NNPN Rolling World Premiere of THE GHOSTS OF LOTE BRAVO by Hilary Bettis at Unicorn Theatre
Commissions
Every year, the National New Play Network awards at least two commissions to playwrights who work with Core Member theaters to develop new work. More than 30 commissions have been awarded to artists all over the country through three programs: the NNPN Annual Commission, the Smith Prize for Political Theater, and Full Stage USA.
The National New Play Network Annual Commission is chosen from projects nominated by Core Members and selected by NNPN’s Board of Directors. NNPN awards at least one $10,000 commission each year, and the theater that nominated the winning proposal is responsible for the administration and development of the commissioned play. Commissioned playwrights agree to grant the right of first refusal to produce their play to all NNPN Core Members in their respective markets, and pay royalties to the Network only after reaching a predetermined level of income from the play.
In 2006, Timothy Jay Smith and a group of socially conscious donors established the NNPN Smith Prize for Political Theater to encourage emerging playwrights to tackle the pressing issues of our times. The $5,000 Prize is awarded annually as a commission, chosen by the Network, from proposals from NNPN-affiliated early career writers for a play that examines the American body politic. NNPN also compensates a Member Theater up to $2,500 for a developmental workshop of the play and provides an additional $2,500 to the first NNPN Member to fully produce the resulting work.
In 2010, NNPN was selected to participate in Full Stage USA, a commissioning program administered by New Dramatists in New York City. The program forged new partnerships with five producing entities across the country, and each partnership commissioned a writer to create a new script. NNPN supported the work of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, and his play, The Totalitarians, was produced as a NNPN Rolling World Premiere by Core Members Southern Rep Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and Associate Member Z Space.
Current Commissions
Smith Prize, Babel
Cleveland Public Theatre, Untitled
InterAct Theatre Company, Nightbird
Uncle Vanye, Smith Prize
Borderlands Theater, Their Dogs Came With Them
Completed Commissions
Smith Prize, In A Daughter's Eyes
Marin Theatre Company, Lasso of Truth
Smith Prize, Word from Kampala
Playwrights's Theatre of New Jersey, Molumby's Million
David Bucci
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Possum Carcass
Florida Stage, The Gulf of Westchester
Dennis McCarthy
New Jersey Repertory Theatre, Soul on Vinyl
Kitchen Dog Theatre, Ponzi
Curious Theatre Company, For Better
InterAct Theatre Company, Devil Dog Six
New Jersey Repertory Theatre, Soul on Vinyl
Smith Prize, Grounded
InterAct Theatre Company, The Dangerous House of Pretty M'Bane
Smith Prize, Ripe Frenzy
Smith Prize, Apples in Winter
John Biguenet
Southern Rep, Rising Water
Jordan Harrison
Perishable Theatre, Untitled
Salt Lake Acting Company, Dust Eaters
Salt Lake Acting Company, Harbur Gate
Victory Gardens, Untitled "College Kids Travel through Time" Play
Smith Prize, White Tie Ball
Smith Prize, Ironbound
Curious Theatre Company, The Luckiest People
Peter Gil-Sheridan
Smith Prize, Topsy Turvy Mouse
NNPN and Full Stage USA, The Totalitarians
Rehana Lew Mirza
InterAct Theatre Company, Neighborhood Watch
Samuel Brett Williams
Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Revelation
Horizon Theatre Company, A-Plus
Smith Prize, Killadelphia
Smith Prize, Black Gold
Syl Jones
Mixed Blood Theatre Company, New Math
Thomas W. Jones
Horizon Theatre Company, Sheddin'
Phoenix Theatre Company, New House, New Dog
Smith Prize, ...And LA is Burning