New York Stage and Film Commits $100,000 to Support Artists with NEXUS Initiative
New York Stage and Film, considered “one of the preeminent incubators for theater in the country,” has committed $100,000 to their new NEXUS Initiative that brings together 20 multi-hyphenate artists to explore the question “where does story exist at the intersection of stage and film?” Through this inaugural program, NYSAF will offer direct support to these artists – each participant receives $5,000 and will take part in a series of conversations focused on the needs of new and expanded forms of storytelling that resonate with our time.
In order to increase access to the program and respond to the ideas of a broad range of storytellers, these 20 participants were recommended by 14 leading artists of stage and film for their accomplishments in exploring new forms of storytelling. The leading artists selection committee includes Ayad Akhtar, César Alvarez, Luis Castro, Elsie Choi, Marcus Ga
In a normal year, David Winitsky spends most of the spring on the road.
Winitsky is the founder of the Jewish Plays Project, a theater incubator whose annual playwriting contest begins in March with a series of live readings staged at Jewish community centers across America. Usually, Winitsky travels to each location, rehearses a cast of actors, and hosts an event during which audience members view excerpts from several plays and vote for their favorites.
Even as the American coronavirus caseload climbed in early March, Winitsky held out hope that he could proceed as planned: It was hard to imagine the competition without in-person gatherings. One night, Winitsky called a colleague to confirm that the contest’s first reading was still on. The next day, news broke that major cultural institutions like the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall were closing their doors in an effort to slow the disease’s spread.