TDF and Manhattan Theatre Club have revealed a new partnership. The two nonprofits will join forces to host the 2024-2025 New York City regional competition of August Wilson New Voices (AWNV). A performance competition for New York City students, AWNV also aims to increase exposure to and deepen understanding of playwright August Wilson and the impact of his work. Wilson is known for his Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of ten plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th century chronicling the life of Black Americans.
Formerly known as the August Wilson Monologue competition, AWNV is open to all New York City high school students age 19 or younger. Participants will choose from a selection of approved Wilson monologues. While preliminary auditions will take place on Feb. 1, 2025, participants must attend one of two days of learnings to be held on Dec. 7 and Dec. 15, 2024. These events will offer an introduction to the Wilson canon and touch on performance skills. Optional, informational open houses will be held in person on Nov. 9 and via Zoom on Nov. 11. Finally, an optional one-on-one monologue coaching session will be offered on Jan. 11, 2025. MTC will host all of the aforementioned events as well as produce and host the semifinal round of the competition at their Off-Broadway venue, New York City Center’s Stage I.
The New York competition will name three finalists, all of whom will receive cash prizes. Two winners will compete at the national level in Wilson’s hometown of Pittsburgh, from April 26 to 29, 2025.
“Chris Jennings and I, along with everyone at MTC, are thrilled to join forces with TDF to bring this season’s regional competition of August Wilson New Voices to the stage in our Off-Broadway home,” said MTC artistic director Lynne Meadow in a statement. “MTC has a proud history of co-producing some of August Wilson’s most seminal plays (Pulitzer Prize winner ‘The Piano Lesson’ [and] ‘Seven Guitars’ and ‘King Hedley II’) on Broadway before producing our Tony Award-winning Broadway premiere of ‘Jitney’ in our Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in 2017. This is a full-circle opportunity for MTC to honor August’s legacy through a whole new generation of young artists.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Manhattan Theatre Club to host the New York City regional competition of August Wilson New Voices,” added Deeksha Gaur, TDF’s executive director. “These collaborations are essential to growing the scale and impact of our work. And in working with the fantastic team over at MTC, we can provide new pathways for students to engage with the canonical works of August Wilson at no cost, expanding access to and inspiring connections with one of the most important voices in the American theater lexicon.”
A nine-time Best Play Tony Award nominee, Wilson took home the trophy in 1987 for “Fences,” a play which also earned the playwright the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He won a second Pulitzer in 1990 for “The Piano Lesson.” In 2005, Broadway’s Virginia Theatre was renamed in his honor.
The registration deadline for the AWNV is Dec. 13. Additional information can be found here.
The national AWNV competition is a collaboration between the August Wilson Estate, Chicago's Goodman Theatre and Gilded Road Productions.
