“Behind the Sheet” playwright Charly Evon Simpson has been named the recipient of the The Vineyard Theatre’s 2019-20 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. Named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned To Drive” playwright, “the residency-based award is given each year to an emerging writer of exceptional promise, and comes with a cash prize and artistic development support,” a press release announced.
Simpson will receive her honor November 25 at the Emerging Artists Luncheon in Manhattan. Following the ceremony, she will participate in an onstage Q and A with Jeremy O. Harris (“Slave Play”).
Previous Paula Vogel Award honorees include Antoinette Nwandu (“Pass Over”), Kate Tarker (“Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man”), Boo Killebrew (“The Play About My Dad”), Clare Barron (“Dance Nation”), Erika Sheffer (“Russian Transport”), and Kara Lee Corthron (“The Truth of Right Now”).
“Jump,” “form of a girl unknown,” and “it’s not a trip it’s a journey” are among Simpson’s other plays. She’s also published a poetry collection, “Almost a Year’s Worth.” Simpson has received the Lanford Wilson Award and commissions from EST/Sloan, MTC/Sloan, The Movement/NYU, The Flea, and South Coast Repertory. She’s a member of WP Theater’s 2018-2020 Lab and The New Georges Jam.
