Humana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this festival showcases new theatrical works and draws producers, critics, playwrights, and theatre lovers from around the world. The festival was founded in 1976 by

Jon Jory Jon Jory is a theatrical director instrumental in the development of Actors Theatre of Louisville; he is also widely rumored to be the writer behind the pseudonym Jane Martin. Childhood Jory is a child of Hollywood character actors as his father ...

, who was Producing Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville from 1969 to 2000. Since 1979 The Humana Festival has been sponsored by the Humana Foundation which is the philanthropic arm of

Humana Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...

History

The Actor's Theater of Louisville hosted the first Festival of New American Plays in March 1977. It was founded by the former artistic director of the Actor's Theater,

The Gin Game ''The Gin Game'' is a two-person, two-act play by Donald L. Coburn that premiered at American Theater Arts in Hollywood in September 1976, directed by Kip Niven. It was Coburn's first play, and the theater's first production. The play won the 197 ...

by D.L. Coburn, one of the plays presented that year, went on to open on Broadway later that year and would win the

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

in 1978. The 1978 festival line up included Marsha Norman's Getting Out, and in 1979,

Crimes of the Heart ''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, the p ...

Beth Henley Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play ''Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a ...

. It was also the first year that the festival was sponsored by the Humana Festival. Over the 400 plays (short pieces, ten-minute plays, one-acts, and full-lengths) the festival has produced, many have gone on to win several awards. ''

Dinner With Friends ''Dinner with Friends'' is a play written by Donald Margulies. It premiered at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays and opened Off-Broadway in 1999. The play received the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Plot Gabe and Karen, a happily m ...

'' by

Donald Margulies Donald Margulies (born September 2, 1954) is an American playwright and academic. In 2000, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Dinner with Friends''. Background and education Margulies attended John Dewey High School in Brookly ...

, ''

'' by D.L. Coburn, and, ''

'' by

have all won the

. ''Keely and Du'' by Jane Martin, ''

Becky Shaw ''Becky Shaw'' is a play written by Gina Gionfriddo. The play premiered at the Humana Festival in 2008 and opened Off-Broadway in 2008. The play was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Productions The play had its world premiere ...

'' by

Gina Gionfriddo Gina Gionfriddo is an American playwright and television writer. Her play ''Becky Shaw'' was a 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and her play ''Rapture, Blister, Burn'' was a 2013 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She has wr ...

, and ''Omnium-Gatherum b''y

Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros Alexandra I. Gersten-Vassilaros (born 1960) is an American playwright and actress. She is the co-author, with Theresa Rebeck, of Omnium Gatherum which was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Gersten-Vassilaros is a graduate of NYU's ...

and

Theresa Rebeck Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's E ...

have all been finalists for the prize. Lucas Hnath's ''The Christians,'' ''Appropriate'' by

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is an American playwright. He won the 2014 Obie Award for Best New American Play for his plays '' Appropriate'' and '' An Octoroon''. His plays '' Gloria'' and '' Everybody'' were finalists for the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer ...

, ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...

'' by Charles Mee, ''

Slavs! ''Slavs!: Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness'' is a 1994 play by Tony Kushner, set in the USSR as it crumbles and during its later rebirth as a collection of independent states. The play has four acts, beginning in 19 ...

'' by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

, ''My Left Breast'' by Susan Miller, '' Marisol'' by José Rivera and ''

One Flea Spare ''One Flea Spare'', by Naomi Wallace, is a play set in plague-ravaged 17th Century London. Synopsis A wealthy couple is preparing to flee their home when a mysterious sailor and a young girl appear sneaking into their boarded up house. Now, qu ...

'' by

Naomi Wallace Naomi Wallace (born 1960) is an American playwright, screenwriter and poet from Kentucky. She is widely known for her plays, and has received several distinguished awards for her work. Biography Naomi Wallace was born in Prospect, Kentucky, to ...

have all won Obie Awards. ''How to Say Goodbye'' by

Mary Gallagher Mary Gallagher is an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, actress, director and teacher. For six years, she was artistic director of Gypsy, a theatre company in the Hudson Valley, New York, which collaborated with many artists to crea ...

, ''My Sister in this House'' by

Wendy Kesselman Wendy Kesselman is an American playwright. Life Wendy Kesselman came to the Actors Theater of Louisville in 1980. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Awards She won the 1981 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, for ''My Sister in this House''. Wor ...

, ''A Narrow Bed'' by

Ellen McLaughlin Ellen McLaughlin is an American playwright and actress. Early years McLaughlin attended Potomac School (McLean, Virginia), The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia for elementary school (through 9th grade). She subsequently attended Sidwell Fr ...

