David Charles Horn Foundation-Rules

Yale turned to one of its own to be the next judge for its prestigious playwriting prize.

John Guare ("The House of Blue Leaves," "Six Degrees of Separation") will choose the winner of ther Yale Drama Series playwriting award for the next three years.

The award is supported by the David C. Horn Foundation.

The honor (it comes with $10,000, publication by Yale University Press and a staged reading at New Haven's Yale Repertory Theatre) is presented annually for an original, full-length play written in English that has not been published or produced.

Previous judges were Edward Albee and David Hare.

This year's winner is Virginia Grise for her play "blu."

Arts, Briefly – May 9, 2010

The playwright John Guare has been named the judge of the Yale Drama Series playwriting award for the next three years, according to the David C. Horn Foundation, which sponsors the competition. The award is given annually for an original, full-length play written in English that has not been published or produced. It comes with a prize of $10,000, publication of the manuscript by the Yale University Press and a staged reading at Yale Repertory Theater. Mr. Guare will choose the winners for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. Past judges have included Edward Albee, for the series’ first two prizes in 2007 and 2008, and David Hare, who chose the 2009 award as well as this year’s winner, Virginia Grise, for her play “blu.”

The Guardian, May 3, 2010

David Hare's Election
My Rural Escape from Election Panic and Hype

By far the most unexpected thing about the leaders' debate at Birmingham University last Thursday was the chance to walk away just 60 minutes before the start and drop in on the opening of the John Brett exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. You couldn't have had a more marked contrast: Victorian lieder and refined pre-Raphaelite paintings just 200 yards across campus from the panic and the unheeding hype.

Next morning I set off across the country, along one of Britain's most dangerous roads, the A14. There are bold, yellow signs at regular intervals boasting its impressive death toll. I felt proud to survive. My destination was Halesworth, the little model village in Suffolk, which still has a proper high street full of unfamiliar names, an independent bookshop, a pub making good pizzas and a couple of butcher's shops. The young actor Samuel Hodges was born nearby, so three years ago he decided to start a new play festival called High Tide. The festival coincides blissfully with the asparagus season.

In the mid-afternoon 30 of us gathered at the festival centre to be led through the streets towards a small scout hut which had been painted entirely white, and topped with an American flag. We were there to see the professional debut of a young dramatist called Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, who, rather dramatically, was flying back to China after the seven weekend performances of her work.

I have to declare an interest. For two years I was the judge of the Yale Drama Series, which offers a $10,000 prize and a reading at Yale to a hitherto unpublished play. The most interesting aspect of this duty has been to realise how, at the grassroots, playwriting is so completely dominated by women. Not only in both years did I give the prize to female authors - Ya-Chu Cowhig in 2009 was followed by Virginia Grise this year, for her play blu - but out of this year's 12 finalists, nine were female. This vitality is not yet reflected in the repertory of major theatres. The parallel with contemporary politics is obvious. Structures are slow to recognise energy when it comes from below.

It's not my job to review Ya-Chu Cowhig's play Lidless. But I can say it is set in the US, sometime in the future. Acts of torture at Guantánamo have entered the American bloodstream and had unforeseen repercussions for years after. Because the action embodies the consequences of parents' invasive behaviour on their own children, it makes a far more lasting impact than anything offered from politicians in this election on the subject of war or generational damage. Heading back to London, an edition of Any Questions provided a model of everything I had spent the day escaping. A demoralised Shaun Woodward was arguing about nothing with a vicious Michael Gove. We keep being told that if we have a hung parliament everyone will have to grow up. And we are also told that politicians have absorbed the lesson that they must begin genuinely to listen to an electorate which is way ahead of them. I couldn't help thinking that rather than disputing themselves to a standstill, Woodward and Gove's time would have been better spent eating asparagus under huge East Anglian skies, and learning something important about Guantánamo.

Broadway World – April 28, 2010

Award-winning playwright John Guare will succeed Edward Albee and David Hare as judge for the Yale Drama Series, beginning in 2011.

In accepting the position, John Guare said: "In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright's dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years."

Francine Horn of the David C. Horn Foundation who fund the annual international playwriting competition, said "What an honour for the Foundation and the Series that John Guare will be our next judge. The job is mammoth and I am delighted that he embraces it with joy and enthusiasm."

