opportunity to see their plays brought to life, a collection of the Fellows' plays will be published by the Lucille Lortel Theatre and distributed to the student playwrights. Participation in this program is free to students and sponsored by the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

"We were overwhelmed with the response to this program in our third year, especially in the middle of a pandemic. At this challenging time, it's more important than ever to encourage young artists to share their voices with their community," said George Forbes, Executive Director of the Lucille Lortel Theatre. "We are also extremely grateful to Peter Avery and the NYC Department of Education for all their assistance."

"Stories provide windows and mirrors that connect us to one another socially, culturally and emotionally.a?? a??The Lucille Lortel Theatre's Playwriting Fellowship encourages our diverse NYC public school teens to consider the world around them and to share their unique insights creatively through original short plays. How inspiring and empowering for these diverse young artists to receive professional mentorship, culminating with their distinct voices brought to life by a professional team of actors and directors," remarked Peter Avery, Director of Theater for the NYC Department of Education.

This Year's Fellows

Laura Liu - John Dewey High School, Brooklyn,a?? Insecurity

Adar Marcus - Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, Manhattan, Scott's Binky

Blue Perez - Bronx Academy of Letters, Bronx,a?? Tragic Magic

Rose Primo - Queens School of Inquiry, Queens, Never Alone

Elizabeth Shvarts - Staten Island Technical High School, Staten Island, Ice Cream Truck

Finalists

Ayala Dinour - Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, Manhattan, The Breakroom

Gillian Joseph - John Dewey High School, Brooklyn, Push

ABOUT THE NYC PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT PLAYWRITING FELLOWSHIP

The Lucille Lortel Theatre, in collaboration with the Department of Education Arts Office Theater Program, created the NYC Public High School Student Playwriting Fellowship as an opportunity for young writers citywide to get unparalleled access to NYC professional artists for mentoring. Funded entirely by the Lucille Lortel Theatre, this innovative theater education program sends a high-profile message of inclusivity and artistry to both the educational and professional worlds.a??The program engages public school studentsa??of all levels of ability who devise an original one-act play. Master theater artists from across the professional theatre community and who represent the diverse continuum of the participating students will participate in the program, mentoring and directing the students to create fully realized plays based on their collective experiences and imagination. The free program provides approximately two months for students to write and submit their plays. Fellows then have another two months of play development culminating with a performance. The opportunities provided by this program encourage NYC public high school students to become the next generation of playwrights. For more information, visit https://www.lortel.org/hspf.

ABOUT THE Lucille Lortel THEATRE

The Lucille Lortel Theatre's mission is to sustain and advance Off-Broadway by creating awareness, appreciation, and encouraging the continued growth of Off-Broadway; assisting with theatrical infrastructure and capacity building; and developing educational programs fostering the next generation of theatre makers. The Theatre has numerous programs, including the NYC Public High School Playwriting Fellowship, Live at The Lortel podcast, the Lucille Lortel Awards and Playwrights' Sidewalk, the Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB.com), Non-Profit Theatre Strategic and Management Services, Subsidized Theatre Space, and Fellowships in Theatre with Bennington College. For more information, please visit www.lortel.org.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

The NYC Department of Education is the largest system of public schools in the United States, serving about 1.1 million students in approximately 1,800 schools. The Department of Education supports universal access to arts education through the ArtsCount initiative, which tracks and reports student participation in arts education and tracks progress at the school and city-wide levels for meeting New York State Instructional Requirements for the Arts.a?? For more information, visit NYC DOE Office of Arts and Special Projects.

ABOUT KIMILLE HOWARD

KIMILLE HOWARDa??is a New York based director, deviser, writer and filmmaker. She is an Assistant Stage Director at the Metropolitan Opera and recently worked on the new James Robinson production of a??Porgy and Bess. She is a cofounder of the Black Classical Music Archive. Select directing credits: a??The Visita??(ECU),a?? The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawsona??(Glimmerglass Festival),a?? L'Amant Anonymea??(Wolf Trap Opera),a?? Death By Life: a virtual opera (White Snake Projects),a?? In The Opena??by Mona Monsour (Western Connecticut State University),a?? Soil Beneatha??by Chesney Snow (Primary Stages/59E59),a?? $#!thole Country Clapbacka??by Pascale Armand (Loading Dock Theatre), The Fellowship Plays (Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation),a?? A Light Staggeringa??by Jeesun Choi (Ensemble Studio Theatre),a?? Tidwell: or the Plantation Playa??by Rodney Witherspoon II (Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival - winner),a?? Low Powera??by Jon Kern (EST), BLACK GIRLS ARE FROM OUTER SPACE by Emana Rachelle (National Black Theatre),a?? Skeleton Crewa??by Dominique Morisseau (TheatreSquared) and TRIGGERED by Gabriel Jason Dean (Cherry Lane Theatre). Kimille was awarded Best Director at the 2016 Thespis Festival fora?? It's All About Lorriea??by Joseph Krawczyk (Hudson Theater) which received a commercial run at The American Theater of Actors in 2017. Her work has also been seen at MultiStages, The Circle in the Square Theatre Circle Series, The Queens Theatre, Juilliard, The Flea, The Lark, JAGFest, NYU, Sea Dog Theater, and Atlantic Acting School, CLASSIX/The Lewis Center, among others. Broadway:a?? Ain't Too Prouda??(Assistant Director). She has worked with Des McAnuff, Rebecca Frecknall, Ruben Santiago Hudson, Emily Mann, Stephen Wadsworth, Lorca Peress and more. Recent Fellowships: New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship and the Manhattan Theatre Club Jonathan Alper Directing Fellowship. She has produced shows at the HERE Arts Center, FIAF, and more. She is a current member of The New Georges' Jam, a participant in New York Stage and Film's inaugural NYSAF NEXUS project, and a former Resident Director at the Flea Theater. She was the Series Producer for American Opera Project's first season of Music As the Message. RECENT/UPCOMING:a?? Porgy and Bessa??anda?? Toscaa??(Assistant Stage Directing - The Met),a?? Highway 1, a??USAa??(IU Opera),a?? Quamino's Mapa??(Chicago Opera Theater). www.kimillehoward.com