The Juilliard Drama Division's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program

The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, created in 1993, has been led by Marsha Norman and Christopher Durang since 1994. (Other esteemed playwrights to have led Juilliard’s up-and-coming writers include John Guare and Terrence McNally, who co-created the program with the Juilliard Drama Division, as well as Jon Robin Baitz and Romulus Linney.)

Now in its 15th year, the program offers one-year, tuition-free, graduate level fellowships to four new writers this year - Andrea Ciannavei, Greg Keller, Molly Metzler, and Marco Ramirez - and as many as five returning writers - currently Zayd Dohrn, Katori Hall, Sam Hunter, Nathan Jackson, and Emily Schwend. Juilliard’s Playwrights Program is purposely small and allows the young artists to focus on the practical aspects of dramatic writing while at the same time they are encouraged to take advantage of the wealth of resources within Juilliard’s walls, and those afforded via the School’s prime location on Broadway – the greater New York City theater scene. Students may take any class in the Drama Division and are encouraged to see productions around the city by receiving free or discounted tickets to many events on and Off-Broadway.

The essence of the Playwrights Program lies in the weekly workshop/seminars with the playwright heads that are specifically tailored for the group. In addition, twice monthly lab readings of the students’ work allow the writers, with the help of Juilliard acting students and alumni, to tackle the practical aspects of creating a new play. The workshops culminate at year’s end when students in the playwrights residency, like their peers from the acting program, present their work to professionals from New York and around the country in a showcase evening. The intention is that these events will create a bridge for these young artists between Juilliard and the larger community. Alumni of the program have already put this bridge to good use and their work has garnered considerable recognition, including productions, commissions, publications, and awards, such as the prestigious Pulitzer Prize - for David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole in 2007 - and for David Auburn’s Proof in 2001.

This 2008-09 season finds a flurry of activity among the graduates of the program. Two Off-Broadway plays by graduates recently opened: Noah Haidle’s latest play, Saturn Returns, directed by Nicky Martin and featuring Juilliard graduate Robert Eli, opened at the Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center; and Beau Willimon’s play Farragut North, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Chris Noth, opened at the Atlantic Theater Company. Earlier this fall Stephen Belber’s Fault Lines, was directed by former Friends star David Schwimmer, and Adam Rapp’s Kindness, which he wrote and then directed himself at Playwrights Horizon had a successful run. Another play by Mr. Belber, Geometry of Fire, starring Juilliard alumnus Kevin O’Donnell and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, opened at Rattlestick Theater. Mr. Belber’s first film, Management, starring Jennifer Aniston, which he also directed, recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

David Lindsay-Abaire’s adaptation of the DreamWorks hit, Shrek, opened on Broadway in December 2008; the play features Juilliard alumnus Daniel Breaker. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire, who wrote the book for the 2006 musical High Fidelity, is also the author of Rabbit Hole, which was honored that same year with the Pulitzer Prize. He recently completed a screenplay, Rabbit Hole; the film stars Nicole Kidman and begins shooting next year. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire was just selected to be the writer of the feature film, Spiderman 4, starring Tobey McGuire and directed by Sam Raimi.

At Lincoln Center Theater, David Adjmi’s Stunning opens in June 2009. The play premiered last year at the Woolly Mammoth Theater in Washington, D.C. Mr. Adjimi’s play Elective Affinities was produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2006 before transferring to Soho Theatre in London. The production was directed by Dominic Cooke. His new play, The Evildoers, received its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theater this year. The production, directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman, featured Juilliard alumnus Stephen Barker Turner and Juilliard alumna Samantha Soule. Also at Lincoln Center next fall will be Nathan Jackson’s Broke-ology, which he wrote while at Juilliard. That play, which received its world premiere, directed by Thomas Kail, at the Williamstown Theater Festival last summer, is set to again feature Juilliard alumnus Francois Battiste and Juilliard alumnus Wendell Pierce in the New York production.

Zayd Dohrn will see his play Magic Forest Farm produced at the Marin Theater Company in San Francisco in April 2009, and Mr. Dohrn’s play Sick is scheduled for numerous regional productions this year and next. Katori Hall’s play Hoodoo Love was produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theater last year.

Darren Candy’s play False Creeds was produced at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta last year, and Carly Mensch’s play All Hail Hurricane Gordo, written at Juilliard, opened at the Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky last spring. That production, directed by Sean Daniels, moved to the Cleveland Playhouse in May. Carly Mensch’s most recent play, Len, Asleep in Vinyl, written and developed in workshop at Juilliard, was produced by Second Stage Theater in New York last summer. The production was directed by Jackson Guy. Elizabeth Meriwether’s most recent play, Oliver!, developed at Juilliard, will be produced Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theater next year by Scott Rudin. Also for Scott Rudin and Miramax Films, Ms. Meriwether is adapting Rudolph Delson’s novel Maynard and Jennica. Her play Heddatron will premiere in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum, directed by Alex Timbers, in Spring of 2009. Also seen Off-Broadway last year was Jenny Schwartz’s play God’s Ear, developed at Juilliard. It had its world premiere at New Georges in New York City. The Public Theater presented the world premiere of Julia Cho’s Durango in fall 2006. Brooke Berman’s play Hunting and Gathering had its world premiere at the Darryl Roth Theater in January 2008.

Tanya Barfield’s play Blue Door premiered Off-Broadway last year and continues to be produced nationally. Ms. Barfield’s play Of Equal Measure had its world premiere at Mark Taper’s Kirk Douglas Theater in Los Angeles in June 2008. Julia Jordan’s play Dark Yellow was presented in 2006 in New York at Studio Dante.

Several Juilliard graduates have gone on to work in television: Ron Fitzgerald (Weeds); Alexandra Cunningham (Desperate Housewives); Etan Frankel (Gossip Girl); Kara Corthron (Kings); and Julia Cho (Fringe).

New plays have been published this year by alumni David Adjimi, Tanya Barfield, Mike Batistick, Stephen Belber, Hilary Bell, Brooke Berman, Julia Cho, Cusi Cram, Bathsheba Doran, Ron Fitzgerald, Jessica Goldberg, Daniel Goldfarb, Noah Haidle, Julia Jordan, Deborah Zoe Laufer, David Lindsay-Abaire, Ellen Melaver, Carly Mensch, Elizabeth Meriwether, Kira Obolensky, Adam Rapp, Julian Shepard, Jenny Schwartz, and Adam Szymkowicz. In addition to these playwrights, other alumni of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights fellowship include: Peter Basta Brightbill, Cathy Caplan, Ellsworth, Bob Kerr, Oni Faida Lampley, Lynn Martin, Christian Papagapitos, Cybele Pascal, Jay Reiss, Leah Ryan, Tim Sheridan, Matthew Swan, Alex Tolk, Francine Volpe, and Michael Develle Winn.