Neil Patrick Harris Set for Tonight's Fundraiser for Young Playwrights Inc.

After the dust settled from a January 2 deadline and the paper-cuts healed from over six hundred plays received from writers aged 18 or younger, eight playwrights have been named winners of the 2014 Young Playwrights Inc. National Playwriting Competition.

Board President David Henry Hwang and Artistic Director Sheri M. Goldhirsch today announced that the playwrights recognized by the 33rd annual competition are:

THE DRILL by Sierra Blanco, 11, New York, NY

ROAD RUNNER by Emily K. Clark, 18, Wayne PA

ABOUT ART by Alexa Derman, 18, Westfield NJ

WE GO TOGETHER by Zoe Kamil, 18, San Francisco CA

MS. MAYFIELD'S AQUARIUM by Madeleine Lobdell, 15, Deposit NY

SNOW GRAY by Eliana Pipes, 18, Altadena CA

THE RESURRECTIONIST by Spencer Slovic, 18, Portland OR

NAKED FAT MAN by May Treuhaft-Ali, 18, Jackson Heights NY

To underwrite the work of these eight playwrights, as well as six other local and national projects supporting young writers, Neil Patrick Harris is joining Young Playwrights Inc. for a fundraising event on Thursday, August 14, 2014. The evening includes the 8 PM performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, followed by a backstage visit with Mr. Harris, and including pre-show drinks with David Henry Hwang and Young Playwrights Inc. alum and Board member Carter Bays (co-creator, How I Met Your Mother).

A very limited number of tickets at $1500 each are still available and can be purchased at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=M4DF5WJA36SQQ or by calling 212.594.5440 x3#.

Chosen from a pool of twenty-five finalists by a committee including Ms. Goldhirsch and Artistic Advisory Committee members Julia Jarcho, Morgan Jenness, and Stephen Karam, the eight top playwrights have been invited to spend the next five months refining their work with professional directors and dramaturgs and to come to New York in January 2015 to participate in the annual Young Playwrights Conference. Conference activities will include the professional development presentation of these eight plays at an Off Broadway venue to be announced, as well as networking and theatergoing.

Young Playwrights Inc. was founded in 1981 by Stephen Sondheim and is the only professional theater in the United States dedicated solely to identifying, developing, and promoting playwrights aged 18 and under. In addition to Mr. Hwang, Mr. Bays, and Ms. Goldhirsch, its Board of Directors includes playwright/director Murray Horwitz, writer-producer John McNamara*, and consultant Barbara Wallner. Artistic Advisors include May Adrales, Alexandra Cunningham, Dana Delany, Christopher Durang, Marcus Gardley, Madeleine George*, Rebecca Gilman*, Ms. Jarcho*, Ms. Jenness, Mr. Karam*, Lisa Kron, Sarah Ruhl, Kate Moira Ryan*, Jonathan Marc Sherman*, Leigh Silverman, and Austin Winsberg.

*indicates a writer produced or developed by Young Playwrights Inc.