, ''My Left Breast'' by Susan Miller and ''

'' by

have won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and nine other plays produced at the festival have been finalists. ''2'' by Romulus Linney, ''

Dinner with Friends ''Dinner with Friends'' is a play written by Donald Margulies. It premiered at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays and opened Off-Broadway in 1999. The play received the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Plot Gabe and Karen, a happily m ...

'' by

, ''

Getting Out ''Getting Out'' is a play by Marsha Norman. The play was produced at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in October 1978 and then Off-Broadway in May 1979. The play concerns a female prisoner just released from prison, who returns to her home in ...

'' by

Marsha Norman Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as ''The Se ...

, and Jane Martin's '' Talking With…,'' ''Keely and Du,'' ''Jack and Jill,'' and ''Anton in Show Business'' have won the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, and ''

'' by

, ''

'' by Charles Mee, '' After Ashley'' by

, ''Great Falls'' by

Lee Blessing Lee Knowlton Blessing (born October 4, 1949) is an American playwright best known for his 1988 work, '' A Walk in the Woods''. A lifelong Midwesterner, Blessing continued to work in regional theaters in and around his hometown of Minneapolis thro ...

, ''Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them'' by A.Rey Pamatmat, and Lucas Hnath's ''Death Tax'' and ''The Christians'' have won Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award Citations. Jeff Augustin's and Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’ s plays, ''Cry Old Kingdom'' and ''BOB: A Life in Five Acts'' respectively, have won the Barrie and Bernice Stavis Award, given by the National Theatre Conference to outstanding emerging playwrights.

List of plays produced

;2016 * ''Residence'' by Laura Jacqmin * ''For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday'' by

Sarah Ruhl Sarah Ruhl (born January 24, 1974) is an American playwright, professor, and essayist. Among her most popular plays are ''Eurydice'' (2003), '' The Clean House'' (2004), and ''In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play)'' (2009). She has been the rec ...

* ''This Random World'' by

Steven Dietz Steven Dietz (born June 23, 1958) is an American playwright, theatre director, and teacher. Called "the most ubiquitous American playwright whose name you may never have heard", Dietz has long been one of America's most prolific and widely prod ...

* ''Wellesley Girl'' by Brendan Pelsue * '' Cardboard Piano'' by

Hansol Jung Hansol Jung is a South Korean translator and playwright. Jung is a recipient the Whiting Award in drama and three of her plays were listed on the 2015 Kilroys' List. Jung is a member of the Ma-Yi Theater Writers' Lab and was a Hodder Fellow at ...

* ''Wondrous Strange'' by Martyna Majok,

Meg Miroshnik Meg Miroshnik (born, Minneapolis) is an American playwright. Life Miroshnik received a Playwriting MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Her play ''The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls'' won the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competi ...

, Jiehae Park, and

Jen Silverman Jen Silverman is an American playwright, TV writer, and novelist. Silverman grew up living and traveling in Scandinavia, Asia, and Europe as well as the United States. They completed a BA in comparative literature at Brown University and an MF ...

The Ten-Minute Plays: * ''Coffee Break'' by Tasha Gordon-Solmon * ''This Quintessence of Dust'' by Cory Hinkle * ''Trudy, Carolyn, Martha, and Regina Travel to Outer Space and Have a Pretty Terrible Time There'' by James Kennedy ;2015 * ''The Roommate'' by

* ''Dot'' by

Colman Domingo Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...

* ''I Will Be Gone'' by Erin Courtney * ''The Glory of the World'' by Charles L. Mee * ''I Promised Myself to Live Faster'', conceived and created by

Pig Iron Theatre Company Pig Iron Theatre Company is a multidisciplinary ensemble based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company has created over 40 original works over the past 26 years, performed both locally and internationally. Their individual works have been insp ...

, text by Gregory S. Moss and

* ''

That High Lonesome Sound ''That High Lonesome Sound'' is the second live release of bluegrass music by Old & In the Way. Like the first one, ''Old & In the Way'', it was recorded at the Boarding House in San Francisco in October 1973. It was released in February 1996. ...

'', by Jeff Augustin, Diana Grisanti, Cory Hinkle, and Charise Castro The Ten-Minute Plays: * ''Rules of Comedy'' by Patricia Cotter * ''So Unnatural a Level'' by Gary Winter * ''Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear'' by

Steve Yockey Steve Yockey is an American playwright, producer and screenwriter. He is known as the developer of the HBO Max comedy-drama television series ''The Flight Attendant'', which was an adaptation of the 2018 novel of the same name. Yockey began his ...

