Rajiv Joseph Wins 2008 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award

The Vineyard Theatre has presented the second annual Paula Vogel Playwriting Award to emerging playwright Rajiv Joseph. Named in honor of playwright and teacher Vogel—whose play How I Learned to Drive debuted at the Vineyard in 1997, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama—the award comes with a cash prize, artistic development support and a staged reading of the recipient's work.

Joseph is a 2004 graduate of New York University's MFA program in Dramatic Writing. His new play, Animals Out of Paper, will be produced by Second Stage Theatre Uptown this summer. His play Bengal Tiger in The Baghdad Zoo was developed by the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, and Huck and Holden was produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 2006.

Launched last year, the Vogel Award was first presented to Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose play Wig Out! is currently being developed by The Vineyard.