DENNIS & VICTORIA ROSS FOUNDATION

Playwrights Program -- An annual program to identify and support new works of theater. In 2023 the Foundation developed co-produced and exhibited a new production of UNCLE VANYA by Anton Chekhov directed by Jack Serio. This production began its life in a roundtable setting at the foundations office and represented a bold and intimate interpretation of the play. VANYA received positive notices in a number of publications and was nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards. 2023 also marked the beginning of a new phase of the Foundations other developmental programming in which we have shifted from a single 29-hour reading to broader support for a number of promising new pieces each year. We will organize and finance round table readings and discussions with professional casting. It is our belief that these readings will allow playwrights crucial space and resources make revisions and increase their chances of future production and public notice. Two such readings were produced in 2023.