The M. Elizabeth Osborn Award
The M. Elizabeth Osborn Award (currently $3,000), is determined by ATCA’s New Play committee and given in memory of Theatre Communications Group and American Theatre play editor M. Elizabeth Osborn (1941-1993).
The award goes to playwrights who may have established themselves regionally or in smaller theaters, but have yet to obtain national recognition or mainstage productions at prominent professional theaters in New York City or around the country.
Betty Osborn was a director, dramaturg, critic, writer, member of ATCA, and a longtime staffer at Theatre Communications Group. She was a passionate proponent of artists she believed deserved more opportunities and national attention, and was particularly interested in emerging playwrights with distinct theatrical voices who brought something new to the American stage.
Her family helped ATCA found the Osborn Award after Betty’s untimely death from cancer in 1993, at age 52. The award has encouraged and supported a wide range of works by playwrights over the years whose artistry deserves more exposure.
A full list of Osborn Award winners appears below.
- 2025: Rob Ulin, Judgment Day, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago IL
- 2024: Jennifer Vosters, Songs Without Words, Milwaukee Fringe Festival
- 2023: Madison Fiedler, Spay, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, Chicago IL
- 2022: Makasha Copeland, Extreme Home Makeover, Theatre Exile, Philadelphia PA
- 2021: Douglas Williams, Ship, Azuka Theatre, Philadelphia PA
- 2020: Dan McCabe, The Purists, Huntington Theatre, Boston MA
- 2019: Spenser Davis, Plainclothes, Den Theatre, Chicago IL
- 2018: Chelsea Marcantel, Airness, Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville.
- 2017: Nate Eppler, The Ice Treatment, Actors Bridge Ensemble/Nashville Repertory Theatre.
- 2016: Jonathan Norton, Mississippi Godddamn, South Dallas Cultural Center, Dallas TX
- 2015: Tom Coash, Veils, Portland Stage, Portland ME
- 2014: Topher Payne, Perfect Arrangement, The Source Festival, Washington D.C.
- 2013: Keri Healey, Torso, Printers Devil Theatre, Seattle WA
- 2012: Darren Canady, Brothers of the Dust, Congo Square Theatre, Chicago IL
- 2011: Cori Thomas, When January Feels Like Summer, City Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
- 2010: Jason Wells, Perfect Mendacity, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota FL
- 2009: Yussel El Guindi, Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat, Silk Road Theatre Project, Chicago IL
- 2008: Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, Gee’s Bend, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery AL
- 2006: Ken LaZebnik, Vestibular Sense, Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Minneapolis MN
- 2005: J.T. Rogers, Madagascar, Salt Lake Acting Company, Salt Lake City UT
- 2004: Rolin Jones, The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa CA
- 2003: John Walch, The Dinosaur Within, State Theatre, Austin TX
- 2002: Mia McCullough, Chagrin Falls, Stage Left Theatre, Chicago IL
- 2001: S.M. Shephard-Massat, Waiting to be Invited, Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver CO
- 2000: Coby Goss, Marked Tree, Senachai Theatre, Chicago IL
- 1999: Dan O’Brien, Lamarck, Perishable Theatre Company, Providence RI
- 1998: Rebecca Gilman, Glory, Circle Theatre, Chicago IL
- 1997: Keith Glover, Thunder Knocking at the Door, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery AL and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati OH
- 1996: Richard Kalinoski, Beast on the Moon, Humana Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville KY
- 1995: Charlie Varon, Rush Limbaugh in High School, The Marsh Theatre, San Francisco CA
- 1994: Anne Galjour, Hurricane, San Francisco Solo Mio Festival, San Francisco CA
