Stage Partners Launches Two New Play Commissions

Two new play commissions were announced by the independent publishing company Stage Partners, with the goal of engaging professional playwrights to create inspiring new works especially for school theatre programs. Stage Partners has paired with the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) to commission a new one-act play by TJ Young, and with California Thespians to commission a new one-act play by Min Kahng. Both partnerships will give students and teachers the opportunity to participate in new play development, while offering playwrights resources to create a new play for a public premiere, and subsequent publication and licensing by Stage Partners.

"Stage Partners was founded on the idea that new plays are the lifeblood of theatre. With these new commissions, we further our commitment to connect playwrights with theatre groups for the benefit of all the artists involved," says Stage Partners Founder & Artistic Director Jason Pizzarello.

A new play by TJ Young will receive a premiere workshop reading at this year's International Thespian Festival in June 2024, presented by Stage Partners in conjunction with the Educational Theatre Association. Students attending the festival will have the opportunity to participate in the workshop, helmed by Maria McConville, Director of Education & Engagement at Stage Partners. Application and audition information can be found on the EdTA Website. "When young actors have told me they have had fun or felt seen working on a play of mine, it's really important to me, so I'm very excited to create something that's especially for them." says Young, playwright of The Inseparables.

In conjunction with California Thespians, Stage Partners has commissioned playwright Min Kahng to develop a new one-act play for a California high school theatre troupe to premiere at the State Thespian Conference in 2025. Applications for the opportunity will open in April 2024, and the selected California school will have the opportunity to work directly with Kahng on the development of the script, which will premiere as part of the state festival in January 2025. "I am so excited to collaborate with these students," says Kahng, "I can't wait to see what we create together."

Stage Partners is an independent play publisher dedicated to making exceptional new plays accessible to all theaters and schools. Founded and run by writers experienced in theatrical licensing, Stage Partners aims to make finding the perfect new play easy, engaging, and exciting, whether you are a new drama teacher or an experienced artistic director. With scripts that are always free to read, lightning-fast licensing, and a passionate staff, Stage Partners is committed to offering industry-best services to both its customers and its playwrights.www.yourstagepartners.com

Min Kahng (he/him) is an award-winning playwright, composer, lyricist and creative coach whose works include The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, Theatre Bay Area Award, Edgerton New Play Award, NAMT Production Grant), GOLD: The Midas Musical (Theatre Bay Area Award), Iris Lee's Audio Odyssey (published by Playscripts), The Adventures of Honey & Leon, Inside Out & Back Again, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: A Musical Adaptation, Bad Kitty On Stage!, The Song of the Nightingale and Tales of Olympus. Kahng is a MacDowell Fellow, a Travis Bogard Fellow, and an alumnus of the Playwrights Foundation Resident Initiative, Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, Djerassi, Willapa Bay AiR, and the TheatreWorks New Works Festival. He has been invited as a Guest Lecturer/Artist at Harvard University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, San Jose State University and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Kahng is an NEA Grant Recipient, a Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist, a Richard Rodgers Award Finalist, and a Dramatists Guild committee member. www.minkahng.com

TJ Young (Playwright) is a Texas-born playwright and dramaturg based in Pittsburgh, where he serves as co-representative for the Dramatists Guild - Pittsburgh region. His plays include WE FLY, The Inseparables (Pittsburgh Public Theatre Commission), Isle of Noises (James Madison University Commission), No. 6 (2017 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Award Winner - KCACTF, Indiana Rep), Lyon's Den (2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg Distinguished Achievement awardee), Ruby's Baby Blue (2016 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist- KCACTF), Hell is Empty (2017 John Cauble Short Play Award Regional Finalist - KCACTF), and Sperm Donor Wanted (2023 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Finalist). He is the recipient of the 2017 Ken Ludwig Playwriting Scholarship. He was the 2019 Spotlight Artist of Throughline Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, PA. He received his MFA in Dramatic Writing from Texas State University. He is also the NPP Chair for Region 2 of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, where he also aids with the Playwriting Intensive and teaches workshops both at the regional and national levels. He is currently an Associate Professor of Dramaturgy at Carnegie Mellon University.

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