The National Theatre Conference To Honor Playwright Alex Lin With Stavis Award

Alex Lin will be honored with The National Theatre Conference's prestigious Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, supported by Jean Bruce Scott and Julie Jensen, presented annually to recognize an outstanding emerging playwright. Lin and her striking play Chinese Republicans was unanimously selected by NTC's Stavis Committee who were immediately drawn to her bold, unique voice. Lin will be honored with the award and an honorarium of $2,000 during NTC's annual meeting in New York, January 2025. A reading of Lin's play Chinese Republicans, directed by Chay Yew, will be presented to the gathering and invited guests. A moderated discussion of the play and Lin's career will follow the reading.

When high-flying finance it girl Katie Liu loses out on the promotion of a lifetime to a nepo-baby coworker, she embarks on a treacherous endeavor to make a worker's union out of her Republican work aunties. Welcome to the world of Chinese Republicans, where the best bags are Birkins, the best shoes are Prada, and the best president is Reagan.

Helena Pennington, Literary Manager at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, who nominated Lin says, "Alex is a formidable young playwright at the

cusp of a major breakthrough. Minutely observed, poignant, tempered with rigorous intellect and shot through with a sharp sense of humor, Alex's work is muscular, inventive, and bracing. We will be following her career with interest for years to come."

"We are so excited for the opportunity to share this dynamic piece with our membership during The National Theatre Conference" says Risa Brainin, Chair of the Stavis Committee. "I have no doubt that this play is going to have a rich life in the American Theatre."

Alex Lin (Playwright) calls herself "just a girl from Jersey" Her plays have been developed at Roundabout, Second Stage, NYTW, MTC, Rattlestick, the O'Neill, South Coast Rep, New Harmony, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Two River, Playwrights Realm, Central Square Theatre, Amphibian Stage, Theater Mu, and Cape Cod Theater Project. As an actor, she has performed at Actors Theatre of Louisville, HVSF, Ma-Yi, Ojai Playwrights Conference, New Victory, Fault Line, Ensemble Studio Theater, Jewish Plays Project, and Commonwealth Shakespeare. Guest lectures at CMU, Rutgers, and Union College. Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist and Weissberger Award nominee. Juilliard.

Director Chay Yew's New York credits include The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Signature Theatre, New York City Center Encores! Flea, Playwrights Realm, Audible Theatre, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre, National Asian American Theatre, and Ma Yi Theatre Company. His regional credits include The Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Alley Theatre, South Coast Rep, Old Globe, Center Theatre Group, Hartford Stage, Denver Center Theater, Huntington Theatre, Seattle Rep, Kennedy Center, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Victory Gardens, PlayMakers Rep, Empty Space, Portland Center Stage, East West Players and Singapore Repertory Theatre. His opera credits include the New York premiere of An American Soldier (Perelman), and world premieres of Ainadamar (co-production with Tanglewood and LA Philharmonic) and Rage D'Amors (Tanglewood). He is a recipient of the OBIE Award for Direction. chayyew.com

The National Theatre Conference (NTC) is an organization founded in 1925 that meets annually in New York to discuss relevant issues in today's theatre community and to celebrate outstanding achievement in the American theatre. Since 1988 The National Theatre Conference, made up of national theater-makers, has presented the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award, supported by Jean Bruce Scott and Julie Jensen, to recognize an Outstanding Emerging Playwright. Past awardees include a.k. Payne, Cathy Tagnak Rexford, Sanaz Toossi, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Jessica Huang, Nathan Alan Davis, Mia Chung, Jessica Dickey, Dominique Morisseau, Aditi Brennan Kapal, Julia Cho, Naomi Iizuka, Nilo Cruz, Theresa Rebeck, and Octavio Solis. For more information go to: http://nationaltheatreconference.org/