Page 73 Productions Names Sanaz Toossi The 2019 P73 Playwriting Fellow

PAGE 73 PRODUCTIONS has named Sanaz Toossi the 2019 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow. Selected from nearly 400 applicants, Toossi will receive a $10,000 award and an additional $10,000 budgeted for developing several new plays over the course of the year.

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Sanaz to Page 73 this year, said Producing Artistic Director, Michael Walkup. Her plays are finely attuned to the beauty of language, the weight of tradition, and the difficulty of traversing national borders. She often writes about the lives of Iranians and Iranian emigrants, crafting her characters with a deep appreciation for the cultures that have shaped them and the longings that drive them. Sanaz is at such an exciting moment in her career, and we are proud to support her creative and professional growth through the Fellowship.

In addition to Toossi, Page 73 named three Finalists for the 2019 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship: Kevin Artigue, Emily Feldman, and Phillip Howze.

Now in its 16th year, the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship is the company's most prestigious award, annually supporting a playwright who has yet to have a professional premiere in New York City. Past recipients include Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegr a Hudes, Obie winners Kirsten Greenidge, Heidi Schreck, and Clare Barron, and most recently C. A. Johnson.

Page 73 has also named playwrights Will Arbery, Gina Femia, Zora Howard, Jessica Huang, Stefani Kuo, Kareem Lucas, Genne Murphy, and juliany taveras as members of the 2019 Interstate 73 Writers Group, which offers writers a year of bimonthly meetings to share new pages of works-in-progress. Each writer receives a stipend and will also have a reading during Page 73's 2019-2020 season.

Page 73 is celebrating its 21th year producing and supporting the most talented early-career playwrights and introducing them to New York audiences by producing their professional Off-Broadway debuts in the city. This spring, Page 73 is partnering with Playwrights Horizons to present the world premiere production of Michael R. Jackson's A STRANGE LOOP, directed by Stephen Brackett and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly. Most recently, Page 73 produced the world premiere of Mia Chung's CATCH AS CATCH CAN, directed by two-time Obie Award winner Ken Rus Schmoll. Page 73's 2017-18 season included the world premieres of Susan Soon He Stanton's TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, directed by Kip Fagan, and Basil Kreimendahl's ORANGE JULIUS, directed by Dustin Wills. Their season also fostered the work of C. A. Johnson and John J. Caswell, Jr. through the prestigious Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship.

Prior Page 73 seasons have included world and New York premieres of Caroline V. McGraw's ULTIMATE BEAUTY BIBLE, directed by Stephen Brackett; Leah Nanako Winkler's KENTUCKY, directed by Morgan Gould; Max Posner's JUDY, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll; Clare Barron's critically acclaimed YOU GOT OLDER, which was recognized at the 2015 Obies with awards for Playwright, Performance (Brooke Bloom), and Direction (Anne Kauffman) each artist was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award, along with co-star and Tony Award winner Reed Birney; the first New York City production of George Brant's critically acclaimed GROUNDED, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll and starring Drama Desk nominee Hannah Cabell; and Cori Thomas' WHEN JANUARY FEELS LIKE SUMMER, directed by Daniella Topol. They have co-produced from time to time with such renowned new play theaters as Soho Rep, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Today, Page 73 annually serves twelve to fifteen early career playwrights through its productions and development programs. Each year, Page 73 produces New York City or world premieres by early-career playwrights and offers a slate of new play development programs: the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship, Interstate 73 writers group, and a week-long Summer Residency.

Close to two-thirds of the over 100 playwrights they've supported have enjoyed New York or regional theatre productions after receiving a Page 73 premiere or development support. These include, among others, writers whose professional debuts in New York City were produced by Page 73, such as Samuel D. Hunter (2015 MacArthur Genius Grant), Quiara Alegr a Hudes (2012 Pulitzer Prize), Dan LeFranc (2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award), Heidi Schreck (2014 Tow Playwright in Residence at Playwrights Horizons), and Clare Barron (2016-2017 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize).

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