Leah Ryan Fund: The Leah
Forecasted
Leah Ryan Fund: The Leah supports emerging women, trans, and non-binary playwrights by recognizing a completed play and providing a reading and workshop to help develop the work.
Funder: Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley
Due Dates (Anticipated): December 2026 (application deadline, or when 400-application cap is reached)
Funding Amounts: $5,000 cash prize, plus a public reading and summer workshop
Summary: An annual prize recognizing a completed full-length play by an emerging woman, trans, or non-binary playwright.
Key Information: Applicants worldwide may apply, but the play must be in English and cannot be a musical.
Description
The Leah Ryan Fund runs this annual playwriting prize to honor Leah Ryan and encourage the work of emerging women, trans, and non-binary playwrights. Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley features the opportunity among its grant listings. The prize recognizes a completed, full-length work for theater; a traditional three-act structure is not required.
Readers selected by the Leah Ryan Fund’s board members choose the winning play. Alongside the cash award, the winner receives a public reading and summer workshop through the Powerhouse Theater Program at Vassar College, giving the work an opportunity to be heard and developed in a theater setting.
