For over 25 years, NYTW has honed an artistic fellowship program for early-career theatremakers representing a multiplicity of perspectives. These fellowships have taken many forms, supporting playwrights, directors, designers and administrators.
What is the 2050 Artistic Fellowship?
The 2050 Fellowship is named in celebration of the U.S. Census Bureau’s projection that by the year 2050, there will be no single racial or ethnic majority in the United States.
This projection provokes thoughts at New York Theatre Workshop about the transformations that will take place in the American landscape—demographically, technologically, environmentally, and artistically—now and in the future. They are a catalyst for broader questions about our ever-transforming field. How can theatre challenge our conceptions of storytelling? How can we push aesthetic boundaries in the 21st century? What is the power of theatre today?
Each year we’re honored to invite a cohort of 2050 Artistic Fellows to join us in making art, engaging in deep conversation, and being in community. The 2050 Artistic Fellowship embodies our values of nurturing and cultivating an artistic community that challenges dominant paradigms and amplifying those whose experiences are not often heard.
Miguel Bregante (he/him) is a Spanish-Chilean director. Miguel grounds his craft in the pursuit of a bespoke language for each production, believing every story deserves its own unique form of expression. His journey ranges from delving into the words of Mathematics and Physics during his studies in Telecommunications Engineering across Spain, Austria, and France, to the completion of an MFA in Theater Directing at Columbia University in New York. This path includes directing the award-winning La Mona Ilustre Theater Company in Chile, renowned for its image-based, nearly wordless storytelling. Evolving from a Lecoq-based movement methodology to an in-depth script analysis, his work blends multilayered narratives and distortion of reality to explore the enigmatic inner landscapes of individuals. Fiercely advocating for tenderness, Miguel fosters a nurturing, diverse, and highly collaborative rehearsal space, where each voice holds the potential to unlock the key idea for a production’s success.
Adam Coy (he/him) is a Tejano-Ukranian director, actor, and curator of vibes based in New York City, originally from San Antonio. Directing: Holes in the Shape of My Father (Public Theater UTR, Powerhouse), What Else is True?, Crave, and Zabelle (Egg & Spoon). As a director he has developed work with Roundabout, The Civilians, Powerhouse Theater, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, Intar and others. Associate/Assisting: Broadway Doubt (Roundabout). Off-Broadway/Regional Spain (Second Stage), This Land was Made (Vineyard), The Coast Starlight (LCT), Tambo & Bones, Wish You Were Here, Selling Kabul (Playwrights Horizons), Mojada (The Public), The Thing About Jellyfish (Berkely Rep). Adam is the Associate Artistic Director and co-founder of The Egg & Spoon Theatre Collective, alumni of Roundabout Directors Group, the Playwrights Horizons Directing Fellowship, TCG Rising Leaders of Color, Theater Producers of Color: Producing 101, and the 2018-19 SDC Foundation Observership Class. As an actor Adam has worked with Sol Project, Intar, San Diego Rep, JACK, Working Theater, Northern Stages, Pipeline, Latinx Playwrights Circle, Chautauqua Theatre Company and others. BFA in Acting, Syracuse University.
Rachel Lin is an actor, writer, and filmmaker from the UK, raised in NYC’s Chinatown. Her solo show Dear John has received support and development from the Brooklyn Arts Council, All For One Theater, IRT Theatre, the Museum of Chinese in America, and CulturePass. Her short film Great Listener has screened at Brooklyn Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival, and more. As an actor, world premieres include: Women by Chiara Atik, Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, Ajax by A.R. Gurney, and others. She played Detective Victoria Cho on season 2 of Law & Order: Organized Crime. Other TV: Black Cake, Pose, and Bull. She is a lifetime member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre where she also produces and hosts the EST Re:Members Podcast. She teaches acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute for TV and Film.
Abigail C. Onwunali is a multi-faceted Nigerian American storyteller whose work has been workshopped by Red Bull Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Liberation Theater Company, Faultline Theatre and the Yale Cabaret. She is a 2025 New Harmony Project Annual Writers Residency fellow, a finalist for the Fire This Time Festival, the Irons in the Fire playwriting residency, and Rattlestick’s Terrence McNally New Work Incubator.She has also been a semi-finalist for the Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship and La MaMa’s Experiments in Playwriting Fellowship. Currently, Abigail is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Obie Award-winning Youngblood program. She is a Princess Grace Award winner and winner of the Red Bull Theater’s Short New Play Festival. Also an accomplished poet, Abigail’s slam poetry has reached audiences worldwide. She holds a degree in Acting from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and was an inaugural member of Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Mentorship Program. Rooted in her Nigerian heritage, Abigail creates theater that centers her people and brings her ancestry alive on stage.
