| MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB ANNOUNCES THE FIRST RECIPIENTS OF THE
BANK OF AMERICA PLAYWRIGHT COMMISSIONING PROGRAM
DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE, NOAH HAIDLE
AND LIZ FLAHIVE TO BE COMMISSIONED
New York, NY (July 2, 2008) -- Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow,
Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer; Daniel Sullivan, Acting
Artistic Director 2007-2008) has announced the recipients of its first Bank
of America Playwright Commissioning Program. The three recipients are David
Lindsay-Abaire, Noah Haidle and Liz Flahive.
Bank of America has provided a grant to Manhattan Theatre Club to support
this three-year program. Commissions will be issued each June.
This program is being overseen by Lynne Meadow and MTC's new Director of
Artistic Development Jerry Patch. The commissions will directly support
contemporary playwrights by providing the resources needed to create new
work -- work that will be nurtured and developed with the goal of being
presented on one of MTC's three stages.
"We are thrilled to be able to commission these deserving American writers
and so grateful to Bank of America for making this possible,"
stated Jerry Patch. "We look forward to working with our commissioned
playwrights and are hopeful we'll see the Bank of America commissions on our
stages."
"Bank of America is dedicated to helping the arts flourish, particularly
American arts and artists," said Rena DeSisto, global arts & culture
executive for Bank of America. "We are pleased to present this opportunity
for new American plays to be developed and to contribute to the canon of
American theater."
DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE was most recently awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for
Drama for his play Rabbit Hole, which premiered on Broadway last season at
MTC's Biltmore Theater. The play also received five Tony Award nominations,
including Best Play and the Spirit of America Award.
His other plays include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the
World and A Devil Inside, among others. David is also currently
writing the book and lyrics for the Broadway-bound musical Shrek. In
addition to his work in theater, David wrote the screenplay for the Newline
feature Inkheart, and is currently at work on screen adaptations of his
plays Rabbit Hole for 20th Century Fox, starring Nicole Kidman, and Kimberly
Akimbo for Dreamworks.
NOAH HAIDLE's play Persephone opened at the Huntington Theater in April of
2007. His play Vigils premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theater and later at
the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Mr.
Marmalade had its New York premiere at the Roundabout Theatre Company.
His play Princess Marjorie received its world premiere at South Coast
Repertory. Haidle's Rag and Bone played at the Long Wharf Theatre as part
of the New American Voices Festival under the direction of Tina Landau. His
latest play Saturn Returns will premiere this fall at the Mitzi Newhouse
Theater. He is the recipient of three Lincoln Center Le Compte Du Nuoy
Awards, the 2005 Helen Merrill Award for emerging Playwrights, the 2007
Claire Tow Award, and an NEA/TCG theatre residency grant.
LIZ FLAHIVE's play From Up Here recently premiered at Manhattan Theatre Club
and received the John Gassner Playwrighting Award from the Outer Critics
Circle. It was also nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding
Play. Her plays have been produced, workshopped and read at NYU,
Williamstown Theater Festival, Naked Angels and Ars Nova. Liz also
volunteers with The 52nd Street Project, an organization that pairs inner
city kids with professional theater artists to create original theater.
First drafts of all commissioned plays will be given an in-house reading at
MTC's Creative Center, to be followed by feedback sessions between Artistic
Development staff and the playwright. All final scripts will be evaluated
for potential production at one of MTC's three performance spaces.
ABOUT MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive
Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and
prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned numerous awards,
including 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment
unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution.
Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining
City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Kimberly Akimbo; Proof; The Tale of the
Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone;
Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the
Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin'.
In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway's landmark, long-neglected Biltmore Theatre,
soon to be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, following a two-year, $35
million capital campaign. In addition, MTC operates two theatres at New York
City Center (131 West 55th Street), its Off-Broadway home since 1984.
During Meadow's sabbatical this season, Daniel Sullivan, a close associate
of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit
Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), has been
serving as Acting Artistic Director.
Meadow will resume her full duties as artistic director in September and is
consulting on the planning of the 2008-2009 season.
BANK OF AMERICA AND THE ARTS
Bank of America is a leading supporter of arts and culture in the United
States. Through a wide variety of programs, Bank of America works to
strengthen artistic institutions and provide greater access to treasured
works of art for both its customers and those who might not otherwise
experience them. Each year, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation
provides millions of dollars in grants to a wide range of arts
organizations, supporting education and access programs and enabling
institutions to expand their scope, and underwrites national and local
performances, arts programs, and exhibitions. Through its unique loaned
exhibition program, the bank offers its art collection to museums throughout
the country, free of charge, so they may expand their offerings for the
benefit of their communities.
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