This Scholarship will fund a workshop for five writers from NYU and a presentation of their plays in the Food For Thought series. In the fall of 2012 four Graduate students from NYU were chosen to be in a professional workshop where their work was developed and then presented as part of the Food For Thought series.
In the spring I was hired to teach a Masters Class in playwriting at NYU (in the Rota and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.) Six students came with ideas and, at the end of the workshop, left with one-act plays. Each of the plays was again presented at FFT. This coming fall, due to the generosity of Philip Rothblum and the foundation he started with his late wife, Marcia Rothblum, Cause Celebre has a chance to develop and present the work of five of the writers from NYU. All five writers will also have the opportunity to assist the director on two of our FFT readings. This program allows young writers to truly work on their craft and also move into the professional realm of theatre.
I had the privilege of knowing Marcia Rothblum, an artist and a true theatre lover. Her opinions were always interesting, her observations unique and her ability to articulate her thoughts clearly was unusual. After a comment she made about about a film or play that she saw, her ideas were always so thought-provoking that one often had reflect upon what she said. It is a great honor to receive a Scholarship named after such a special and gifted woman.