Jaclyn Backhaus and Lauren Yee Honored for 2018 Horton Foote Prizes

Jaclyn Backhaus and Lauren Yee, the 2018 recipients of the biennial Horton Foote Prize, were honored during a private reception on October 15 at the Lotos Club. Named in honor of the late playwright, the Horton Foote Prize recognizes excellence in American theater.

Lauren Yee's Cambodian Rock Band has been awarded the 2018 Prize for Outstanding New American Play, presented to a work produced in the 2016-17 or 2017-18 seasons. Jaclyn Backhaus's India Pale Ale has been awarded the 2018 Prize for Promising New American Play, presented to a previously unproduced work.

Yee and Backhaus are the recipients of $25,000 and a limited edition of Keith Carter's iconic photograph of Horton Foote, which is found in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

The four judges of the 2018 Horton Foote Prize are two-time Tony Award-winning actor Judith Ivey, serving as chair; New Georges artistic director and playwright Susan Bernfield; Two River Theater artistic director John Dias; and Ensemble Studio Theatre director of new play development and associate director of the EST/Sloan Project Linsay Firman.