Playwrights’ Center is thrilled to announce that our Interim Associate Artistic Director, Pirronne Yousefzadeh, has agreed to step into the position permanently. Pirronne has spent just over a year at the Center, supporting and uplifting playwrights in countless ways and bringing her unique joy and vision to their processes. She’s become a key member of the community on whom theater artists rely, and we’re all so glad she’ll be remaining with us.
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Join Playwrights’ Center in giving a warm welcome to the latest recipient of our annual Many Voices Mentorship, Eponine Diatta. Eponine is an up-and-coming writer and performer known to the Twin Cities film and theater community for her work at Jungle Theater, Tru Ruts, and Youth Performance Company. Now she’s looking forward to taking her next steps at the Center.
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Playwrights’ Center is thrilled to announce that renowned director, educator, and arts leader Nicole A. Watson has agreed to join the Center as Producing Artistic Director. Watson will step into the role on April 1, taking over from outgoing Director Jeremy B. Cohen, who has held the position for the past 14 years.
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Playwrights’ Center announces its 2023–24 Core Apprentice Playwrights: Kandace James, Malena Pennycook, and Jesús I. Valles.
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Playwrights’ Center announces its 2023–24 public season of new play readings. These offerings welcome the public into the new play development process and allow playwrights to experience audiences’ reactions to their works-in-progress.
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Playwrights’ Center and Venturous Theater Fund proudly announce the 2023–25 Venturous Playwright Fellows: Harmon dot aut, with their play Tornado Tastes Like Aluminum Sting (in partnership with Spectrum Theatre Ensemble and the Contemporary American Theater Festival); L M Feldman, with her play Another Kind of Silence (in partnership with City Theatr
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Playwrights’ Center and the McKnight Foundation are pleased to announce the 2023–24 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows: D J Gramann II, Darrick Mosley, and Karin Olson.
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Playwrights’ Center proudly announces the next cohort of its Core Writers, who will be members of the program from 2023–2026: Katie Bender, Benjamin Benne, Andrew Lee Creech, Cristina Luzárraga, Julián Mesri, and Sarah Sander.
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Playwrights’ Center stands in solidarity with the striking writers of the Writers Guild of America.
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Playwrights’ Center announces the 2023–24 McKnight Fellows in Playwriting and the 2023–24 McKnight National Residency & Commission recipient. These fellowships, generously supported by the McKnight Foundation, are important components of the array of opportunities that Playwrights’ Center offers to playwrights at all stages of their careers.
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Playwrights’ Center announces a significant expansion of its Jerome and Many Voices Fellowship programs. The changes to these fellowships, both of which support early career playwrights, further the Center’s mission of sustaining and developing playwrights and their work, and reinforce the Center’s advocacy regarding the importance of building sustainable livelihoods for all theater artists.
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Playwrights’ Center announces today that its Producing Artistic Director, Jeremy B. Cohen, will step down from his position when his current contract ends in June 2024. When he departs the Center, he will have served in the role for 14 years. During his tenure, Cohen has reconceived how the Center supports playwrights and dramatically expanded the number of artists receiving support, including:
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Core Writer matthew paul olmos on his upcoming play the broken'hearts of a corrupted white house.
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Playwrights’ Center welcomes Pirronne Yousefzadeh as its interim Associate Artistic Director, effective immediately. Pirronne is a director, writer, and educator whose work has been seen across the country, including at Playwrights’ Center. She was most recently Producing Artistic Director of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and has also been part of Geva Theatre Center’s staff.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Affiliated Writer Ray Yamanouchi on his upcoming play THA CHINK-MART.
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Playwrights' Center is pleased to welcome Nora Montañez Patterson into the newly created Casting and Producing Associate position. Nora will oversee casting and support workshop production and administration for the dozens of developmental workshops that the Center produces each year.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Core Writer and McKnight Fellow in Playwriting TyLie Shider on his upcoming play WHITTIER.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Affiliated Writer Katie Bender on her upcoming play INSTRUCTIONS FOR A SÉANCE.
Hayley: I want to start by talking about magic. What’s your relationship to it and your interest in it?
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Core Writer Deborah Yarchun on her upcoming play DRIVE.
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Playwrights’ Center, in partnership with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, announces our 2022–23 Core Apprentice Playwri
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As Playwrights' Center celebrates its 50th year supporting writers, the Center is delighted to announce Christopher Bineham as Director of Advancement, effective July 11, 2022. Christopher served as the Interim Director of Advancement for Playwrights' Center leading up to his appointment.
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... read more“This investment in Playwrights’ Center’s future is an investment in not only the art of storytelling, but a public commitment to entrust artists to see our world forward together,” said Playwrights’ Center Producing Artistic Director Jeremy B. Cohen. Managing Director Robert Chelimsky added: “We’re grateful to Rep.
Amid scarcity, abundance: Announcing the 2023 Core Writers at the Center
MINNEAPOLIS (June 28, 2022) — Playwrights’ Center is pleased to welcome a diverse group of playwrights who demonstrate a sustained body of work, commitment, and attributes of artistic merit.