;2014 * ''Partners'' by Dorothy Fortenberry * ''The Christians'' by

Lucas Hnath Lucas Hnath ( ) is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays ''Red Speedo'' and ''The Christians''. He also won a Whiting Award. Biography Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida. He moved to New Yo ...

* ''The Grown-Up'' by

Jordan Harrison Jordan Harrison (born 1977) is a playwright. He grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington. His play ''Marjorie Prime'' was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Biography Harrison received a B.A. from Stanford University in 1999 a ...

* ''brownsville song (b-side for tray)'' by Kimber Lee * ''Steel Hammer'' created by

SITI Company The Saratoga International Theater Institute (also known as SITI) was an ensemble-based theater company based in New York City and Saratoga Springs, New York. SITI was founded in 1992 by American director Anne Bogart and Japanese director Ta ...

, music and lyrics by

Julia Wolfe Julia Wolfe (born December 18, 1958) is an American composer and professor of music at New York University. According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', Wolfe's music has "long inhabited a terrain of its own, a place where classical forms are re ...

, original text by

Kia Corthron Kia Corthron (born May 13, 1961) is an American playwright, activist, television writer, and novelist. Early life and education Kia Corthron was born on May 13, 1961, in Cumberland, Maryland. Corthron's father worked at a paper mill in the ar ...

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

Carl Hancock Rux Carl Hancock Rux () is an American poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, recording artist, journalist, curator and conceptual installation artist working in text, dance, ritualized performance, audio, video, and photography. Described in the NY T ...

and

Regina Taylor Regina Annette Taylor
''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American

* ''Remix 38'' by

Jackie Sibblies Drury Jackie Sibblies Drury is an American playwright. ''The New York Times'' called Drury's 2012 play '' We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the ...

, Idris Goodwin, Basil Kreimendahl, Justin Kuritzkes and Amelia Roper The Ten-Minute Plays: * ''Winter Games'' by Rachel Bonds * ''Some Prepared Remarks (A History in Speech)'' by Jason Gray Platt * ''Poor Shem'' by Gregory Hischak ;2013 * ''The Delling Shore'' by Sam Marks * ''Appropriate'' by

* ''Cry Old Kingdom'' by Jeff Augustin * ''Gnit'' by

Will Eno Will Eno (born 1965) is an American playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His play, '' Thom Pain (based on nothing)'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2005. His play ''The Realistic Joneses'' appeared on Broadway in 2014, wher ...

* ''O Guru Guru Guru, or why I don't want to go to yoga class with you'' by Mallery Avidon * '' Sleep Rock Thy Brain'' by

Rinne Groff Rinne Groff (aka Rinne Becker Groff) is an American playwright and performer. Biography Groff was trained at Yale University and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she currently teaches. A founding member of Elevator Repair Ser ...

, and

Anne Washburn Anne Washburn is an American playwright. Life Washburn graduated from Reed College and from New York University, with an M.F.A. Her plays have been produced in New York City by Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Vineyard Theatre, ...

The Ten-Minute Plays: * ''Halfway'' by Emily Schwend * ''27 Ways I Didn't Say "Hi" to Laurence Fishburne'' by Jonathan Josephson * ''

Two Conversations Overheard on Airplanes 2 (two) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a Dualistic cosmology, duality, it ...

'' by

;2012 * '' Eat Your Heart Out'' by Courtney Baron * '' How We Got On'' by

Idris Goodwin Idris Goodwin is a North American playwright, rapper, essayist, and poet. In July 2022, Idris Goodwin became the third Artistic Director of Seattle Children's Theatre. Early life Idris Goodwin was born in Detroit, Michigan. He earned a Bachel ...

* '' Death Tax'' by

* ''

Michael von Siebenburg Melts Through the Floorboards Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

'' by

Greg Kotis Greg Kotis (born 1965/1966) is an American playwright, best known for writing the book and co-writing the lyrics for the musical ''Urinetown''. Biography Career Kotis studied political science at the University of Chicago, where he was a membe ...

* '' The Veri**on Play'' by

Lisa Kron Elizabeth S. "Lisa" Kron (born May 20, 1961) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for writing the lyrics and book to the musical ''Fun Home'' for which she won both the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award for ...

* '' The Hour of Feeling'' by

Mona Mansour Mona Mansour is an American playwright of Middle Eastern descent. She has been a member of the Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group and a Playwrights' Center Core Writer. She is currently a resident playwright at New Dramatists. Mansour ofte ...

