Theatre Residency Program Supports 11 Playwrights

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ELEVEN PLAYWRIGHTS AND theatres have been selected for the 2004 NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights, developed and administered by Theatre Communications Group in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, and supported in part by the Ford Foundation. The program was created to afford playwrights the opportunity to create new work while in residence at a host theatre and to become an integral part of the theatre's artistic life and community activities. Each of the 11 playwrights will receive $25,000, and host theatres will receive $4,500 to help support the residencies.

In a new feature of the program, the playwrights will receive up to an additional $1,000 to provide for individual ongoing life needs, such as health insurance, child care or aging parental care. In addition, Ford will fund the first-ever convening of playwright recipients and support their attendance at the TCG National Conference in June.

Ben Cameron, executive director of TCG, said, "The Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights continues to identify exceptional writers who have brought their talent and dedication to the American …