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Playwrights’ Center and McKnight Foundation Announce the McKnight Theater Artist Fellows
Artists from multiple disciplines are represented and celebrated in the 2022-23 McKnight National Theater Artist Cohort
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Announcing Lynde Rosario’s arrival; celebrating Amrita Ramanan’s new role
MINNEAPOLIS (May 2, 2022) — Amid a momentous year of celebration for Playwrights’ Center, now welcoming its 50th season, The Center is delighted to announce the arrival of Lynde Rosario as Director of Fellowships.
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The 2022-2023 McKnight National Residency and Commission has been awarded to Sharon Bridgforth. The 2022-2023 McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting recipients are TyLie Shider and Katie Ka Vang.
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The Center is excited to announce the 2022-2023 Jerome Fellows Francisca Da Silveira, Zola Dee, Blossom Johnson, and Minghao Tu; Many Voices Fellows J. Corey Buckner, Gethsemane Herron, and Liqing Xu; and Many Voices Mentee Johanna Keller Flores. In partnership with the Jerome Foundation, these fellowship programs have anchored the Center’s support of playwrights and theatermakers for over 40 years.
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As part of its 50th Anniversary Season, Playwrights’ Center announced on February 15th that it will serve as the new home for the prestigious Venturous Playwright Fellowship. This fellowship selects three risk-taking, innovative writers and their “venturous” plays, which are challenging in form, controversial in subject matter, ambitious in scale, and/or experimental in concept. The fellowship provides them with two years of residency funding and production advocacy.
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Playwrights’ Center is committed to the health and well-being of the artists and communities we serve, the people we employ, and the guests that enter our building. With the rise of the delta variant and changes in CDC guidelines, Playwrights’ Center spaces are closed to the general public at this time.
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The Playwrights' Center is excited to introduce you to this year's program recipients.
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Playwrights’ Center Supports Early Career Writers With Nine-Month Mentorship
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Playwrights’ Center and McKnight Foundation Recognize Three Minnesotan Theater Makers
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Playwrights’ Center Offers Three Years of Support to Further Playwrights’ Careers and Their Impact on the Theater Field
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Playwrights’ Center and the McKnight Foundation Support a More Just and Creative Theater Field
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Playwrights’ Center Works Towards a More Equitable Theater Field Through an Expansion of Fellowships
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This past week marked the one-year anniversary since Playwrights’ Center shifted to remote operations and moved readings and workshops online. At that moment in time, we had no real idea how the pandemic would affect us, our field, and the artists we serve. The past year has been a time of loss for so many and a time of change for all.
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Our friend and board member Ginger Wilhelmi passed away on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, after battling ovarian cancer for many years. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her daughter Rachel Austin Bernstein, her family, and her friends. We are grateful for Ginger and her support of Playwrights’ Center. And her absence is deeply felt.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Affiliated Writer Rhiana Yazzie on her upcoming play Nancy, the Reagans, authenticity, and allure of the 80s.
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It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that our beloved Barbara Field—one of the incredible founders of Playwrights’ Center—passed away on February 21st, just a few days shy of her 88th birthday. She’s been constantly surrounded by friends and family over the past couple of weeks, and we’ve been telling stories, cracking jokes (of course), and singing to one another.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Core Writer Crystal Skillman on her upcoming play Pulp Verite, the power of artist collectives, and how writing for different mediums informs her work.
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Core Writer Jonathan Spector on his upcoming playThis Much I Know, the magic of decision-making, and writing during the pandemic.
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Interview by Hayley Finn
Hayley Finn: How did you get to learn about Ernest Just and Roger Young and what attracted you to their story?
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Playwrights' Center Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn recently connected with Affiliated Writer Dipika Guha on her upcoming play Getting There, loss and longing, strong female characters, and working in theater and television.
Hayley Finn: Your play is very rich with visual imagery. How do you start a play and what is your relationship to the visual landscape as it relates to text?
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An Interview With Jake Jeppson By Hayley Finn
Hayley Finn: No Cure is a very personal play. Writing something so personal is a very brave act. How did you come to know you could write this play?
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HartBeat Ensemble with playwright Lonnie Carter and Out of Hand Theater with playwright Marcie Rendon Receive Grants
The Playwrights’ Center and Network of Ensemble Theaters Celebrate 10 Years of Partnership By Doubling “Collaboration Grant” Recipients
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Welcome Kelly Renee Armstrong, Nicholas Kaidoo, and Keyanna Khatiblou, our 2020–21 Core Apprentice playwrights!
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The Playwrights' Center is excited to introduce you to this year's program recipients. This includes our 2020–21 McKnight National Residency and Commission recipient, 2020–21 McKnight Fellows in Playwriting, 2020–21 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows, 2020–21 Jerome and Many Voices Fellows and Mentee, 2020-23 Core Writers, and our 2020–21 Core Apprentices. Please join us in welcoming these outstanding writers into the Playwrights' Center family!
