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Tony Kushner Picks Up 200K Prize
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 17, 2008
Modified Sep 17, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 17, 2008
Modified Sep 17, 2008
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Playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) has been named the first recipient of the "Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award," which is to be awarded biennially to an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater. The prize comes with a cool $200,000, which Kushner says will "buy me time to work on plays," after he finishes up a screenplay about Abraham Lincoln for Steven Spielberg and another film script about Eugene O'Neill. The Distinguished Playwright Award will be given out in alternate years with another award of $50,000 for early-career playwrights "whose professional work shows great promise." In accepting the prize, Kushner noted that "playwriting is in a lot of trouble now,” because even successful writers have to split their time with Hollywood to support their lifestyles.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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