NNPN Announces 72nd Rolling World Premiere PROJECT DAWN

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the continuation of the Rolling World Premiere Project Dawn by Karen Hartman at Unicorn Theatre. The play will receive a total of three distinct NNPN RWP productions, rolling through Associate Member People's Light (Malvern, PA; June 7-July 9, 2017), and Core Members Horizon Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA; September 22-October 29, 2017), and Unicorn Theatre (Kansas City, MO; January 27-Feburary 18, 2018). Project Dawn is NNPN's 72nd Rolling World Premiere.

In an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Network provides production support to the playwright and the partnering theaters, including assistance with the creation and the contracting of the premiere agreement, collaborative interactions between the theaters, and travel and housing funds for the playwright to further develop the play in each city.

ABOUT PROJECT DAWN
In this vital and surprisingly funny new play, seven actresses play fourteen characters on both sides of a radical new courtroom experiment. Every day these lawyers, judges, and social workers provide support for women desperate to escape the cycles of drug addiction, prostitution and poverty. In the tradition of "Orange is the New Black," get a glimpse inside the lives of women struggling to change their circumstances against the odds. Playwright Karen Hartman explores the thin line that separates freedom from incarceration, inside the real life Project Dawn Court in Philadelphia, PA.

ABOUT Karen Hartman
Karen Hartman had four productions of three world premieres during the 2016-2017 season: Roz and Ray at Victory Gardens and Seattle Repertory Theater (Edgerton New Play Prize winner), Book of Joseph at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Project Dawn at People's Light in Malvern, PA (NEA Art Works Grant). Her Goldie, Max, and Milk premiered at Florida Stage and the Phoenix Theater, and was nominated for the Steinberg and Carbonell Awards. Other works: Gaza Rehearsal (Victory Gardens Ignition Festival), Goliath (Dorothy Silver New Play Prize), Gum, Leah's Train, Going Gone (NEA New Play Grant), Girl Under Grain (Best Drama in NY Fringe), Wild Kate, ALICE: Tales of a Curious Girl (Music by Gina Leishman, AT&T Onstage Award), Troy Women, and MotherBone, score by Graham Reynolds (Frederick Loewe Award). New York: Women's Project, National Asian American Theatre Company, P73, Summer Play Festival. Regional: Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, the Magic, and elsewhere. Publications: Theater Communications Group, Dramatists Play Service, Playscripts, Backstage Books, and NoPassport Press. Honors: McKnight National Residency, New Dramatists, Sustainable Arts, Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, the N.E.A., the Helen Merrill Foundation, Daryl Roth "Creative Spirit" Award, Hodder Fellowship, Jerome Fellowship, Fulbright Scholarship. A longtime New Yorker, Ms. Hartman is now Senior Artist in Residence at University of Washington, Seattle. Her prose appears in The New York Times and The Washington Post. karenhartman.org

ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIGHT
People's Light, a professional theatre in Chester County, Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community. We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration.
peopleslight.org

ABOUT HORIZON THEATRE COMPANY
Horizon Theatre Company has been a leader in the production and development of professional contemporary theatre in Atlanta since 1983. Our mission is to connect people, inspire hope, and promote positive change through the stories of our times. We strive to empower and unite audiences with works that celebrate who we are, build bridges between our diverse audiences and offer new perspectives on our ever-changing world - stories that are entertaining, thought-provoking, relevant, accessible, and fresh to Atlantans. Under the leadership of founding Producing Artistic Director Lisa Adler, we seek out today's playwrights and new plays that have received critical acclaim across the country and abroad, while also nurturing talented regional and early career writers whose work matches our mission, particularly women, African-Americans, Southerners and those who bring the diversity of our country to the stage. In our New South Play Festival program, we annually commission, develop and produce new plays connected to our region and/or by writers who align with our mission. This year-round program features mainstage productions, commissions, and readings/workshops of new plays (New South PlayWorks), and the New South Young Playwrights Festival. Horizon serves over 40,000+ people with over 250 performances annually in our intimate 172-seat theatre and other venues in Atlanta and creates partnerships for positive change in our community. horizontheatre.com

ABOUT UNICORN THEATRE
Founded in 1974, Unicorn Theatre enhances the Kansas City community by developing and producing high-quality, thought-provoking plays that have never been seen in the region. We illuminate social issues by shining a light on diversity and inclusive stories which include race, religion and gender identity. Unicorn creates opportunities for the advancement of emerging and established actors, directors, playwrights, designers, technicians and administrative staff. Unicorn Theatre is under the artistic and executive leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, who joined the company in 1979. From a newly expanded home in the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, the Unicorn houses two stages-The Levin Stage (formerly The Main Stage) and The Jerome Stage (added in 2008). After a year-long capital campaign Unicorn Theatre was able to purchase the building outright in 2014. In addition to our 7 show season, 4-6 new plays are read through Unicorn Theatre's In-Progress New Play Reading Series. The Unicorn is a founding member of the National New Play Network and also a member of Theatre Communications Group. To date Unicorn Theatre has produced over 300 plays with 66 world premieres. unicorntheatre.org

ABOUT NNPN
National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of non-profit professional theaters dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works at its Member theaters. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization's member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network's position as a vital force in the new play landscape. NNPN also strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, the New Play Exchange, is changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it by providing immediate access to information on nearly 17,000 new plays by living writers. NNPN's 30 Core and 80 Associate Members - along with the more than 250 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. nnpn.org | newplayexchange.org

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