2015 recipient BEAUTIFUL AUTISTIC by Scott Woldman at Chicago Dramatists

Steppenwolf, Northlight, and Victory Gardens were among the 15 first round recipients of the 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award according to the Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for theatre. The one-time grants range from $5,000 to $75,000 awards and totaling $580,000, allow productions extra time in the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team, helping to extend the life of the play after its first run.

The first round of New Play Awards were presented to:

The Prom
book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin. Lyrics by Chad Beguelin
at Alliance Theatre

A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Ursula Rani Sarma
based on the book by Khaled Hosseini
at American Conservatory Theater 

Value Over Replacement
by Ruben Grijalva
at PlayGround

The Fundamentals
by Erika Sheffer
at Steppenwolf Theatre Company

It Can’t Happen Here
by Tony Tacconne & Bennett Cohen
based on a novel by Sinclair Lewis
at Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Queen
by Madhuri Shekar
at Victory Gardens Theater

Way of the World
by Theresa Rebeck
at Dorset Theatre Festival

JUNK: The Golden Age of Debt
by Ayad Akhtar
at La Jolla Playhouse

Bathing in Moonlight
by Nilo Cruz
at McCarter Theatre Center

Sunset at the Villa Thalia
by Alexi Kaye Campbell
at National Theater

Faceless
by Selina Fillinger
at Northlight Theatre

Cost of Living
by Martyna Majok
at Williamstown Theatre Festival

Romance Novels for Dummies
by Boo Killebrew
at Williamstown Theatre Festival

Poster Boy
by Craig Carnelia & Joe Tracz
at Williamstown Theatre Festival

Scenes from Court Life (or The Whipping Boy and his Prince)
by Sarah Ruhl
at Yale Repertory Theatre

Over the last ten years, the Edgerton Foundation has awarded $8,644,900 to 297 Theatre Communication Group Member Theatre productions, enabling many plays to schedule subsequent productions following their world premieres. Eighteen have made it to Broadway, including: CURTAINS, 13, NEXT TO NORMAL, 33 VARIATIONS, IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY), TIME STANDS STILL, BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, A FREE MAN OF COLOR, GOOD PEOPLE, CHINGLISH, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, BRONX BOMBERS, CASA VALENTINA, OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, ALL THE WAY, ECLIPSED, BRIGHT STAR and HAMILTON. Eleven plays were nominated for Tony Awards, with ALL THE WAY, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, and HAMILTON winning the best play or musical awards. Nine plays were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, with wins for HAMILTON (2016), THE FLICK (2014), WATER BY THE SPOONFUL (2012) and NEXT TO NORMAL (2010).

Two more rounds of grants will be announced later this year.