Drama Alumna Wins Yale Drama Series Competition
Janine Nabers is no stranger to receiving accolades and awards for her playwriting abilities. Recognized early on for her promising talent, she received the Samuel French/New School for Drama Award for Excellence in Playwriting in 2010 and has gained critical plaudits ever since. The New School for Drama alumna (MFA Playwriting ’08) can take another bow.
In March of this year, Nabers received yet another prestigious prize—winning the Yale Drama Series competition for her play entitled, Serial Black Face. Out of 1683 entries from 41 different countries,Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman selected Nabers’ play, inspired by the Atlanta Child Murders, for the award. According to Nabers she was “totally floored” when she received the news of her win. “I’m happy that this award can give voice to such a complicated and emotional time,” she says of the two-year period when a serial killer claimed nearly 30 young victims, all African American.
“Janine Nabers is an extraordinary writer – powerful and funny and brave,” says Ms. Norman in the New York Times article highlighting Nabers’ accomplishment. “This work is unsettling to read, but even as you read it, you know it is true. The crackling dialogue and the unswerving honesty are beautiful to experience.”
The award includes a staged reading at the Lincoln Center Theater, publication of her play by Yale University Press, and the $10,000 David Horn Prize.
Currently, Nabers is in Los Angeles writing for Bravo’s first scripted series, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. It officially airs December 2. She is also working on a new musical with pop star Kate Nash and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler entitled Only Gold, with a workshop in the fall.
For more information about the Yale Drama Series award, read the press release. Watch the trailer for Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce here.