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50 BLACK MINNESOTA VOICES OFFER TRUTH AND TRIUMPH!
“Time has come and gone
You must now
Learn to love us
Better than your
Own self.
Or...”
The McKnight Foundation and the Playwrights’ Center are continuing to support and grow the Twin Cities’ legacy as a cultural hub by supporting some of today’s most promising Minnesotan theater makers through three $25,000 McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships. The awards will allow these artists freedom to pursue personal artistic projects and grow in their field at a time of great uncertainty for theaters, brought on by the pandemic.
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McKnight Foundation and Playwrights’ Center Invest in the Future of the American Theater
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Playwrights’ Center Planning for the Future With a Full Season of Fellowships
Announces 2020-2021 Jerome Fellows, Many Voices Fellows, and Many Voices Mentees. More to Come in April and May
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Program Open to Students Across the Country
Celebratory Event Scheduled for Monday, March 9, 2020
Minnesota’s First Lady Gwen Walz Scheduled to Speak
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Join us for readings of Tha Chink-Mart on Monday, April 6 & Tuesday, April 7.
Interview by PWC Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn
HF: Tha Chink-Mart is set in Long Island in 2004, where you grew up. How much of the play’s situation is based on experiences that you had in high school?
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Join us for AUTHOR AUTHOR on Monday, January 13 & Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Interview by Hayley Finn, PWC Associate Artistic Director
Hayley Finn: How did this idea and this collaboration develop?
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Join us for December on Monday, December 9 & Tuesday, December 10.
Interviewed by Hayley Finn, PWC Associate Artistic Director
Hayley Finn: December is one of several plays you’ve written to feature poetry as an important element. How do you see your background in poetry influencing your work as a playwright?
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The Playwrights’ Center’s 2019-20 public season consists of our celebrated PlayLabs Festival, now in its 36th year, and our Ruth Easton New Play Series, celebrating its 25th anniversary. These free performances are an opportunity to share the work that our incredible playwrights are developing. The writers receive intensive time to work on their plays with nationally acclaimed directors along with visionary actors, designers, and dramaturgs.
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In the wake of a series of events surrounding Children’s Theatre Company, the Playwrights’ Center has spent the past few weeks with many playwrights, our staff and our board members to articulate a public response – not only in relation to this particular situation, but also as a renewed commitment to how we as an organization continue living into our value of prioritizing individual artist care in the theater community.
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Gursimrat Kaur (University of Texas - Austin), Taylor Rankin (Northwestern University), and Aaron Ricciardi (Indiana University)!
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The McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships at the Playwrights’ Center recognize Minnesota theater artists other than playwrights whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit. The fellowship provides a $25,000 award as well as access to $7,000 to fund a new collaborative project. Selection is based on a commitment to theater arts, evidence of professional achievement and a sustained level of excellence in the applicant's work.
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The Playwrights’ Center is happy to announce that Carlyle Brown, long-time PWC playwright, has been chosen to become a Lifetime Core Writer.
This year's McKnight National Residency and Commission recipient is Heather Raffo, an award-winning playwright and actress whose work has been seen Off-Broadway, Off-West End and in regional theater and in film.
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The Playwrights' Center is happy to announce our new Core Writers!
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Each year, the Playwrights’ Center serves as an artistic home for nearly 40 fellows and Core Writers, in addition to supporting 2,100 member playwrights across the globe and partnering with producing theaters to move work from page to stage.
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Core Writer Qui Nguyen is at the Playwrights’ Center this week, workshopping his new play Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin with director Aditi Brennan Kapil and actors Christian Bardin
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The Playwrights’ Center’s 2015-16 Ruth Easton New Play Series continues February 1 & 2 with SEEK by Core Writer Susan Soon He Stanton. Associate
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Core Writer Sherry Kramer is at the Playwrights’ Center this week, workshopping her new play How Water Behaves with director Leah Cooper and actors Adelin Phelps, Clarence Wethern,
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Core Writer Meg Miroshnik is at the Playwrights’ Center this week, workshopping her new play Utopia, Minnesota with director Hayley Finn and actors Terry Hempleman, Pearce Bunting,
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The Playwrights’ Center’s 2015-16 Ruth Easton New Play Series continues January 11 & 12 with ENCYCLOPEDIA by Core Writer Rachel Jendrzejewski
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This season, at least 30 productions of Playwrights’ Center-developed work grace stages across the country.
In December 2015–January 2016, catch these Playwrights’ Center-developed pieces. Did we miss some? Let us know at
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Thanks to everyone who attended a reading of Jenny Connell Davis’ Scientific Method. Jenny had a great experience and appreciates the encouragement she received from the smart and engaged audiences. A few rehearsal photos are below; you can
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Core Writer Kira Obolensky is at the Playwrights’ Center this week, workshopping her new play Changelings in partnership with Ten Thousand Things. She is collaborating with director
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