May Treuhaft-Ali is a playwright and dramaturg from Queens, New York. Her play ABCD had its world premiere at Barrington Stage Company in July 2022, and her play Escapegoat had a workshop production at Boston Court Pasadena later that year. She was the 22-23 Van Lier Fellow at Rattlestick Theater. She is currently a member of Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and has been in season-long writers’ groups at Page 73, Ars Nova, Clubbed Thumb, and the Playwrights Realm. Her plays have been developed at New York Theatre Workshop, The Movement Theatre Company, MCC Theater, Irish Repertory Theatre, Cape Cod Theatre Project, The Jungle, and Westport Country Playhouse. She has received commissions from Cleveland Play House, South Coast Repertory, and Barrington Stage.
The 2050 Fellows are early-career artists who, with their unique voices, give us perspective on the world in which we live and who inspire us all to contend with this changing world.
NYTW thinks broadly about who can initiate a theatrical event (see the FAQ’s for more). The 2050 Artistic Fellowship will accept up to six theatermakers for the 2025-26 Season. These fellowships will entail a commitment from June 2025 to June 2026.
NYTW’s 2050 Artistic Fellowship consists of five basic components:
1) Monthly fellowship meetings where fellows meet with each other and members of the New York Theatre Workshop community to discuss craft, aesthetics, and artistic development;
2) Access to rehearsal space and an opportunity to share work-in-progress with the NYTW Artistic staff and entire fellowship cohort;
3) Mentorship from the NYTW Artistic Staff, and connections with contemporary theatre artists from our community;
4) An invitation to participate in the artistic life of the theater by attending staff meetings, developmental readings, dress rehearsals, community gatherings and other NYTW special events;
5) A three-day weekend retreat at the start and end of the fellowship. 2050 Fellows are awarded both a stipend and an additional artistic development fund that supports Fellowship projects, theatre tickets, research or travel.
For the first round of the application process you will need:
Applications for the 2025/26 season cohort are closed.
The 2050 Fellowship supports early career artists who exhibit outstanding artistry and whose voices are underrepresented in the theatre. We encourage applicants with a unique point of view inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, faith, socioeconomic status, disability and sexual orientation.
The 2050 Fellowship supports generative artists who author or direct work. NYTW thinks broadly about what this means—sometimes it’s a playwright, sometimes it’s a director, sometimes it’s a solo performer creating their own work. We strive to have a balance of playwrights and directors in the cohort, and ask applicants to identify their main area of practice as well as any other fields where they identify. We recognize that many artists are multi-hyphenate, working with many artistic practices, and provide great latitude in how fellows choose to work.
The 2050 Fellowship is an in-person experience. We accept applications from artists not currently living in New York City; however, applicants must be willing and able to relocate to the NYC metro area for the duration of the fellowship. NYTW is unable to provide housing, relocation or employment assistance. Inability to attend regular meetings and events during the fellowship year may be considered grounds for discontinuation of the fellowship.
Artists who will be enrolled in a full time educational institution (either undergraduate or graduate studies) for the duration of the fellowship year will not be considered. We encourage you to apply during your final year of school to partake in the fellowship upon graduation.
Yes; however, international applicants must take full responsibility for arranging their travel, travel documents and housing accommodations. Inquire with the U.S. Embassy or the consulate with jurisdiction over your place of permanent residence about visa application procedures. Receipt of fellowship stipend is dependent upon the type of visa secured. If awarded a 2050 Fellowship, you must provide the appropriate visa or work authorization and fill out a W-8BEN Form in order to receive the Fellowship stipend. If you cannot provide appropriate documentation, we will be unable to offer a stipend.
The preliminary application consists of a resume and a personal statement. NYTW will then invite those we wish to consider more fully for a 2050 Fellowship to submit a full application. If invited to submit a full application, applicants will be asked to submit further materials that will be due in mid-December. Candidates that are then invited to a group interview will be notified in February. Candidates that are then still in consideration will be contacted to schedule a final, individual interview in late February.
Applicants will be notified whether or not they are invited to submit a full application by late November with a request for further materials. At that point, candidates will be required to submit:
For Playwrights: A full length play.
For Directors: Up to 6 photos from one or more recent professional or academic production(s) OR up to 3 timestamped moments from recordings of directed work (the 3 clips should total no more than 15 minutes.) And an explanation of 3 of the 6 photos or of the 3 video clips.
For Solo Performers: A full-length solo-piece that you feel best demonstrates your work and experience as a solo artist. Whether this be text, video, or images with description.
Full application details and deadlines will be sent to all candidates who are invited to submit a full application.
Cohort meetings occur once per month and are scheduled prior to the start of the fellowship year. Each fellow is invited to share one work-in-progress during the fellowship, and all fellows are expected to be present at the work-in-progress showings of their peers.
Currently, 2050 Fellows are awarded both a $6,500 stipend and a $6,500 development fund that supports Fellowship projects, theater tickets, research, or travel.
