Seayoung Yim has been named the recipient of the Woolly Mammoth x Black List Playwriting Commission, an honor that includes a $10,000 grant for Yim and an opportunity to develop a new work alongside the D.C. theatre's artistic team. An additional $10,000 from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation will also be available to support the new work's development.
“Seayoung Yim is an exceptional choice for our commission partnership with the Black List," says Woolly Mammoth Director of New Work Sonia Fernandez in a statement. "Seayoung’s work sparks conversations about the absurd, grotesque, and often humorous intersections of race, gender, and the ways we belong to ourselves and each other."
Yim was selected on the merits of her work Jar of Fat, winner of the 2022 Yale Drama Series Prize. The play centers on two sisters deemed too fat to fit in their family grave.
"One of Woolly’s guiding principles is to reimagine collaboration and forge unexpected partnerships that break down silos across industries, communities, disciplines, and mediums," adds Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes. "Working in concert with the Black List to commission new works for the theatre exemplifies this spirit of abundance."
Says Black List founder Franklin Leonard in a statement: “It has been a joy and an honor to collaborate with Woolly Mammoth and Maria on this commission. Their work has elevated ours, and we’re looking forward to getting back to it immediately. Whatever Seayoung writes as part of the Woolly Mammoth community is going to be special.”
This commission is part of the Black List's expansion into live theatre, one of four commissions being given in collaboration with major U.S. regional theatres announced last year. The organization began as an online service created for writers in the film and television market to make their scripts available to potential buyers. Along with the commissions, the group's online services have expanded to allow theatre writers to create a profile and host their own scripts for possible industry discovery or purchase feedback on scripts from vetted theatre professionals.
