The New Harmony Project Announces Major Expansion of Programming

The New Harmony Project (Lori Wolter Hudson, Artistic Director; David Hudson, Executive Director) an organization dedicated to supporting writers whose work emanates hope, is pleased to announce a major expansion of programming beginning in 2019. In addition to the 33rd annual spring conference in idyllic New Harmony, Indiana, The Project is formally launching The Legacy Program in New Harmony and The First Look Workshop Series in Indianapolis.

The Legacy Program builds upon 33 years of support for writers by providing additional residencies for past participants of the conference throughout the year. Writers are invited to return to New Harmony, where they enjoy an independent experience, unencumbered by the outside world. Throughout the spring of 2019, we are thrilled to be hosting Emily Feldman with collaborator Will Davis, Allison Gregory, Mfoniso Udofia, and Ken Weitzman.

In partnership with local and regional producing organizations, we’re also thrilled to begin welcoming writers to Indianapolis through The First Look Workshop Series. Modeled after our full development process at the conference, writers are provided with a cast and creative team, and supported through their development process. This initiative is designed to aid writers in their path to production, while simultaneously introducing audiences in Central Indiana to new and diverse voices. Following a workshop of a super-secret new play by James Still in collaboration with Indiana Repertory Theatre, we’re pleased to be offering two additional workshops in early 2019. From March 10-13, we will welcome Mashuq Mushtaq Deen and his play The Betterment Society, in collaboration with Phoenix Theatre Indianapolis. From June 5-15, we will be concluding more than a year of support for a new musical entitled Q2 by James Lecesne and Ryan Amador.

Additionally, the 33rd annual spring conference will be held from May 20 – June 1 in New Harmony, Indiana. The full slate of writers and projects will be announced in mid-February.

The New Harmony Project boasts an impressive roster of past participants including Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning writer Robert Schenkkan (All the Way, The Kentucky Cycle), Theresa Rebeck (NBC’s Smash, Seminar), Lee Blessing (Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee, A Walk in the Woods), Steven Dietz (Lonely Planet), John Pielmeier (Agnes of God, The Exorcist), James Still (four time Pulitzer Prize nominee, The Velocity of Gary), Meredith Stiehm (Emmy winner, Homeland, Cold Case), Danny Strong (two time Emmy winner, Empire, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), George Brant (Grounded, Marie and Rosetta), Idris Goodwin (How We Got On, The Way The Mountain Moved), Regina Taylor (Drowning Crow, Crowns), Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51, Actually), Jim Leonard (Major Crimes, Dexter), Mark St. Germain (Freud’s Last Session, The Cosby Show), Angelo Pizzo (Rudy, Hoosiers), and Matt Williams (five time Emmy nominee, Home Improvement, Roseanne).

In April of 1986, a group of theater, film, and television professionals gathered in Indianapolis to explore the trend in the entertainment arts toward exploitative and sensational material. They concluded there was a need to engage and support writers whose work sought a goal beyond mere entertainment, work that sought to empower and uplift. It was out of this meeting that The New Harmony Project was created. For more than three decades, The New Harmony Project has been serving writers whose work emanates hope, courage, and the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. We elevate stories for theater, television, and film that inspire, enlighten, and endeavor to make the world a better place. Following a leadership transition in the fall of 2017, The New Harmony Project has begun to drastically expand its programming in Central and Southwestern Indiana, and is working tirelessly to expand its impact across the state and around the country.

The New Harmony Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For information on how to support this unique and worthwhile organization, please visit www.newharmonyproject.org.