The Open Meadows Foundation is creating the Nancy Dean Lesbian Playwright Award in honour of Nancy Dean.
The Nancy Dean award for Lesbian Playwrights is to honour a woman who was at the forefront of Lesbian, queer, gay, genderqueer, gender-nonconforming, trans, intersex, and people of colour movements. They honour her focus and writing on Lesbian relationships before the time of the Stonewall rebellion. Her writings were the precursor to social change. In that spirit of struggle and often hidden desire, they encourage the submission of new plays that address the conflict of lesbian, queer or gay, trans, and nonbinary women struggling to live and love their best lives. In these times of social definition and refinement, the age-old conflict of acceptance and the right to live our true lives as we truly are is still our continuing fight which is refined and embolden by each new generation.
They understand people have their own language for their gender and sexuality. They are open to submission from people who are lesbian, queer or gay, trans and nonbinary.
They are a small family foundation with an all-volunteer board and must rely on nominations to identify potential recipients.
They are asking professors, teachers, artistic directors, directors, literary managers, actors, writers, and others to nominate promising writers. To be inclusive, they will allow people to self-nominate.
Guidelines
- Writer is lesbian, queer or gay or nonbinary;
- Writer has written at least one play;
- Writer is writing plays about lesbians;
- Writer is committed to writing plays and furthering her/their career;
- Writer is interested in receiving the award.
Please send a letter(pdf) describing why your playwright should receive this award and a full-length play (pdf) to openmeadowsfdn@gmail.com.
In your letter, please be as detailed as possible in up to 2 pages. Include the writer’s resume and website or other social media links.
Deadline: 1 August 2022.
They will announce the recipients October 31, 2022. They have been granting three awards of $5000, $2500, and $1250.
Source: Write A Play