Named in honor of late Tony Award-winning playwright Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story, Home of the Brave, "The Way We Were") and his late parter Tom Hatcher, the annual award provides the winning playwright with a $50,000 cash prize and $100,000 in funding towards the production cost of the play's premiere, which must take place within a year of the award's announcement.

Modern Terrorism is described as "a dark comedy about the difficulties of being a terrorist in the 21st century."

"Knowing the wealth of terrific un-produced plays waiting for their opportunity, I'm stunned by the good fortune granted to me to receive this award," Kern said in a statement. "Throughout his life, Arthur Laurents confronted and spoke against injustice, and I'm honored to be associated with his name and legacy."

Kern is a member of the Ars Nova Playgroup, the Ma-Yi Writers Lab and the Civilians R&D Group. He is a graduate of Columbia University's MFA program in playwriting and the University of Chicago.

Jeff Talbott's play The Submission was the inaugural recipient of the Laurents/Hatcher Award. Laurents personally presented Talbott with the honor last winter. MCC Theater produced the tense play about sexual and racial dynamics last fall, starring Jonathan Groff and Rutina Wesley. The play has since been picked up by publisher Samuel French.