Playwright Darren Canady Wins Osborn Award

The American Theatre Critics Association announced on Wednesday that Darren M. Canady won its 2012 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award for emerging playwrights. Canady was cited for his play "Brothers of the Dust," which was presented in May 2011 by the Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago.

The play deals with three African-American brothers in conflict over their family farm in 1958 Arkansas. Canady is an assistant professor at the University of Kansas English Department.

ACTA's Osborn Award was established in 1993 to honor the memory of Theatre Communications Group and American Theatre play editor M. Elizabeth Osborn. This year's award, which includes a $1,000 prize, will be presented at ACTA's June conference in Chicago. The winner was chosen by a select committee of ATCA members chaired by William F. Hirschman, who writes for Florida Theater On Stage.

The committee also selects the winners of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Awards, which will be presented on March 31 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.