FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CROSSROADS THEATRE COMPANY

EXPANDS ITS ACCLAIMED GENESIS FESTIVAL

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

The Tony Winner Announces Recipient of a New Playwriting Award

March 4, 2025 – The Tony Award winning Crossroads Theatre Company is expanding its acclaimed Genesis Festival of New Plays with a new award in partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts.

For decades, The Genesis Festival has been an incubator of new work for some of the world's most celebrated and decorated playwrights including Ntozake Shange, Anna Deavere Smith, Richard Wesley,

Samm Art- Williams, PaulCarter Harrison and Lynn Nottage. Crossroads continues its 45-year commitment to creating a sanctuary for the next generation of black playwrights

with The Crossroads Genesis Prize for Playwriting Excellence, acknowledging the creative prowess of next generation playwrights and honoring their commitment to bold, authentic storytelling.

“Our long time commitment has been to ensure that our artists have a safe and nurturing environment to thrive. This partnership is an extension of that

dedication to the next generation of storytellers.”

-Ezra Ezzard, Managing Director

The partnership with Crossroads ensures an important and culturally unique opportunity for Columbia University MFA students seeking to augment their academic pursuits with professional

support of their new work. The selected winner will receive a development lab and a public reading of the play with professional actors and director.

This year’s honors are extended to :

Silma Sierra Berrada (‘27) Winner of The Crossroads Genesis Prize for Playwriting Excellence

Pearls

Goldie E Patrick (‘23) Finalist

Fish Fry

DeAndre Short (‘23) Finalist

The Group

Jonathan Williem Mikhael Barbee ('25) Finalist

The Finisher and The Opener Destroy the Universe

With a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the two institutions will present the award in a ceremony that launches this extraordinary partnership at the opening of Crossroads’ annual

Genesis Festival, April 2nd, 2025 at The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in New Brunswick, NJ.

ABOUT CROSSROADS THEATRE COMPANY

Founded in 1978, by Ricardo Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson, Crossroads has been a sanctuary for some of the world's most celebrated and decorated artists including August

Wilson, Ntozake Shange, George C. Wolfe, Joe Morton, Viola Davis and many more. To date the company has launched 100+ productions, 50 World Premieres and introduced nearly 35

new playwrights to the global theatre canon. With existing partnerships with other theatre companies around the world, The Tony Award winning company is a leading global

ambassador for diasporic storytelling.

ABOUT COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

The School of the Arts is one of the leading arts schools in the world, a unique place where artists from every discipline come to study in their fields and to create together in one vibrant

community. We award the Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Writing, as well as an interdisciplinary program in Sound Art that leads to an MFA in Visual Arts. The

School also offers a Master of Arts degree in Film and Media Studies, as well as undergraduate majors and summer programs.The MFA playwriting program is led by Tony©, Pulitzer, Obie

Award and Outer Critics award winners such as Lynn Nottage, Leslie Ayvazian, Charles Mee, and David Henry Hwang. This program seeks to help each student find their own unique and

idiosyncratic voice, and help each play grow into the best version of itself.

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