The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award
Forecasted
The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award supports an LGBTQ+ playwright or screenwriter in New York State, funding their artistic vision and creative practice to advance their career.
Funder: New York Foundation for The Arts
Due Dates (Anticipated): June 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $8,000 cash award to one recipient
Summary: Supports the artistic vision, creative practice, and career progression of an LGBTQ+ playwright or screenwriter in New York State.
Key Information: Applicants must be at least 25 and full-time New York State residents for 12 months by the deadline.
Description
Administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), this annual award supports an LGBTQ+ playwright or screenwriter based in New York State. It honors Ryan Hudak, a gay playwright, theater maker, filmmaker, and NYFA staff member who died in May 2022. Funding comes from his parents, Pat and Tom Hudak, individual donors, and the philanthropic community.
The award supports an artist’s vision and creative practice rather than a proposed project or production. Eligible dramatic writing includes stageplays, screenplays, teleplays, libretti, radioplays, audiodramas, puppet plays, and experimental web series. Review emphasizes artistic merit, originality, creativity, writing quality, thematic depth, and innovation in storytelling. Applicants must also communicate their artistic vision and explain how the award would contribute to their practice or career progression.
