NYFA Announces 2023 Award Cycle for Inaugural Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Playwright Award
The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Playwright Award is a $10,000 Cash Grant Open to New York State Playwrights Who Identify as LGBTQ+.
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has announced the inaugural award cycle of its Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Playwright Award, a $10,000 cash grant awarded to one (1) New York State-based playwright who identifies as LGBTQ+.
The annual award will honor the life and work of playwright Ryan Hudak, who tragically passed away in May 2022 at age 32 after a long battle with Leukemia. In addition to his work as a playwright, Hudak was a theater maker, filmmaker, and a valued member of NYFA’s staff, serving on the executive and development teams.
The 2023 application cycle will open on Tuesday, May 2 at 10:00 AM ET and close at 5:00 PM ET on Friday, June 30. Applicants will need to be practicing playwrights who self-identify as LGBTQ+ and can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to their creative practice and career. Applicants will be required to share a statement on how this award will impact and catalyze their artistic work and practice. Only those who are at least 25 years of age and are current New York State residents, who have maintained residency for a minimum of 12 months, by the application deadline will be considered.
“Ryan was a beloved member of the NYFA staff, and a tremendously talented playwright. We miss him dearly,” said Michael Royce, Chief Executive Officer of NYFA. “This award honors Ryan by helping to give an LGBTQ+ playwright the funds they need to dedicate time and space to writing. We hope that this helps get more LGBTQ+ stories told and recognized,” he added.
Funding for this award is generously provided by Ryan’s parents, Pat and Tom Hudak; individual donors; and the philanthropic community. Those interested in contributing funds to this annual award may donate here.
About Ryan Hudak:
Ryan Hudak was a gay playwright, theater maker, and filmmaker, proud of his Hispanic and European heritage.
Ryan’s play The Firewatchers won him a scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he graduated with an MFA degree in dramatic writing. His play Robbie Alex Cooper was a 2018 finalist in the prestigious Eugene O’Neill playwriting competition. While an undergrad at Long Island University, he was involved in the development of and acted in the play Remembering Antigone, which was awarded a Kennedy Center honor for best reimagining of a classic play.
Ryan wrote to give the LGBTQ+ community more stories that connect them to world history and culture, which he felt has largely been sanitized by today’s culture. Ryan developed and taught a course on the History of gay theater when he attended CMU, which he eventually taught at Lehman College. He would have continued teaching the course at Long Island University except for the fate of his illness.
Ryan’s work came out of his struggles with his sexuality as a young man. He found a connection through fantasy and period novels, tales of outsiders banding together to defeat a foe or families moving through generations. As a result, his plays tended to be set in their own created worlds, pulling influences from gay culture and literature, giving gay characters more complex stories.
Find out about additional awards and grants here. Sign up for our free bi-weekly newsletter to receive announcements about future NYFA events and programs.