The winner of the Yale Drama Series will be awarded a prize of $10,000, publication of their play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre.

In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise's blu as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. blu will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep in September and be published by Yale University Press. Lidless, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world premiere this year at the High Tide Festival in Suffolk followed by performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia.

JOHN GUARE
Multi award-winning John Guare is the author of plays including House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation and Landscape of the Body. Guare won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Two Gentlemen of Verona and also wrote the book for the musical Sweet Smell of Success. Later this year his play A Free Man of Color will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in New York, directed by George C. Wolfe.

Playbill – April 28, 2010

Tony Award-winning playwright John Guare will succeed David Hare as the 2011 judge for the Yale Drama Series, which annually honors the work of a promising young playwright.

Most recently, Hare selected Virginia Grise's blu as the 2010 winner of the honor. Each year the winning entry is published by Yale University Press and receives a reading at Yale Repertory Theatre in September. The respective playwright receives the David C. Horn Prize of $10,000.

"In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright’s dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years," Guare said in a statement.

Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee served as the judge for the 2009 component.

Guare's plays include Six Degrees of Separation, House of Blue Leaves, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, Landscape of the Body and the book to the musical Sweet Smell of Success. He earned Tony Awards for the book and lyrics to the 1971 musical Two Gentleman of Verona. His epic play A Free Man of Color will arrive on Broadway in November at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater under the direction of George C. Wolfe.

Stage News – April 28, 2010

Six Degrees of Separation author John Guare will succeed Edward Albee and David Hare as judge for the Yale Drama Series, beginning in 2011.

In accepting the position, Guare said: “In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright’s dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years.”

The winner of the annual award receives a prize of $10,000, publication of their play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre.

In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise’s blu as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. It will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep in September and be published by Yale University Press. Lidless, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world premiere this year at the High Tide Festival in Suffolk followed by performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia.

April 24, 2010
John Guare to Serve as Judge For Yale Drama Series

Tony Award-winning playwright follows Sir David Hare and Edward Albee as judge for annual playwriting prize for 3 years starting 2011

photo credit: Paul Kolnik

As announced by Francine Horn of the David C. Horn Foundation, the distinguished, award-winning playwright John Guare will serve as judge for the Yale Drama Series for three years - 2011, 2012 and 2013. Ms Horn said, “What an honor for the Foundation and the Series that John Guare will be our next judge. The job is mammoth and he embraces it with joy and enthusiasm.”

In accepting the position, Mr. Guare remarked:

“In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright's dream. Edward Albee and Sir David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honored to be the judge for the next three years.

Are there guidelines? What are we looking for? Diaghilev said it best. When Jean Cocteau asked the great impresario what he wanted, Diaghilev simply replied ‘Astonish me’. Don't worry. Sometimes the simplest truths can be the most astonishing. And then again - not. The Foundation and Yale's goal is to uncover and give new voices to the theater. We welcome all entries to this celebration of the playwright.”

The winner is awarded a prize of $10,000, publication of the play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre. The Foundation funds the annual international playwriting competition.

In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise and her play “blu” the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. Ms. Grise's play will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep (September, 2010) and be published by Yale University Press. LIDLESS, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world and UK premiere productions this year at the High Tide Festival (Suffolk) and Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland), as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia.

JOHN GUARE, PLAYWRIGHT
Author of such renowned plays as “House of Blue Leaves” (NY Drama Critics Circle Award in 1971 and four Tony Awards for its 1986 revival), “Six Degrees of Separation” (Obie, NY Drama Critics Circle Award, Olivier Award for Best Play) and “Landscape of the Body”. John Guare won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for “Two Gentlemen of Verona” and also wrote the book for the musical “Sweet Smell of Success”. His play “Muzeeka” won an Obie Award and the Signature Theatre honored him with a season in 1998-99. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Guare's play, “A Free Man of Color”, will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in a production directed by George C. Wolfe.