The preliminary applications will be evaluated by members of the NYTW artistic staff; each preliminary application will be read in full by 2 people. The full applications will be read by members of the NYTW artistic staff and a selection of former 2050 Artistic Fellows. Each full application will be read in full by at least 2 people. We’re excited to use this application process as a way to get to know each of the applicants. While we don’t have the capacity to offer fellowships to all who apply, we continue to engage with fellowship applicants in a variety of ways.
Candidates will be contacted by the beginning of February to invite them to a group interview. Candidates still in consideration will be contacted to schedule a final individual interview in late February. Final decisions and offers will happen at the end of March. Group interviews will happen over Zoom and Individual interviews will happen either in person or over Zoom, if needed.
Inquiries should be sent to fellowshipinfo@nytw.org.
PAST 2050 FELLOWS:
Emily Abrams
Tara Ahmadinejad
Melis Aker
Michael Alvarez
Andrea Ambam
Elena Araoz
Nissy Aya
Jeff Augustin
Matt Barbot
Hilary Bettis
Lileana Blain-Cruz
Eleanor Burgess
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm
Jeesun Choi
Shayok Misha Chowdhury
Miranda Cornell
Nana Dakin
Josiah Davis
Nathan Alan Davis
Will Davis
Mashuq Deen
Reginald L. Douglas
Sanaz Ghajarrahimi
Noelle Ghoussaini
Raz Golden
Miranda Haymon
Michel Hausmann
Kimille Howard
Phillip Howze
Celeste Jennings
Hansol Jung
Seonjae Kim
Ying Ying Li
Patricia Ione Lloyd
Kareem M. Lucas
Martyna Majok
Divya Mangwani
Adil Mansoor
Nikki Massoud
Thaddeus McCants
Aileen Wen McGroddy
Alexandru Mihail
Beto O’Byrne
Brian Otaño
Derick Edgren Otero
Tatiana Pandiani
Ming Peiffer
Andres Santiago Piña
Nicholas Polonio
Francis Weiss Rabkin
Attilio Rigotti
Andrew Rodriguez
Danica Selem
Danny Sharron
Ruth Tang
Danya Taymor
Tyler Thomas
Minghao Tu
Stevie Walker-Webb
Gabriel Vega Weissman
Whitney White
Nia Ostrow Witherspoon
Christie Zhao 赵 元媛
David Zheng
Mo Zhou
Jade King Carroll
Jackie Sibblies Drury
Kareem Fahmy
Simón Adinia Hanukai
Ed Sylvanus Iskandar
Julián J. Mesri
Janine Nabers
Matthew Paul Olmos
Tamilla Woodard
Pirronne Yousefzadeh
Zhu Yi
Catherine Yu
May Adrales
Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya
Chris Alonzo
Saheem Ali
Eduardo Andino
Thomas Bradshaw
Gisela Cardenas
Robert Castro
Kipp Erante Cheng
Julia Cho
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas
Jihan Crowther
Lydia Fort
Rafael Gallegos
Henry Guzman
Reshmi Hazra
Monica Henderson
Suzanne Hui Sun Kim
Ed Sylvanus Iskandar
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Patty Jang
Sonoko Kawahara
Ismail Khalidi
Bushra Laskar
Edward Bok Lee
Destiny Lily
Czerton Lim
Ignacio Lopez
Matthew Lopez
Aya Ogawa
Frederica Nascimento
Christopher Oscar Peña
Clint Ramos
Harrison David Rivers
S. Vasanti Saxena
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Deena Selenow
Suzi Takahashi
t. tara turk
Michael Winn
Pirronne Yousefzadeh
David Sakverilidze (Georgia)
Milan Govedarica (Serbia-Montenegro)
Olga Perevezentseva (Russia)
Bojan Djordjev (Serbia)
Ahmed El-Attar (Egypt)
Ahmed Eldeeb (Egypt)
Yayoi Shimizu (Japan)
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas (Artistic)
Rafael Gallegos (Artistic)
Adam Moore (Management)
Gita Reddy (Casting/Company Management)
Geoffrey Scott (Literary)
Niki Spruill (Production)
Liesl Tommy (Casting)
Lenora Pace (Directing)
Rubén Polendo (Directing)
Tracey Scott Wilson (Playwriting)
Alex Lewin
Kristin McDonald
William Bryant Miles
Keith Josef Adkins
Tanya Barfield
Kipp Erante Cheng
Angela Counts
Cynthia Fujikawa
Fanni Green
Hilly Hicks
Jake-ann Jones
Chiori Miyagawa
Derek Nguyen
Carmen Rivera
Sung Rno
Said Sayrafiezadeh
Deborah Swisher
Dominic Taylor
Tracey S. Wilson