Each year, the Dramatists Guild Foundation recognizes achievement in the theater by presenting several awards to playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists, including the Legacy Playwrights Initiative Award, Madge Evans & Sidney Kingsley Awards, Flora Roberts Award, and Kirkwood Award to established artists — as well as the Georgia Engel Comedy Playwriting Prize, Stephen Schwartz Award, Thom Thomas Award, and Benjamin Indick Award to promising writers. Three promising musical theater creators were among this year’s winners.
The Thom Thomas Award, given since 2016 with support from his longtime friends Iris Rainer Dart and Helen Lee Henderson, honors an alum of the DGF fellows program. The 2021 honoree is Avi Amon, a Turkish-American composer, sound artist, and educator who is currently resident composer at the 52nd Street Project. Below are Amon and co-writer Julia Gytri with singers Caesar Samayoa, and Sharone Sayegh at the 2019 Larson Grant ceremony, performing “Sing to Me” from Salonika (starting 6:40 in the video).
Emily Gardner Xu Hall received the 2021 Stephen Schwartz Award, a $10,000 prize given since 2019 to a musical theater writer whose voice is seen as critical to the continued success of the craft. Gardner Xu Hall writes feminist musicals inclusive to people of color, including Cymbeline, Mei-Do (Ars Nova), Nascent Phase (Bushwick Starr), Nomad Motel (Atlantic), Ruth (Goodman), The Cardinal (Cornerstone), and Black Is Beautiful… (Public Theater). Below are Gardner Xu Hall with singers Jordan Tyson, Isabella Dawis, Charlie Oh, Rachel Duddy, and Jason Weisinger at the 2019 Larson Grant ceremony, performing “The Man in Paris” from Untitled Cherry Orchard Musical (starting 2:40 in the video).
The Benjamin Indick Award is DGF’s newest award, honoring a mid-career lyricist, librettist, or book writer for musical theater. The inaugural winner is Paulo K Tiról, a composer, lyricist, and book writer from Manila. His work includes On This Side of the World (Prospect), Called, and Love Songs (Rattlestick). Below are Albert Guerzon, Joanne Javien, Jaygee Macapugay, Diane Phelan, Michael Protacio, and Kevin Schuering performing “Ay, Amerika” from On This Side of the World, recorded at Prospect Theater’s 2020 Ignite Series Concerts at Greenwich House Theater.