(May 23, 2003) – Young Playwrights Inc. (YPI), 22-year-old brainchild of Stephen Sondheim and producer of the acclaimed Young Playwrights Festival, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2003 Young Playwrights Festival National Playwriting Competition. The winning playwrights were selected from 1,400 young playwrights across the country vying for honors. The finalists’ plays were read and evaluated by a committee of distinguished dramatists, including Keith Glover, David Henry Hwang, Kate Moira Ryan, Diana Son, and Alfred Uhry, that identified eight extraordinary writers for the top honor. And the winners are…

(* age as of submission deadline)

The winning writers will arrive in NYC on May 29^th for the Young Playwrights Writers Conference, 8 days of intensive playwright development, culminating in staged readings of the winning plays. This is remarkable introduction to the professional theater is more than a prize. Past winners have found the all expense paid immersion into the profession of playwriting to be inspirational and life altering. In addition to meeting and working with their peers, the winners participate in daily workshops and seminars with artists such as Lynn Ahrens (RAGTIME, SEUSSICAL, ONCE ON THIS ISLAND) and John Weidman (CONTACT, ASSASSINS). Each night the young dramatists attend performances of Broadway and Off Broadway’s hottest shows, followed by after-play discussions with members of the creative team. Also on the schedule is the annual Chinese dinner at the home of YPI board president Alfred Uhry (DRIVING MISS DAISY, LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO, PARADE), where the young playwrights get a good look at Mr. Uhry’s Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer.

The staged readings of the winning plays will be presented on June 2, 3 & 5 at the historic Cherry Lane Theater. From these readings—each one brought to life by professional directors, actors, dramaturgs, and stage managers—YPI will choose the plays to be produced in next fall’s Young Playwrights Festival. Winners are also awarded a complimentary membership to the Dramatists Guild Inc., America’s professional association for dramatists, composers, and lyricists.

With their winning plays and subsequent works produced at nearly every major theater institution in the nation, contest winners have changed the landscape of the American theater. Past participants include Kenneth Lonergan (YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, THIS IS OUR YOUTH, LOBBY HERO), Rebecca Gilman (GLORY OF LIVING, SPINNING INTO BUTTER, BOY GETS GIRL), Keith Glover (THUNDER KNOCKING AT THE DOOR), and Jonathan Marc Sherman (WOMEN AND WALLACE, SOPHISTRY), among others.

For more information about the Writers Conference, to set up an interview with one of the winning playwrights, or to request a photo, call Steven Hauck at (212) 594-5440, email admin@youngplaywrights.org, or visit youngplaywrights.org.