Fellowships

August Wilson Fellowship Program
In dramaturgy and literary criticism
The University of Minnesota provides a nominated graduate student with support, mentorship and practical experience at Penumbra Theatre Company through this fellowship program. Having produced more August Wilson plays than any other professional organization worldwide, Penumbra is uniquely situated to afford students the opportunity to explore the signature Penumbra staging process that inaugurated the playwright’s career in 1983 with Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Before his death in 2005, August Wilson was lauded with praise from critics and contemporaries in addition to being twice awarded the highly esteemed Pulitzer Prize.

Administered by the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance, the Fellow receives full tuition and a 50% teaching assistantship during a residence that can extend up to three years of study. The award is based on merit, achievement, creativity and community involvement. The Fellow is the resident scholar at Penumbra and provides dramaturgical research, and critical essays that are often used in support of thesis or dissertation work. Penumbra Theatre Company member August Wilson created this fellowship to solidify a connection between the country’s preeminent black theatre company and area students, and to generate erudite criticism and dramaturgical research within an authentic, expert African American institution.

Maximum participants: 1 Fellow per year.
Candidates must be nominated by faculty at University of Minnesota.
Open to graduate students.
For more information, email Ginni Arons, Graduate Studies Secretary in the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance

 

The Claude Edison Purdy Fellowship
Claude Edison Purdy was a founding Penumbra Theatre Company member whose vision and commitment laid the aesthetic bedrock for the theatre. A visual director, Claude painted African American life with a careful palette and created tableaus onstage that would arrest the breath. He mentored many actors and directors throughout the country, and encouraged one young poet to try his hand at playwriting. August Wilson went on to establish himself as one of the most celebrated American playwrights and was twice awarded the esteemed Pulitzer Prize. Not only did Claude’s own artistry impact the American theatre landscape, his mentorship helped to steer the development of Wilson’s oeuvre, the most comprehensive dramatic examination of African American life through the 20th century. Based on nominations from Penumbra Company Members and in celebration of Claude’s memory, Penumbra awards one fellowship per season to an emerging male African American theatre artist. During his one year term in residence, he will receive free training and mentorship from Penumbra artists in the area of acting or directing.

Maximum participants: 1 fellow per year.
Open to African American male students or artists over eighteen years of age.
For more information, email Sarah Bellamy.

 

The Kathryn Coram Gagnon Fellowship
In musical theatre
Kathryn Coram Gagnon was a Penumbra Theatre Company member for 25 years. As an actor, writer, mentor and educator, she inspired audiences and galvanized the black community through the arts and community outreach. In celebration of her memory, Penumbra awards one fellowship per season to an emerging female African American theatre artist.

Maximum participants: 1 Fellow per year.
Candidates must be nominated by a Penumbra Theatre Company Member.
Open to African American female students.
For more information, email Sarah Bellamy.