The Dudleys is awarded Alec Baldwin Fellowship
Tutto Theatre Company is proud to announce that The Dudleys!: A Family Game by Leegrid Stevens—premiered in Austin in May 2011—is among the first four recipients of The Alec Baldwin Fellowship at the Singers Forum.
The award will provide for a year-long process of individualized development for the show culminating in a series of staged backer’s auditions with the ultimate goal of a full Broadway or Off-Broadway production. The recipients were announced on July 18th by Singers Forum (as reported on BroadwayWorld.com).
“On 20 October 2011, the U.S. Senate proposed a nearly $20 million cut to the National Endowment for the Arts—a loss of nearly 13% of its annual funding. This came as NYC continued to witness an unprecedented loss of 25% of its Off-Off-Broadway theater spaces (since 2007). With no economically-feasible ‘safe zone’ in which to gestate burgeoning work, fewer original theater pieces are being produced, resulting in a dwindling of opportunities for the next generation of talented performers.” The Alec Baldwin Fellowship at the Singers Forum was created as a partnership to combat this steep decline. As Mr. Baldwin puts it, “The pieces chosen for the Fellowship represent the future of theatre in New York. As we are inundated with ‘TV shows as musicals’ and a steady stream of revivals, these four pieces illustrate that original, character-based storytelling will always be the paradigm of theatre.” Providing community and support for this endangered population of artists, the fellowship will be a year-long program devoted to the development of these “groundbreaking and original Theatrical Works. With the assistance of Mr. Baldwin, [Singers Forum] will provide professional mentorship, fine-pointed dramaturgy, and a rigorous, individualized workshopping process for each show.”
Leegrid Stevens and his play have strong Austin connections. “Tutto was privileged to produce the U.S. full-stage premiere of The Dudleys!: A Family Game,” said Tutto’s Artistic Director Gary Jaffe (who also directed the play). During the production, the playwright worked closely and collaboratively with the cast and crew. Jaffe continues: “Leegrid Stevens is a powerful and unique new voice in American theatre. With profound respect for character as his foundation, he builds thrilling theatrical landscapes in which to tell achingly real stories of loss, guilt and redemption.” Tutto’s premiere production of The Dudleys!: A Family Game went eight-for-eight in last year’s B. Iden Payne Awards, winning Outstanding: Production of a Comedy, Direction of a Comedy, Original Script, Dance Choreography, Cast Performance, Original Score, Sound Design, and Media Design.
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