The Ensemble Studio Theatre, which has been producing theatre for over a quarter century and currently resides in midtown Manhattan's west side, is now further extending its cultivating of theatre hopefuls. EST founder and artistic director Curt Dempster has announced the inauguration of "Theatres Next Step,m" a new fellowship program for playwrights.

Under "Theatres Next Step," five playwrights are awarded a week's residency at EST's summer home, The Lexington Center for the Arts, in Lexington, New York. The scribes are provided with transportation, free room and board, and a $500 honorarium. While in Lexington, they will work with playwright-director and Carnegie Mellon University professor Milan Stitt (Broadway's The Runner Stumbles) to revise their full-length scripts.

This year's fellowship playwrights are:

Helen Crawley - Money from Alaska
J. Holtham - Keepers
Jeremy Kareken - The Last Resort
Jennifer Mattern - Like Home
Gary Winter - Stone Garden

"Theatres Next Step" received a $25,000 grant from producer Dasha Epstein. -- by Ernio Hernandez