Alliance Theatre announces winning play, finalists for Kendeda Playwriting Competition

by Rough Draft

The winning play of the 23rd annual Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition is “The Red Man” by JuCoby Johnson.

Currently attending the Juilliard School, Johnson is a New York-based playwright, actor, and screenwriter whose plays have been developed and produced by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Playwrights’ Center, and many others.

Described as a Southern Gothic thriller and love story, “The Red Man” will be produced as part of the Alliance’s 2027/28 season.

The four competition finalists, which will receive a developmental workshop and presentation as part of the 2027 Alliance/Kendeda Week, are:

• “The Fifth of November” by Nora Brigid Monahan, CUNY Hunter College
• “8½ Collisions” by Danielle Keiko Eyer, New York University
• “Vulturine” by Matt Thekkethala, University of Texas at Austin
• “Water Aerobics with Christopher, 8:30 am” by Helen Gallagher, Brooklyn College

The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition solicits plays from the leading MFA graduate programs in the United States and then conducts a rigorous selection process to find four finalists and one winning play.

Read in full at RoughDraft Atlanta

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