The Alliance Theatre just announced that JuCoby Johnson from Juilliard won their major national playwriting competition with "The Red Man," a Southern Gothic thriller and love story that sounds right up Atlanta's alley. This is the 23rd year of the Alliance/Kendeda competition, which has become a legitimate launching pad for new plays and emerging playwrights from graduate programs across the country.
Johnson is based in New York but his work has been developed at some serious places like the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the Playwrights' Center, so this isn't some random student project. "The Red Man" will get a full production as part of the Alliance's 2027-28 season, which means Atlanta audiences will be among the first to see what could become an important new work.
What I always appreciate about the Alliance is how they use competitions like this to discover new voices instead of just recycling the same plays everyone else is doing. The four finalists will also get developmental workshops during next year's Alliance/Kendeda Week, so it's not just about the winner. This is exactly the kind of investment in new work that keeps Atlanta's theater scene relevant and exciting instead of just being a stop for touring Broadway shows.