* '' Oh, Gastronomy! by'' Michael Golamco,

Carson Kreitzer Carson Kreitzer is an American playwright currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1991 with a B.A. in theatre and literature and an M.F.A. from the Michener Center for Writers at the Univer ...

, Steve Moulds,

Tanya Saracho Tanya Selene Saracho is a Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge and screenwriter. With a background in theater before writing for television, she co-founded in 2000 and was its co-artistic director for ten years. She also co-founded ...

, and Matt Schatz The Ten-Minute Plays: * ''The Dungeons and the Dragons'' by Kyle John Schmidt * ''Hero Dad'' by Laura Jacqmin * ''The Ballad of 423 and 424'' by Nicholas C. Pappas ;2011 * ''Mr. Smitten'' by Laura Eason * ''Maple and Vine'' by Jordan Harrison * ''Hygiene'' by Gregory Hischak * ''Chicago, Sudan'' by

Marc Bamuthi Joseph Marc Bamuthi Joseph (born 1975) is a spoken-word poet, dancer, playwright, and actor who frequently directs stand-alone hip-hop theater plays. Early life Joseph was born to Haitian immigrant parents and grew up in Laurelton, Queens, New Yor ...

* '' Elemeno Pea'' by Molly Smith Metzler * ''BOB'' by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb * ''Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them'' by A. Rey Pamatmat * ''The Edge of Our Bodies'' by

Adam Rapp Adam Rapp (born June 15, 1968) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play ''Red Light Winter'' was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006. Early life Rapp was born in Chicago to Mary Lee (née Baird; died ...

* ''A Devil at Noon'' by

* ''The End'' by Dan Dietz,

Jennifer Haley Jennifer Haley is an American playwright. She grew up in San Antonio, Texas and studied acting at the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate degree. Haley also received a MFA in playwriting at Brown University in 2005, where she ...

, Allison Moore, A. Rey Pamatmat, and Marco Ramirez. ;2010 * ''Let Bygones Be'' by Gamal Abdel Chasten * ''HEIST!'' conceived and created by Sean Daniels and Deborah Stein, written by Deborah Stein * ''Lobster Boy'' by Dan Dietz * ''Ground'' by Lisa Dillman * ''Fissures (lost and found)'' by Steve Epp, Cory Hinkle, Dominic Orlando, Dominique Serrand, Deborah Stein and Victoria Stewart * ''Post Wave Spectacular'' by Diana Grisanti * ''An Examination of the Whole Playwright/Actor Relationship Presented As Some Kind of Cop Show Parody'' by

* ''Sirens'' by Deborah Zoe Laufer * ''The Method Gun'' created by Rude Mechs, written by Kirk Lynn * ''The Cherry Sisters Revisited'' by

Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O'Br ...

with original music by Michael Friedman * ''Phoenix'' by Scott Organ. ;2009 * ''Ameriville'' by UNIVERSES (

Steven Sapp Steven Sapp (born and raised in the South Bronx, New York) co-founded The POINT Community Development Corporation (Hunts Point) in 1993 and Universes (poetic theatre ensemble) in 1995, both in collaboration with Mildred Ruiz-Sapp. Theater credit ...

;

Mildred Ruiz-Sapp Mildred Ruiz-Sapp is an American actress. Born and raised on New York's Lower East Side (Alphabet City), she co-founded THE POINT Community Development Corporation (Hunts Point) in 1993 and Universes (poetic theatre ensemble) (1996), both in col ...

; Gamal Abdel Chasten; William Ruiz a.k.a.- NINJA) * ''Slasher'' by Allison Moore * ''Absalom'' by

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), ''Revol ...

* ''The Hard Weather Boating Party'' by

* ''Under Construction'' by Charles L. Mee, produced in association with the

* ''Wild Blessings: A Celebration of Wendell Berry'' adapted for the stage by Marc Masterson and Adrien-Alice Hansel, original music by Malcolm Dalglish * ''Brink!'' by Lydia R. Diamond, Kristoffer Diaz,

, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and Deborah Stein * ''On the Porch One Crisp Spring Morning'' by Alex Dremann * ''3:59am: a drag race for two actors'' by Marco Ramirez * ''Roanoke'' by Michael Lew, music and lyrics by Matt Schatz

References

External links

*
Humana Festival of New American Plays CD ROM
{dead link, date=November 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Festivals established in 1976 Theatre festivals in the United States Festivals in Louisville, Kentucky 1976 establishments in Kentucky

History

List of plays produced

See also

References

External links