Page 73 Increases Fellowship Stipend and Announces Playwright Semi-Finalists

Off-Broadway's Page 73 Productions – a company dedicated to producing and developing works by early-career playwrights – will double the financial award associated with their annual P73 Playwriting Fellowship to $10,000 beginning in 2013, it has been announced by Page 73 Executive Directors Liz Jones and Asher Richelli. "We're thrilled to provide more financial assistance to playwrights who are just starting out and who are trying to make a name for themselves in New York City and all over the country," said Executive Director Liz Jones.

Additionally, this year's semi-finalist playwrights have been selected for Page 73's 2013 development programs serving early-career playwrights. Page 73's development programs are the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, awarded to one playwright annually; the Interstate 73 writers group, comprised of eight playwrights; and the Summer Residency at Yale, a weeklong residency for four writers.

Semifinalists are selected each year from a highly competitive application process. This year, Page 73 received 330 applications, the most in its history. The semi-finalists are: Alexander Borinsky, Andy Bragen, George Brant, Stephen Brown, Mia Chung, Philip Dawkins, Gabriel Jason Dean, Meghan Deans, Ryan Dowler, Cory Finley, Nick Gandiello, Peter Gil-Sheridan, Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, Paul Cameron Hardy, David Jenkins, Sukari Jones, Meghan Kennedy, Kait Kerrigan, Gordon Leary, Kimber Lee, JC Lee, EM Lewis, Tim J. Lord, Caroline V. McGraw, Julia Meinwald, Dominic Orlando, Brian Otaño, Erica Saleh, Sarah Sander, Mfoniso Udofia and Leah Nanako Winkler.

Finalists for the 2013 P73 Playwriting Fellowship will be announced later this fall; the 2013 P73 Playwriting Fellow and the 2013 Interstate 73 members will be announced in December; and participants in the 2013 Summer Residency will be announced in the new year.

The 2013 P73 Playwriting Fellowship marks the tenth year of Page 73's nationally recognized program that offers a cash award and a year of development support to one playwright annually. Former P73 Playwriting Fellows include Kirsten Greenidge, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Jason Grote, Krista Knight, Tommy Smith, Heidi Schreck, Eliza Clark, and Janine Nabers. The 2012 P73 Playwriting Fellow is Max Posner.

Applications for Page 73's 2014 development programs will be available online in February 2013 at www.page73.org, and will be due May 1st, 2013. There is no fee to apply.

PAGE 73 Productions – under the leadership of Executive Directors Liz Jones and Asher Richelli and Associate Director Michael Walkup – develops and produces the work of early-career playwrights who have yet to have their work professionally produced in New York. In addition to its annual development programs, Page 73 produces at least one New York or world premiere by an early-career playwright each year, as well as an extensive "Page 2" developmental workshop for one new play each year.

Page 73 produced the world premieres of ELLIOT, A SOLDIER'S FUGUE by Quiara Alegría Hudes, directed by Davis McCallum (2007 Pulitzer finalist and prequel to Quiara's 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning play WATER BY THE SPOONFUL), SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE by Dan LeFranc directed by Anne Kauffman and co-produced with Soho Rep (2010 New York Times Playwriting Award); CREATURE by Heidi Schreck, directed by Leigh Silverman and co-produced with New Georges; JACK'S PRECIOUS MOMENT by Samuel D. Hunter directed by Kip Fagan and EDGEWISE by Eliza Clark directed by Trip Cullman and co-produced with The Play Company, as well as the New York premieres of 1001 by Jason Grote, directed by Ethan McSweeney (Time Out New York - Top 10) and LIDLESS by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Tea Alagic. The company received from the League of Professional Theatre Women their 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for "innovative and creative work dedicated to the emerging dramatist".