Wally World by Isaac Gómez in association with Steppenwolf Theatre Company part of the 2020 conference.
The New Harmony Project (Lori Wolter Hudson, Artistic Director; David Hudson, Executive Director) an organization dedicated to supporting writers whose work emanates hope, has announced participating writers for its 34th annual spring conference in idyllic New Harmony, Indiana. The 2020 gathering of writers and artists will take place from May 20 - May 31, 2020.
Following an extremely competitive script selection process that saw nearly 600 applications, the spring conference will feature two full development projects, including Jet Fuel by Amy Evans (The Champion at TheatreSquared) and This Much I Know by Jonathan Spector (NY Times Critic’s Pick for Eureka Day). Full development projects receive support from a director, dramaturg, company of actors and staff to aid in the development of each piece. Recent full development projects include Where We Stand by Donnetta Lavinia Grays, The Homecoming Queen by Ngozi Anyanwu, Marie & Rosetta and Grounded by George Brant, among others.
Joining the 2020 conference as Writers in Residence are Benjamin Benne (National Latinx Playwriting Award for Alma), Lily Houghton (Dear, My Brother is Better at Love Than Me), Dan O’Brien (The Body of an American, The House in Scarsdale), Lina Patel (“Krypton,” The Ragged Claws), John Pielmeier (Agnes of God, The Exorcist), and Sharon Washington (Feeding the Dragon).
Following an incredibly successful collaboration with Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Center Theatre Group in 2019 to develop King James by Rajiv Joseph, The New Harmony Project is thrilled to again welcome Steppenwolf to the conference with Wally World by Isaac Gómez (La Ruta, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter). Isaac will be joined by Obie-winning director Jo Bonney, and Steppenwolf’s Director of New Play Development Polly Hubbard.
Additionally, The New Harmony Project is pleased to announce support for a collaboration between Seth Bockley, Tanya Palmer, and Liz Nofziger. With a grant from Platform: An Arts & Humanities Research Laboratory at Indiana University, the team will be working on the research phase of a new project that explores planned communities and the Utopian origins of the town of New Harmony, IN.
The 2020 Celebration of New Plays will take place on May 29 & 30 and will provide guests of The Project an immersive, insider’s look at New Harmony’s new work development process. A full schedule will be announced shortly, featuring readings, conversations with the writers and creative teams, and a Saturday evening dinner to celebrate the 2020 company. Ticket packages are available for purchase at newharmonyproject.org/2020.
The New Harmony Project boasts an impressive roster of past participants including Robert Schenkkan (All the Way, The Great Society, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner), Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet, NBC’s Smash, Seminar), Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, King James) Lee Blessing (Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee, A Walk in the Woods), Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour) Steven Dietz (Lonely Planet), Donnetta Lavinia Grays (Where We Stand, Last Night and the Night Before), Vichet Chum (Bald Sisters, High School Play), 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 (Break Beat Play, How We Got On), Regina Taylor (Drowning Crow, Crowns), Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51, Actually), Dael Orlandersmith (After the Flood), Jim Leonard (Major Crimes, Dexter), Ngozi Anyanwu (The Homecoming Queen, Good Grief), Mark St. Germain (Freud’s Last Session, The Cosby Show), and Angelo Pizzo (Rudy, Hoosiers).
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.
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