Arts in the Armed Forces, which presented a benefit reading of Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train November 13 at the American Airlines Theatre, has established The Bridge Award to recognize an emerging playwright of exceptional talent within the United States military.

Arts in the Armed Forces, the non-profit founded by former Marine Adam Driver and Joanne Tucker, was created to provide high-quality theatre programming for active duty service members, veterans, military support staff, and their families free of charge. AITAF performs theatre for all branches of the military at U.S. installations domestically and around the world.

The Bridge Award, established in honor of AITAF’s upcoming tenth anniversary, consists of a $10,000 prize and an AITAF-produced reading of the winning work. The Award is open for submissions from cadets, active duty military service members, and veterans. The head judge is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.

The Bridge Award winner will be announced May 1, 2018, and will be presented at the annual AITAF Broadway fundraiser in November 2018. The reading from the award winner will subsequently be presented in New York with a professional director and cast.

This award is offered in partnership with Amazon Audible and Lawrence and Elyse Benenson.

For more information about Arts in the Armed Forces, click here.