Playwright Andrew Rincón is the winner of the 2019–2020 New Light New Voices Award, the annual literary prize awarded by New Light Theater Project. The Off-Broadway company will produce Rincón’s winning play, I Wanna Fuck Like Romeo and Juliet, at the IRT Theater in 2020.
Described as a "queer love story of epic proportions," the play investigates God and mortals, realism and fantasy, and the shame and joy that exists within queer love of color. The world is thrown into chaos as Cupid rips off her wings and gives up on Love. But her old flame Saint Valentine has a plan to bring her spirits back up and it involves the relationship between two men: Alejandro and Benny.
“Rincón’s script impressed readers with its blend of imaginative theatricality, piercing honesty, and vulnerable humor,” says New Light Theater Projects Literary Manager Jacob Perkins. “New Light New Voices is committed to partnering with emerging writers in order to foster an ensemble-based approach to producing new work. Rincón’s script embraces this ensemble-driven practice and maximizes its potential, creating an open discourse between artist and viewer.”
Rincón’s plays have been developed with Rising Circle Theatre Collective, INTAR, Amios, The Amoralists, Pork Filled Productions, and The 24 Hour Plays. His plays include You Got That Same Kind of Lonely, That Rhythm in the Blood, and, currently in development, "I'll meet you outside the airport, ok?"
The two finalists for the New Light New Voices Award are Ali Skye Bennet’s Rafetus and Zora Howard’s Stew. Last year's winner, Ray Yamanouchi'sThe American Tradition, will begin performances January 25 at 13 Street Repertory Company, where it is scheduled to run through February 16.
