New Dramatists is an organization of

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

s founded in 1949 and located at 424 West 44th Street between

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

and Tenth Avenues in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

(Clinton) neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The members of New Dramatists participate in seven-year residencies to build up their playwriting skills and develop their careers. In addition to housing resident playwrights, New Dramatists also holds workshops for young authors. The organization hosts an annual luncheon at which actors and producers who have made contributions to American theatre are honored.

Brian Stokes Mitchell Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 f ...

, Glenn Close, and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

are among past honorees. The New Dramatists have a library that is open to the public on weekdays.

Building

New Dramatists is located in a former church built in the 1880s in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It was the location in turn of St. Matthew's German Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, the Lutheran Metropolitan Inner Mission Society, and, by the mid-1960s, the All People's Church.

Alumni

New Dramatists' alumni include: *

Glen Berger Glen Berger is an American playwright and scriptwriter. He has received commissions from the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Alley Theatre, and the Lookingglass Theater. In 2010, he co-wrote the book for '' Spi ...

Kia Corthron Kia Corthron (born May 13, 1961) is an American playwright, activist, television writer, and novelist. Early life and education Kia Corthron was born on May 13, 1961, in Cumberland, Maryland. Corthron's father worked at a paper mill in the are ...

Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas is an American playwright and director. He first studied playwriting with Octavio Solis, Cherríe Moraga and María Irene Fornés. His numerous awards include fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and ...

Carson Kreitzer Carson Kreitzer is an American playwright currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1991 with a B.A. in theatre and literature and an M.F.A. from the Michener Center for Writers at the Uni ...

Tarell Alvin McCraney Tarell Alvin McCraney (born October 17, 1980) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is the chair of playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. He co-wrote the 2016 film ''Moonlight'' ...

Suzan-Lori Parks Suzan-Lori Parks (born May 10, 1963) is an American playwright, screenwriter, musician and novelist. Her 2001 play ''Topdog/Underdog'' won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002; Parks was the first African-American woman to receive the award for d ...

* Harrison David Rivers * Charles Smith, playwright *

Charise Castro Smith Charise Castro Smith (born August 30, 1983) is an American playwright, actress, screenwriter, producer, and co-director. Personal life Castro Smith is from Miami, Florida, where she was raised in a Cuban American family. She attended Brown Un ...

, television writer and actor *

Octavio Solis Octavio Solis (born 1958) is an American playwright and director whose plays have been produced and show theaters and small companies across the United States. He has written over 25 plays, including his most famous works: ''Lydia'', ''Santos & ...

* Mark St. Germain, playwright, author, and film and television writer. * Gaye Taylor Upchurch, who has directed plays at the

Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.) The Studio Theatre is a non-profit theater production company located in the 14th Street corridor of Washington, D.C. It produces contemporary plays in a four-stage complex. Stages include the Metheny, the Mead and Milton, and Stage 4, a black ...

, the

Summer Play Festival The Summer Play Festival (SPF) was a theatre festival held in New York, USA. Description The annual four-week Summer Play Festival took place during the summer months at the Public Theater in New York City. It was founded by Broadway producer Ariel ...

, and the

Pacific Playwrights Festival The Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), a national forum for playwrights and theatre leaders, is dedicated to developing and producing new American plays. It is held every summer at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. Within the Ame ...

Awards

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

was awarded the New Dramatists' 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award.

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

Daryl Roth Daryl Roth (born December 21, 1944) is a Tony Award-winning theatre producer who has produced over 90 productions on and off Broadway. Most often serving as a co-producer or investor, Roth has also been a lead producer of Broadway shows such as ...

, Paula Vogel, and

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

have received this award in prior years.

History

New Dramatists was established in 1949 as the New Dramatists Committee. Its formation was instigated by Michaela O'Harra, who became the first executive secretary of the Committee.

Howard Lindsay Howard Lindsay, born Herman Nelke, (March 29, 1889 – February 11, 1968) was an American playwright, librettist, director, actor and theatrical producer. He is best known for his writing work as part of the collaboration of Lindsay and Crouse ...

was the first chair; other founders included Benjamin Schankman,

Russel Crouse Russel Crouse (20 February 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Life and career Born in Findlay, Ohio, Crouse was the son of Sarah (n� ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

, and

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight ...

. The Committee was initially funded by contributions from the Playwrights Company, the Cornell-McClintic Foundation and a donation from

John Golden John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...

References

External links

* * New Dramatists Records. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{Theat-stub 1949 establishments in New York City Arts organizations established in 1949 Theatrical organizations in the United States