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THE YALE DRAMA SERIES

David Charles horn Foundation

The Yale Drama Series is funded by the generous support of the David Charles Horn Foundation, established in 2003 by Francine Horn to honor the memory of her husband, David. In keeping with David Horn’s lifetime commitment to the written word, the David Charles Horn Foundation commemorates his aspirations and achievements by supporting new initiatives in the literary and dramatic arts.

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JEN SILVERMAN

Foreword by Marsha Norman

Foreword

The Yale Drama Series is unique among prizes given to emerging playwrights. It honors the memory of David C. Horn, a man who, though very successful, always wanted to have his own writing published. It is judged by a single judge, not a panel, not a committee, though the single judge always needs about eighteen readers to help screen the more than a thousand plays submitted each year. The winning playwright receives a check for $10,000, for which no future writing is expected; the money may be spent to travel or to pay rent, or it may be frittered away on books and food. This year’s winner also received a reading at the Lincoln Center Theater’s Claire Tow Theater, and this publication by the Yale University Press. There is no entry fee, a model more prizes should follow, and anyone can enter, provided the play has not received a professional production. Plays need not be sponsored or vetted, but are submitted by the playwrights themselves. Because of this generosity of spirit, many manuscripts that are entered are not plays at all, as you can imagine. But a great many of them are very, very good. And three or four are excellent. It has been my great honor to follow Edward Albee, Sir David Hare, and John Guare as a judge of this prize. I salute the fabulous Francine Horn, whose labor of love this is, as well as her board of directors and supporters at Yale University.