Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 04/08/2026
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company (CTC), a Tony Award recipient for outstanding regional theatre, presents the 37th annual Genesis Festival of New Voices and New Plays from April 9-11, 2026 at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC).
This three-day event includes the presentation of the 2026 Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence, a collaboration with Columbia University School of the Arts. The Festival includes nightly readings of works by this year's playwrights at 7:00pm.
The Genesis Festival has fostered the works of acclaimed playwrights, such as Ntozake Shange, Ruby Dee, Anna Deavere Smith, Richard Wesley, Samm-Art Williams, Paul Carter Harrison, Michael Dinwiddie, and Lynn Nottage.
Through the annual Festival and Award, Crossroads reaffirms its 48-year commitment to cultivating a supportive environment for Black playwrights.
The Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence recognizes Columbia MFA student finalists, each of whom receives a private reading of their play: Tré Calhoun for Grass and Charlene Adhiambo for Rot. Honorable mentions are awarded to: Sophia Parker for Moon Play and Robert C. Jean-Gilles for Linguistor's Lament.
This year's line-up of playwrights and their works includes:
Devon Kidd's Diamond's on Fire—a drama directed by Barrymore Award recipient Ozzie Jones, explores themes of Black parentage and generational curses through spirituality and ritual. Kidd, the recipient of this year's Genesis Award for Playwriting Excellence, will open the festival with a reading of his play on Thursday, April 9th at 7:00pm.
Omar Cheef Edwards' (NAACP Image Award recipient) musical, The Gypsy Code: A Love Letter to New York (In Rhythm), will be presented on Friday, April 10th at 7:00pm. Directed by Crossroads Theatre Company co-founder and Artistic Director, Ricardo Khan, the musical is set across three eras, an homage to New York City as a living organism shaped by migration, struggle, resilience, and reinvention.
On Saturday, April 11th at 7:00pm, Liza Jessie Peterson—a recently announced member of the ensemble cast of Paramount+ series The Chi's final season—will showcase her play Sistah-Gurls and the Squirrel. Directed by Goldie Patrick, the play is about a single mother raising a son while running a business, trying to keep her son safe, and holding onto her home amid aggressive gentrification of her Philly community. This reading will close the 37th edition of the Genesis Festival.
Founded in 1978 by Ricardo Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson, Crossroads has been a sanctuary for some of the world's most celebrated and decorated artists, including August Wilson, Ntozake Shange, George C. Wolfe, Joe Morton, Viola Davis, and many more. To date, the company has launched 100+ productions, 50 World Premieres, and introduced nearly 35 new playwrights to the global theatre canon. With existing partnerships with other theatre companies around the world, the Tony Award-winning company is a leading global ambassador for diasporic storytelling.
Columbia University School of the Arts is one of the leading arts schools in the world, a unique place where artists from every discipline come to study in their fields and to create together in one vibrant community. We award the Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Theatre, Visual Arts, and Writing, as well as an interdisciplinary program in Sound Art that leads to an MFA in Visual Arts. The School also offers a Master of Arts degree in Film and Media Studies, as well as undergraduate majors and summer programs. The MFA playwriting program is led by Tony©, Pulitzer, Obie Award, and Outer Critics Award winners such as Lynn Nottage, Leslie Ayvazian, Charles Mee, and David Henry Hwang. This program seeks to help each student find their own unique and idiosyncratic voice, and help each play grow into the best version of itself.
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