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winners published plays theater reviews press updates competition rules home		Press JOHN GUARE – YALE DRAMA SERIES JUDGE (2011-2013) Courant.com – May 10, 2010 Yale turned to one of its own to be the next judge for its prestigious playwriting prize. John Guare ("The House of Blue Leaves," "Six Degrees of Separation") will choose the winner of ther Yale Drama Series playwriting award for the next three years. The award is supported by the David C. Horn Foundation. The honor (it comes with $10,000, publication by Yale University Press and a staged reading at New Haven's Yale Repertory Theatre) is presented annually for an original, full-length play written in English that has not been published or produced. Previous judges were Edward Albee and David Hare. This year's winner is Virginia Grise for her play "blu." Arts, Briefly – May 9, 2010 The playwright John Guare has been named the judge of the Yale Drama Series playwriting award for the next three years, according to the David C. Horn Foundation, which sponsors the competition. The award is given annually for an original, full-length play written in English that has not been published or produced. It comes with a prize of $10,000, publication of the manuscript by the Yale University Press and a staged reading at Yale Repertory Theater. Mr. Guare will choose the winners for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. Past judges have included Edward Albee, for the series’ first two prizes in 2007 and 2008, and David Hare, who chose the 2009 award as well as this year’s winner, Virginia Grise, for her play “blu.” The Guardian, May 3, 2010 David Hare's Election My Rural Escape from Election Panic and Hype By far the most unexpected thing about the leaders' debate at Birmingham University last Thursday was the chance to walk away just 60 minutes before the start and drop in on the opening of the John Brett exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. You couldn't have had a more marked contrast: Victorian lieder and refined pre-Raphaelite paintings just 200 yards across campus from the panic and the unheeding hype. Next morning I set off across the country, along one of Britain's most dangerous roads, the A14. There are bold, yellow signs at regular intervals boasting its impressive death toll. I felt proud to survive. My destination was Halesworth, the little model village in Suffolk, which still has a proper high street full of unfamiliar names, an independent bookshop, a pub making good pizzas and a couple of butcher's shops. The young actor Samuel Hodges was born nearby, so three years ago he decided to start a new play festival called High Tide. The festival coincides blissfully with the asparagus season. In the mid-afternoon 30 of us gathered at the festival centre to be led through the streets towards a small scout hut which had been painted entirely white, and topped with an American flag. We were there to see the professional debut of a young dramatist called Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, who, rather dramatically, was flying back to China after the seven weekend performances of her work. I have to declare an interest. For two years I was the judge of the Yale Drama Series, which offers a $10,000 prize and a reading at Yale to a hitherto unpublished play. The most interesting aspect of this duty has been to realise how, at the grassroots, playwriting is so completely dominated by women. Not only in both years did I give the prize to female authors - Ya-Chu Cowhig in 2009 was followed by Virginia Grise this year, for her play blu - but out of this year's 12 finalists, nine were female. This vitality is not yet reflected in the repertory of major theatres. The parallel with contemporary politics is obvious. Structures are slow to recognise energy when it comes from below. It's not my job to review Ya-Chu Cowhig's play Lidless. But I can say it is set in the US, sometime in the future. Acts of torture at Guantánamo have entered the American bloodstream and had unforeseen repercussions for years after. Because the action embodies the consequences of parents' invasive behaviour on their own children, it makes a far more lasting impact than anything offered from politicians in this election on the subject of war or generational damage. Heading back to London, an edition of Any Questions provided a model of everything I had spent the day escaping. A demoralised Shaun Woodward was arguing about nothing with a vicious Michael Gove. We keep being told that if we have a hung parliament everyone will have to grow up. And we are also told that politicians have absorbed the lesson that they must begin genuinely to listen to an electorate which is way ahead of them. I couldn't help thinking that rather than disputing themselves to a standstill, Woodward and Gove's time would have been better spent eating asparagus under huge East Anglian skies, and learning something important about Guantánamo. Broadway World – April 28, 2010 Award-winning playwright John Guare will succeed Edward Albee and David Hare as judge for the Yale Drama Series, beginning in 2011. In accepting the position, John Guare said: "In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright's dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years." Francine Horn of the David C. Horn Foundation who fund the annual international playwriting competition, said "What an honour for the Foundation and the Series that John Guare will be our next judge. The job is mammoth and I am delighted that he embraces it with joy and enthusiasm." The winner of the Yale Drama Series will be awarded a prize of $10,000, publication of their play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre. In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise's blu as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. blu