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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 Voices and 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, Paul

Carter 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)

The Genesis Prize Winner

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 UniverseWith 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.