CROSSROADS THEATRE COMPANY

EXPANDS ITS ACCLAIMED GENESIS FESTIVAL

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

The Company Announces Genesis Prize for Playwriting Excellence

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

“The collaboration emerged from a conversation I had with Sydne Mahone, Dramaturg and organizer of the Genesis Festival, about a need to create a creative pipeline for Black playwrights in graduate school programs,” said Nottage. “The goal is for it to be an annual award that includes a cash prize for the winner and finalists, and the opportunity for their work to be featured at the Genesis Festival and read by professional actors.”

- Lynn Nottage, Professor and Playwright

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 Universe

 “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

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.