will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep in September and be published by Yale University Press. Lidless, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world premiere this year at the High Tide Festival in Suffolk followed by performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia. JOHN GUARE Multi award-winning John Guare is the author of plays including House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation and Landscape of the Body. Guare won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Two Gentlemen of Verona and also wrote the book for the musical Sweet Smell of Success. Later this year his play A Free Man of Color will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in New York, directed by George C. Wolfe. Playbill – April 28, 2010 Tony Award-winning playwright John Guare will succeed David Hare as the 2011 judge for the Yale Drama Series, which annually honors the work of a promising young playwright. Most recently, Hare selected Virginia Grise's blu as the 2010 winner of the honor. Each year the winning entry is published by Yale University Press and receives a reading at Yale Repertory Theatre in September. The respective playwright receives the David C. Horn Prize of $10,000. "In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright’s dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years," Guare said in a statement. Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee served as the judge for the 2009 component. Guare's plays include Six Degrees of Separation, House of Blue Leaves, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, Landscape of the Body and the book to the musical Sweet Smell of Success. He earned Tony Awards for the book and lyrics to the 1971 musical Two Gentleman of Verona. His epic play A Free Man of Color will arrive on Broadway in November at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater under the direction of George C. Wolfe. Stage News – April 28, 2010 Six Degrees of Separation author John Guare will succeed Edward Albee and David Hare as judge for the Yale Drama Series, beginning in 2011. In accepting the position, Guare said: “In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright’s dream. Edward Albee and David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honoured to be the judge for the next three years.” The winner of the annual award receives a prize of $10,000, publication of their play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre. In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise’s blu as the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. It will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep in September and be published by Yale University Press. Lidless, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world premiere this year at the High Tide Festival in Suffolk followed by performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia. April 24, 2010 John Guare to Serve as Judge For Yale Drama Series Tony Award-winning playwright follows Sir David Hare and Edward Albee as judge for annual playwriting prize for 3 years starting 2011 photo credit: Paul Kolnik As announced by Francine Horn of the David C. Horn Foundation, the distinguished, award-winning playwright John Guare will serve as judge for the Yale Drama Series for three years - 2011, 2012 and 2013. Ms Horn said, “What an honor for the Foundation and the Series that John Guare will be our next judge. The job is mammoth and he embraces it with joy and enthusiasm.” In accepting the position, Mr. Guare remarked: “In a few short years, the Yale Drama Series has asserted itself as the preeminent playwriting contest in the English speaking world. This annual event has become a playwright's dream. Edward Albee and Sir David Hare have judged the competition in previous years. I am honored to be the judge for the next three years. Are there guidelines? What are we looking for? Diaghilev said it best. When Jean Cocteau asked the great impresario what he wanted, Diaghilev simply replied ‘Astonish me’. Don't worry. Sometimes the simplest truths can be the most astonishing. And then again - not. The Foundation and Yale's goal is to uncover and give new voices to the theater. We welcome all entries to this celebration of the playwright.” The winner is awarded a prize of $10,000, publication of the play by the Yale University Press, and a reading at the Yale Repertory Theatre. The Foundation funds the annual international playwriting competition. In February of this year, David Hare announced American playwright Virginia Grise and her play “blu” the winner of the 2010 Yale Drama Series competition. Ms. Grise's play will receive a staged reading at Yale Rep (September, 2010) and be published by Yale University Press. LIDLESS, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, winner of the 2009 Yale Drama Series competition, will have its world and UK premiere productions this year at the High Tide Festival (Suffolk) and Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland), as well as a production at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia. JOHN GUARE, PLAYWRIGHT Author of such renowned plays as “House of Blue Leaves” (NY Drama Critics Circle Award in 1971 and four Tony Awards for its 1986 revival), “Six Degrees of Separation” (Obie, NY Drama Critics Circle Award, Olivier Award for Best Play) and “Landscape of the Body”. John Guare won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for “Two Gentlemen of Verona” and also wrote the book for the musical “Sweet Smell of Success”. His play “Muzeeka” won an Obie Award and the Signature Theatre honored him with a season in 1998-99. In the fall of 2010, Mr. Guare's play, “A Free Man of Color”, will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in a production directed by George C. Wolfe. Return to Top