THE  THOMAS  BARBOUR  MEMORIAL  ​SCHOLARSHIPS  &  AWARDS  PROGRAM

The Thomas Barbour Scholarships Program

The Episcopal Actors' Guild's Scholarships Program was established in 1968 to recognize excellence in those studying the performing arts. In 2004, the program was named in honor of EAG member, benefactor and actor Mr. Thomas Barbour.

Currently, EAG awards six annual scholarships. Five of these are given to students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. The sixth, The George C. Scott Memorial Scholarship, is presented to a student studying Theatre Arts at the University of Missouri. Additionally, The Claire Strakosch Scholarship, currently endowed by the Margaret G. Plumb Irrevocable Trust, is given periodically to students in theatre programs. 
Congratulations to our Scholarship Winners from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts for the 2021-22 Academic Year: ​Paolo Aguilera, Autumn Maynard, Alexandra Oliver, Rebecca Wood, Paulina Wolinska. 

Congratulations to the winner of The George C. Scott Memorial Scholarship for the 2021-22 Academic Year:
Payton Woodruff.  
Secure donations can be made to any of these scholarships by clicking here or by calling 212-685-2927.

The Thomas Barbour Playwrights Award

at The Barbour Award was created in 2007 to celebrate new work for the theatre. Each year, EAG partners with a local theatre company, collective, or playwriting program to present staged readings of three new plays, with one writer being awarded a prize of $500.

EAG's partner for the 15th Annual Thomas Barbour Playwrights Award was Playwrights Gallery! Playwrights Gallery was founded in 1991 to nourish the work of emerging New York City playwrights. 

Our 2022 playwright finalists were Jon Krupp (Kilonova), Martine Sainvil (Pursuit), and Deborah Savadge (Allowance). After three thought-provoking pieces by great writers, we are excited to announce that our judges have chosen Jon Krupp's Kilonova as the winner of this year's Barbour Award and its $500 prize.
"Playwrights Gallery and the Barbour Award have parallel missions; we exist to nurture the work of playwrights by allowing writers to hear their work-in-progress, read by some of New York City's superb Equity actors. In June, we were welcomed by the staff and volunteers of EAG into the history-laden Guild Hall to present a comedy, a comic drama, and a ripped-from-the-headlines drama. For Playwrights Gallery it was the perfect opportunity to emerge from Zoom-world onto a stage before a supportive audience of colleagues and old and new friends." -Playwrights Gallery's Literary Manager and 2022 Barbour Award finalist, Deborah Savadge
Past Barbour Playwrights Award Winners:
2008 - Jack Frankel, Human Voices (Polaris North)
2009 - Alisha Silver, Golden (Hunter College)
2010 - (tie) Lynn Rosen, Apple Cove, and 
Laura Eason, 40 Days (Women’s Project)
2011 - Ian August, Donna Orbits the Moon (NJ Rep)
2012 - Aaron Jafferis, How to Break (HERE)
2013 - Bill Cosgriff, Rio Rita (ARTC)
2014 - Mark Karafin, Man in the Moon (Oberon Theatre Ensemble)
2015 - Dara O’Brien, Early Sunday Morning (Resonance Ensemble)
2016 - Perry Guzzi, Across the Way (HB Studios)
2017 - Andrea J. Fulton, A Punk or A Gentleman (Theater for a  New City)
2018 - Alexis Roblan, The Andrew Play (New Perspectives Theatre Company)
2019 - Reynaldo Piniella, Black Doves (Quick Silver Theater Company) 
2020 - the award was split between all three finalists (Leviathan Lab)
2021 - Garrett David Kim, Are You There Truman? (Leviathan Lab)
2022 - Jon Krupp, Kilonova (Playwrights Gallery)
The Barbour Award was established and endowed by Janet Barbour Carhart, Alison Barbour Fox, and from a portion of the gift left to EAG by Mr. Thomas Barbour’s estate.

Open Stage Space Grant

EAG takes pride in our ongoing effort to find new ways to support New York’s performing arts community. Understanding how challenging it is for emerging theatre companies to find affordable space for creating work, we are proud to offer the Open Stage Grant.

Through this program, an active and emerging NYC theatre company is chosen to receive six (6) weeks, eight (8) hours per week of free time in our historic theatre space at Guild Hall (1 East 29th Street, NYC 10016). With this time, the recipient will be able to develop, devise, and rehearse a work of their choosing. ​The grant period ends with 4-8 ticketed public performances, with proceeds being split evenly between the grant recipient and the charitable programs of EAG.
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​Through Open Stage, EAG is also able to provide grantees with limited funding for some specific line items in their production budgets.
Past Open Stage Recipients:
Winter 2017 - Project Y Theatre Company, Landmarks & TRANSformations
Winter 2018 - Athena Theatre Company, Tragic Greek Sitcom
Summer 2018 -  Quick Silver Theater Company, Albino Deer
Winter 2019 - Theater in Asylum, Totally Wholesome Foods
Summer 2019 - Ripple Effect Artists, 2071: The World We'll Leave Our Grandchildren
Winter 2020 - Resolve Productions, Marrow
Spring 2022 (Summer 2020) - Katharine Pettit Creative, Untitled Girl Narrative
Summer 2022 - The Skeleton Rep(resents), The Inconvenient Miracle: A Mysterious Birth Musical
Our Winter 2023 Open Stage recipient is Leviathan Lab, a creative studio for Asian American Pacific Islander theatre artists, who will rehearse and present a workshop production of Learning How to Read by Moonlight, a new play by Gaven Trinidad.
EAG's Open Stage space grant program is supported by the Teri Black Performance Fund, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of  Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

Scholarships & Awards ELIGIBILITY

SCHOLARSHIPS: Our scholarships recipients are selected by the faculties of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the University of Missouri. If you are a student enrolled in one of these schools, please contact your school's administrative office for further information.
BARBOUR AWARD: ​We are now in the process of searching for our 2023 Barbour partner!

​If you represent a local theatre company that fosters new work or a playwriting program/collective and you are interesting in the possibility of partnering with EAG for The Barbour Award in June 2023, please fill out our Barbour Partner query form online by Monday, February 13, 2023.

Please note: At this time, we cannot partner with individual playwrights or accept direct submissions of plays for consideration for The Barbour Award.
There is no fee to apply. Please click here to preview the application in full. ​
OPEN STAGE: ​Please check back in the spring of 2023 for the application for our next round of Open Stage grants.