The winning play of the 23rd annual Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition is “The Red Man” by JuCoby Johnson.
Currently attending the Juilliard School, Johnson is a New York-based playwright, actor, and screenwriter whose plays have been developed and produced by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Playwrights’ Center, and many others.
Described as a Southern Gothic thriller and love story, “The Red Man” will be produced as part of the Alliance’s 2027/28 season.
The four competition finalists, which will receive a developmental workshop and presentation as part of the 2027 Alliance/Kendeda Week, are:
- “The Fifth of November” by Nora Brigid Monahan, CUNY Hunter College
- “8½ Collisions” by Danielle Keiko Eyer, New York University
- “Vulturine” by Matt Thekkethala, University of Texas at Austin
- “Water Aerobics with Christopher, 8:30 am” by Helen Gallagher, Brooklyn College
The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition solicits plays from the leading MFA graduate programs in the United States and then conducts a rigorous selection process to find four finalists and one winning play.
The judges for the 23rd competition include playwright, theater director, and MacArthur “Genius” Luis Alfaro; award-winning playwright York Walker; and director and educator Nicole A. Watson.
The winner of the 22nd annual competition, “Fires, Ohio” by Beth Hyland and directed by Marissa Wolf, is now on the Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre through March 22. Tickets are available at www.alliancetheatre.org/fires