Christopher Chen, Zora Howard Named Recipients of 2025 Steinberg Playwright Awards

The recipients of the 2025 Steinberg Playwright Awards (the “Mimi” Awards), presented by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, are Christopher Chen and Zora Howard. The $100,000 award is presented annually to two early-to-mid-career playwrights whose work exhibits exceptional talent and artistic excellence.

Chen's plays include Caught, The Headlands, Passage, The Late Wedding, You Mean To Do Me Harm, and The Hundred Flowers Project. His play The Motion will be produced at Arena Stage this spring. Current commissions include American Conservatory Theater, Portland Center Stage, and the Mark Gordon Company. As a screenwriter, he co-wrote The Accidental Getaway Driver, the upcoming film The Hole, directed by Kim Jee-woon, and the upcoming television series Spider-Noir.

Howard's plays include Stew, Hang Time, Bust, The Master's Tools, AtGN, and The Motions. She co-wrote the feature film Premature with director Rashaad Ernesto Green. Howard is currently under commission from Seattle Rep and Chautauqua Theater Company and developing film projects with Shot of Tea, FilmNation, Wychwood Media, and River Road Entertainment.

“I want to thank the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for entrusting me with this life-altering gift. I am truly overwhelmed and humbled to be included among such an esteemed group of artists,” said Chen in a statement. “In these uncertain times for the arts and for society, I take this gift as encouragement to keep using the art of playwriting to ask challenging questions and pull at unpredictable threads. I take it as a call—in life and art and the mingling of the two—to keep pushing forward without fear, with an openness of mind and spirit.”

“I was in the middle of the street when I received the news about the 2025 Steinberg Playwright Award. I had to stop to make sure my feet were still on the ground,” added Howard. “I cannot overstate the impact of this award at this juncture in my career. It is at once an encouragement to keep going, and an invitation to slow down, take stock and indulge in the act of imagining without the immediate pressure to produce. I am endlessly grateful to the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the 2025 selection committee for this invaluable gift and humbled to be in the company of such brilliant past recipients.”

“Christopher Chen is one of the most exciting, innovative, and theatrically ambitious writers in the American canon today, and epitomizes the spirit of the Steinberg Playwright Award,” stated Advisory Committee Member Hana S. Sharif. “A once-in-a-generation playwright, his work boldly redefines the relationship between audience and stage, dismantling theatrical walls and inviting us into a psychological and philosophical exploration of ourselves. With rare intelligence, heart, and humor, Chen confronts the central questions of our humanity—who we are, how we see one another, and what it means to live together in an increasingly complex world.”

“Zora Howard is a singular and thrilling voice in the American theatre. Her writing is lyrical, intimate, and fiercely alive, illuminating the complexity of human relationships with poetry, humor, and profound emotional insight,” said Advisory Committee Member Snehal Desai. “Her haunting work brings to life unforgettable characters whose journeys transcend time and space, holding us in the immediacy of the present while echoing through our collective past. Each year, the ‘Mimi’ Awards honor playwrights with compelling voices who exemplify artistic excellence and illuminate the American theatre, and it is deeply gratifying to see Zora’s extraordinary artistry recognized with the award this year.”

In 2008, the Trustees created an advisory committee of seven theatre professionals to establish the awards criteria, nominate individual candidates, and select recipients. The 2025 Advisory Committee is comprised of Jeremy B. Cohen, Snehal Desai, Adam Greenfield, Sarah Lunnie, Dámaso Rodriguez, Hana S. Sharif, and Nicole A. Watson.