The Alliance Theatre just announced the winner of their big playwriting competition, and it's going to bring some serious Southern Gothic energy to the Woodruff Arts Center stage. JuCoby Johnson, a playwright and actor currently studying at Juilliard, took home the top prize with his thriller 'The Red Man,' which the Alliance describes as both a love story and a Southern Gothic thriller.
This is the 23rd year of the Alliance/Kendeda competition, which has become a pretty big deal in the theater world for discovering new voices. Johnson's play 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 this work. Four other finalists will also get their plays workshopped and presented during next year's Kendeda Week.
What's interesting is that Johnson is based in New York but chose to write something rooted in Southern storytelling traditions. The Alliance has always done a good job of balancing local stories with works that speak to broader themes, and a Southern Gothic piece from an emerging playwright sounds like it could be exactly the kind of provocative, discussion-worthy theater that makes the Alliance special.
