Rajiv Joseph to Recieve 2015 Laurents/Hatcher Award

The Trustees of The Laurents / Hatcher Foundation, Inc. are pleased to announce that THE GUARDS AT THE TAJ by RAJIV JOSEPH has been selected for the 2015 LAURENTS / HATCHER FOUNDATION AWARD. The foundation will provide a $50,000 cash award to Mr. Joseph and a grant of $100,000 to go directly towards the production costs of the play's premiere at THE ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY.

"Our panel this year was knocked out by the sheer theatricality, imagination, and brilliance of Rajiv Joseph's play Guard at the Taj," said David Saint, President of The Laurents / Hatcher Foundation about their selection. "Reminiscent of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Waiting for Godot, this play deserves a great deal of attention."

Guards at the Taj is set in 1648 India, where two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal- an event that shakes their respective worlds. When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concept of friendship, beauty and duty, and changes them forever.

Guards at the Taj will be directed by Amy Morton and produced in May at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater.

Atlantic Theater Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe said, "We are deeply thankful for the extraordinary support that the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation has provided to this remarkable new play. To show a commitment to both Rajiv and the upcoming world premiere production demonstrates a genuine willingness to foster new, risk-taking theater. This kind of all-encompassing dedication is rare and important to helping theaters like us produce great work and further our mission."

The foundation will also present a Special Citation of Excellence to Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino and her play Ugly Lies the Bone which will debut at Roundabout Underground later this year. "While the winner of the Award is Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj, we were so impressed with Lindsey Ferrentino's script for Ugly Lies the Bone that we felt we needed to recognize this incredibly moving play. Therefore, in a first for our foundation, we've designated a special citation with a grant of $50,000 to the theatre, and a cash award of $25,000 to the playwright."

In Ugly Lies the Bone, female soldier Jess returns from war severely burned only to find her Floridian hometown in a state of decay. With the use of virtual reality video game therapy, she desperately tries to restore her relationships, home, and all that was lost.

RAJIV JOSEPH's (Playwright) plays include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a 2010 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The North Pool, The Lake Effect, and Mr. Wolf. He is the book-writer and co-lyricist for the musical, Fly. Rajiv also wrote for the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie" for seasons 3 and 4. Additionally, Rajiv was the co-screenwriter of the film Draft Day, which was released earlier this year, starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. Rajiv received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa.