Playwrights Carla Ching, Josh Wilder and Carolyn Ratteray received grants for their productions. (photo courtesy of Todd Cheney)

Los Angeles New Play Project presented $20,000 to each of three local playwrights at a reception hosted by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in November.

Three local theater companies, which have agreed to produce the plays, will receive an additional $20,000 each toward the cost of production.

Fifty original scripts, along with proposals for their productions, were submitted to LANPP last summer by 50 intimate theater producers in the program’s first year.

“We were pleased to be able to select from such a talented group of writers and producers. Very exciting work is being created in our community,” Director Paula Holt said.

Winners of the program’s first year were playwrights Carla Ching (Ammunition Theatre Company) for her play “Revenge Porn,” Carolyn Ratteray (Boston Court Pasadena) for “Both And (A Play About Laughing While Black)”, and Josh Wilder (Watts Village Theater Company) for “The Hands That Could.”

The theaters now have 18 months to premiere the plays in a Los Angeles venue.

Los Angeles New Play Project encourages the production of new, challenging work on local small and mid-size stages. The deadline for submissions for next year’s awards will be June 15, 2022.

In addition to the playwriting and production awards, LANPP supports a student intern program at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, which places graduates of the UCLA Department of Theater in positions at the Geffen. The grant, which focuses on strengthening the relationship between the university and the professional theater, was matched by the UCLA Chancellor’s office.

For information, visit lanpp.org.