Playwrights Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Dominique Morisseau, Annie Baker and David Henry Hwang Discuss Steinberg Award
By: Michael Dale Nov. 12, 2015
It may seem hard to believe for audience members who aren't industry professionals, but even award-winning playwrights whose work is produced by major theatre companies often need to take other jobs to make a living. This is why grants and funding are so important to writers, giving them the time they need to build a body of work without the everyday pressure of paying the bills.
As reported by BroadwayWorld, on Monday, November 16, the 2015 Steinberg Playwright Awards, presented by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, will honor this year's recipients, playwrights Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Dominique Morisseau at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.
The Steinberg Playwright Awards are presented biennially to playwrights in early and middle stages of their careers, who have distinctive and compelling voices, and whose current bodies of work exhibit exceptional talent and artistic excellence. The awards celebrate the accomplishments of some of the most gifted up-and-coming American playwrights and honor the promise they hold for the future of American theater. Each recipient will receive a cash award of $50,000.
The Steinberg Playwright Awards and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award are presented in alternate years. Past recipients include:
· Stephen Adly Guirgis, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2014
· Annie Baker and Rajiv Joseph, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2013
· David Henry Hwang, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2012
· Lisa D'Amour and Melissa James Gibson, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2011
· Lynn Nottage, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2010
· David Adjmi, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2009
· Tony Kushner, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2008
BroadwayWorld asked this year's honorees about making a living as a young playwright and what monetary awards mean for them. We asked the same of past honorees, David Henry Hwang (Tony winner for M. BUTTERFLY) and Annie Baker (Pulitzer Prize winner for THE FLICK).
DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU - Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2015
(DETROIT '67, PARADISE BLUE, upcoming SKELETON CREW by Atlantic Theater Company)
As a young playwright starting out, did you need to take on work (writing or otherwise) to support yourself?
Absolutely. I worked for over a decade in NYC as a teaching artist and served many students in all five boroughs through the arts and through social justice organizations.
How did you make sure you had enough time for your creative work?
I didn't always have time for my creative work. My survival work, though meaningful, consumed me. To write, I had to pull back on work, which also meant to pull back on having a sustainable income.
What kind of writing projects did you take on in order to support yourself?
I taught poetry at Police Athletic League, cashier at Barnes and Nobles, receptionist at Reebok Sports Club NY, and mostly I served as a teaching artist for CUNY Creative Arts Team - A Social Justice Theatre in Education company.
How will receiving the Steinberg Playwright Award affect your career and your ability to do the work you want to do?
I think it will help give more visibility to me as a playwright and will speak loudly on my behalf to the theatre world, saying, "We want and need her voice here." It will afford me the "office time" to write a meaningful piece of theatre that I create from my soul, which is the biggest gift an award can give: to keep me creating.
BRANDON JACOBS-JENKINS - Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2015
(NEIGHBORS, APPROPRIATE, AN OCTOROON, GLORIA, upcoming WAR by Lincoln Center Theater)
As a young playwright starting out, did you need to take on work (writing or otherwise) to support yourself?
Yes.
How did you make sure you had enough time for your creative work?
I got into the habit of waking up as early as humanly possible and trying to get work done in the hours before the world came calling. I also never made plans on Saturdays and would plant myself in a café near my old apartment every weekend and not leave until I'd written a scene.
What kind of writing projects did you take on in order to support yourself?
I wrote theatre reviews for a while. I wrote grants and copy for other artists applying for things.
How will receiving the Steinberg Playwright Award affected your career and your ability to do the work you want to do?
Who knows? Who can tell the future? But the money will help me pay off some debt that's been hanging over my head. So I suppose I'll be slightly less stressed out for a moment or two.
DAVID HENRY HWANG - Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2012
(FOB, M. BUTTERFLY, GOLDEN CHILD, YELLOWFACE, CHINGLISH among numerous others)
As a young playwright starting out, did you need to take on work (writing or otherwise) to support yourself?
As a young playwright to the present day, I have always taken on other writing work to support myself. Creating a new play usually involves 3-4 years of writing and rewriting, and, except on rare occasions, yields maybe low- to mid-six figures for its New York premiere run. One of the reasons I've been able to sustain a long career is that I've accepted (and usually enjoy) working in other arenas, such as writing for film, television, opera, and musical theatre, as well as teaching.
How did you make sure you had enough time for your creative work?
It's a tricky balance to support oneself with commercial assignments, while also reserving time for personal work. For instance, there was a time when I didn't write a new, original, full-length play for ten years. Nowadays, I hope I've found that balance by not getting greedy. I make enough money to live a nice life, while turning down enough work to preserve time for my personal projects. Of course, I also need to feel some artistic connection with both my commercial and my creative work.
What kind of writing projects did you take on in order to support yourself?
I believe in diversifying my artistic portfolio, so I write in just about any form that involves a script: film, TV, opera libretti and musical theatre.
How has receiving the Steinberg Playwright Award affected your career and your ability to do the work you want to do?
The Steinberg "Mimi" Award looks both to the past and the future. It was incredibly moving to be recognized for the work I had done so far, while also receiving encouragement for my future promise. The Steinberg provides the very generous support every playwright needs to continue creating personal and idiosyncratic work, free from the pressures of the commercial marketplace.
ANNIE BAKER - Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2013
(BODY AWARENESS, CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, THE ALIENS, THE FLICK, JOHN)
As a young playwright starting out, did you need to take on work (writing or otherwise) to support yourself?
Yes. I had many different jobs. I was a nanny, a fact-checker, a bookstore clerk, an editorial assistant, a residence hall manager for under-18 ballerinas...
How did you make sure you had enough time for your creative work?
I didn't! I work so slowly and painstakingly that it was very difficult to write while working full-time.
What kind of writing projects did you take on in order to support yourself?
I've written some not-great screenplays.
How has receiving the Steinberg Playwright Award affected your career and your ability to do the work you want to do?
It afforded me the time to write my most recent play, JOHN. I am eternally grateful for that.
Photo of Morisseau: Jennifer Broski
Photos of Jacobs-Jenkins, Baker and Hwang: Walter McBride
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