MTC Announces Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship & Inaugural Recipient Zora Howard

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have announced the creation of the Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship, which will be awarded by MTC annually. Fully supported by MTC Patron Judith Champion, the Fellowship will provide artistic and financial resources to one playwright each season to write and develop a new commissioned play while in residence at MTC. Fellowship recipients will also participate in the life of the institution in a manner tailored to their strengths and interests. In addition to a commission, the recipient will be provided with a living allowance, access to office and rehearsal space, a ticket stipend, and a developmental workshop of at least one play during their fellowship year. MTC's inaugural recipient, who will be in residence at MTC during the 2022-23 season, is Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard.

MTC Artistic Director Lynne Meadow said, "I am so grateful to Judith Champion, who shares MTC's deep belief in the importance of new plays and is making an important contribution to support playwrights. The creation of the Judith Champion Fellowship-which will make it possible for one playwright a year to be in affiliation with, and in residence at, MTC with a living allowance-is a measure of her generosity and commitment and will surely make an impact on the American theatre. The Champion Fellowship is not only a generous gift, but also an exemplary model for sustained support for artists."

"We are thrilled to welcome Zora Howard to the MTC community through the Judith Champion Playwriting Fellowship," said Scott Kaplan, MTC's Director of Play Development. "We are so grateful to be in partnership with Judith Champion. We knew immediately that Zora, with her powerful theatrical storytelling and thrilling artistry, would be the perfect fit for the inaugural year of this program."

"Support what is most important to you," Fellowship underwriter Judith Champion states, "and one thing that is important to me is to nurture playwriting talent so that theater flourishes for future generations."

Zora Howard is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include STEW (2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Drama League nominee for Outstanding Play; Page 73 Productions), THE MASTER'S TOOLS (Williamstown Theatre Festival), AtGN (Oberlin College), BUST (2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist), and HANG TIME. Her work has been developed with SPACE at Ryder Farm, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Primary Stages, and Cape Cod Theatre Project, among others. In 2020, her feature film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. She was the 2020-2021 Van Lier New Voices Fellow at the Lark and is currently under commission from Seattle Rep, MTC, and Wessex Grove.

For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

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