ANPF 2021 Winning Playwrights
We are excited to announce this year's winning playwrights: Thomas Brandon, Meghan Brown, Andrew Lee Creech, and Tylie Shider! The playwrights will come to Ashland this fall and spend a week workshopping their plays with professional directors and actors. We will present readings of their new works from October 20–24 with in-person evening and matinee performances followed by audience talkbacks. There will also be a playwriting workshop taught by the winning playwrights and opportunities for audiences to engage in the festival virtually.
“This is the first year I have had the opportunity and responsibility of selecting the four winning plays,” says ANPF Artistic Director Jackie Apodaca. “The finalist pool, chosen through a vigorous process completed by our 70 devoted readers over 10 months, included 12 truly compelling plays. Our four winning playwrights stood out for their unique, original stories told through engaging characters. I am truly grateful that we are able to bring these powerful new works to our community.”
Ashland New Plays Festival announces the five emerging playwrights chosen for the inaugural New Voices Retreat: Kathryn de la Rosa, Ty Greenwood, Heesun Hwang, Jasmine Sharma, and Carlos-Zenen Trujillo.
"These young playwrights are passionate, generous, and original artists poised to make big waves in the future of theatre,” says ANPF Artistic Director Jackie Apodaca. “We are thrilled to be able to support them as they develop new works for the stage."
The retreat, held virtually August 1–7, will allow the artists to fully engage with the writing process. They will be paired with established theatre professionals as mentors who will assist with the development of a script in progress. Mentors will include comedy writer and playwright Sarah Cho; playwright and TV writer Inda Craig-Galván; playwright and director Lavina Jadhwani; Amrita Ramanan, Senior Cultural Strategist and Dramaturg for Play On Shakespeare; and, dramaturg Luan Schooler of Artists Repertory Theatre. The playwrights will also receive a $500 stipend and come together during the week for virtual workshops with special guests. The retreat is funded in part by a grant from the Kinsman Foundation.
ANPF Announces Jackie Apodaca as New Artistic Director Beginning 2021
Ashland New Plays Festival is in the midst of a major change in artistic leadership. Kyle Haden will be completing his 6th and final season as Artistic Director in December, so he can devote more of his energies to the leadership team at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama, where he was recently named Interim Senior Associate Head.
After several months of deliberation, ANPF’s board appointed an artist familiar to our audiences to take the helm. Jackie Apodaca will become Ashland New Plays Festival’s fourth Artistic Director in January of 2021.
Explore Our Events
Fall Festival
Our annual flagship event is a week-long celebration of new works for the stage with workshops, public readings, and events with our winning playwrights.
Workshops
Each year we workshop and present readings of new plays by past ANPF winners and new plays we are excited to share with our audiences.
Theatre Talk
From June to September we present our monthly salon series of talks with theatre artists, many from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Our Commitment to Antiracism
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We at the Ashland New Plays Festival acknowledge our complicity in racist structures and pledge to move forward with concrete actions.
Click here to read our full action statement.
We are deeply committed to supporting theatre artists during this time of crisis in funding for the arts. We ask that you stand with us as we reach toward a more equitable and ethical future.
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Ashland New Plays Festival began in 1992, when a group of theatre enthusiasts came together and launched a unique collaboration among local theatres and playwrights. The objective was to present new works, giving audiences, actors, and playwrights a role in the evolution of a new play. The objective remains the same today. ANPF works with new and past Festival winners as well as invited playwrights, to come to Ashland and enjoy a fertile week of workshopping their play with world-class directors, actors, and artistic team members. Our enthusiastic audiences and dedicated volunteer readers make ANPF what it is: a unique community-based theatre organization. Our readings, talkbacks, playwriting workshops, podcast play recordings and conversations provide a rich theatrical experience for audiences and theatre artists alike.
Engaged Community
Expert Guidance
World-Class Talent
Exceptional Cohorts
Community Feedback
I love new theatre and this is a tremendously vibrant festival.
What an inspiring experience to see a play in its developing form. Hearing the ideas and intentions expressed directly by the playwright adds another layer of insight and appreciation for the audience.
I didn't know what to expect walking into the play, but I was pleasantly surprised. The performances were incredible and I really connected to the story despite never having seen a play so early in development. I really enjoyed it!
Strong performances bring rich life to already exciting and well-crafted new plays.
Great theater is good words plus good actors. The rest is detail. You have it all.
Hearing artists speak on their art is fascinating. It's pleasurable to be part of artistic development.
We love our community and our community loves us.
Audience Members Plan to Attend Future ANPF Events
Rated the Quality of our Readings with 4 and 5 Stars
Plan to Recommend ANPF to Others
Volunteer Readers Who Return Each Season
ANPF Play4Keeps Podcast
Enjoy our collection of compelling new plays and
engaging conversations with theatre artists.
Featured play:
Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes
By Franky D. Gonzalez
Thank You to Our Grantors
