THE ICE BREAKER by David Rambo
JERICHO by Jack Canfora
JERICHO by Jack Canfora
26 MILES by Quiara Alegría Hudes
AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP: A TALL TALE by Aditi Brennan Kapil

“I was and remain deeply honored and encouraged by the Smith Prize… I love that the prize is awarded to a script and not a production… I love that NNPN is working against premiere-itis.”

-Y York, 2008 Smith Prizewinner, ...And LA is Burning

“[CLNPF] secures for the playwright not simply a 'product' (the premiere) – but a process (the ongoing series of productions)... The model – giving several theatres a crack at a new work, giving a writer several chances at their revisions – is a godsend."

-Steven Dietz, Yankee Tavern

 

“The Smith Prize was a great shot in the arm for me. It served as a valuable affirmation from my peers that my work is both of a high quality and exploring important issues. ”

-Seth Rozin, 2007 Smith Prizewinner, Black Gold

“I can't say enough about the impact the Continued Life Program had on my play. That elusive and desirable thing called 'buzz' that consecutive productions can create… very much became the case for Love Person. Three productions grew to six thanks to NNPN.”

-Aditi Brennan Kapil

“The National New Play Network is so vital and necessary - one of those really bright ideas - that one wonders why it took so long for theaters to get together and create it.”

-Yussef El Guindi, Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes

 

 

“[NNPN’s] professional network is as vital (and unique) as the artistic support -- I've not found any other group that offers both.”

-Eric Coble, For Better

“In grad school I was writing politically, socially-derived works, not blockbusters. I saw very little future for my voice. Then NNPN invited me in... I am not only a better writer because of my association with them, but I am a better artist, and witnessing their generosity, a better person. ”

-Sean Christopher Lewis, Playwright-in-Residence 2008

 

“NNPN really acts as a new play grapevine. Because member theaters are in regular contact, they get to know each theater's mission and tastes and a recommendation from one member to another is much more meaningful. Those relationships have helped my work find a home. ”

-Allison Moore, Hazard County, Collapse
 

“NNPN not only lives up to its mission of championing ‘the development, production, and continued life of new plays,’ but also champions the authors of those new plays in the long journey from page to stage.”

-John Biguenet, Rising Water, Shotgun

“In an industry as competitive, as unstable, and as personal as theater, the acknowledgment from a national body of professional theaters that the Emerging Playwright Residency gives a young writer is invaluable.”

-Jennifer Fawcett, Playwright-in-Residence 2009

At Large Board

NNPN reserves a limited number of At Large positions on its Board of Directors to enable its greatest individual supporters to play a governance role. These individuals don't represent particular theaters at NNPN events, but provide the organization with significant financial, artistic, and in-kind support. If you're interested in being considered for one of NNPN's At Large positions, please email Executive Director Jason Loewith.

 

SUSAN ALBRITTON

David Goldman

DAVID GOLDMAN A freelance director of more than 50 shows, Director of Drama at Dillard University, Theatre & Film Critic for CBS Radio, and Director of Special Projects for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, David had the idea of creating a network of smaller theatres specializing in the development and continued life of new plays. Thus in 1997 the National New Play Network was created.

In 2004, he became Executive Director of the National Center for New Plays at Stanford University. With NNPN and the Kennedy Center Education Department he co-founded the MFA Playwrights Workshop now in its seventh year at the Kennedy Center.

 
 

JANE HARRISON

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAM KOPPAKA MD, PhD is Senior Medical Officer in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), currently assigned to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where he provides advice and consultation on projects related to provider education and outreach. During 2007, he was Senior Advisor to the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator. From 2003-6, he was the Associate Director for Policy for the CDC, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine and oversaw the formulation of policies for implementation and enforcement of federal quarantine authority, including the operation of the 18 CDC Quarantine Stations. From 1998-2003, he was Director of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Division of Tuberculosis Control.

Dr. Koppaka earned his BS in microbiology (High Honors), MD (High Honors), and PhD in Medical Sciences all from the University of Florida. He served his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. He is licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia and States of Georgia and New York and is Board Certified in Pulmonary Medicine. He is a volunteer at the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic in New York City where he works as a primary care physician a half-day per week. He is a Captain in the US Public Health Service and is the recipient of numerous awards of the Service.

Donna Willis

DONNA OVERHOLT WILLIS is the Immediate Past Board Chair of Actor's Express Theatre, having been a season ticket holder since the theatre's second season. In 2004 and 2005, as a fundraiser for Actor's Express, she produced Naked Boys Singing in Atlanta and experienced her fifteen minutes of fame when the police shut down the show. However, she was successful in persuading the Mayor to quickly reopen it. As part of her tenure with Actor's Express, the theatre has consistently been praised for its cutting-edge and thought provoking new work such as the controversial hit world-premieres Love, Jerry and Octopus.

As if supporting great theatre isn't enough, Donna has been an attorney with State Farm Insurance Companies' Atlanta litigation firm for fifteen years where she handles coverage and fraud matters. Donna graduated from Emory University, after spending two years at Boston University, and graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1983. A native Atlantan, Donna has stepsons who are 21 and 23. Donna is active with Leadership Atlanta, the American Bar Association and various insurance industry organizations, is a sustaining member of the Atlanta Junior League, a member of the Atlanta Women's Foundation, was part of a recent Metropolitan Atlanta Arts & Culture Coalition Leadership Class and is on the Theatre Communications Group's National Council.