Hunter MFA Playwriting grads Phillip Christian Smith ’23 and Jennifer Diamond ’24 were named 2024–25 Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows — a highly competitive program that selects only five playwrights each year.
“It’s an enormous honor that two out of the five fellows this year are our graduates,” said Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA Playwriting Director Christine Scarfuto. “We justifiably can say that Hunter is one of the top programs in the country, where our faculty’s outstanding teaching is bolstered by our ties to the industry and our location in the heart of the theatre world.”
Smith is an adjunct lecturer at Hunter, where he has taught playwriting and acting. Diamond is part of the indie-comedy duo OLGA, which performs stand up and sketches and writes for television and film.
Recent Hunter Playwriting grads have won a panoply of top awards this year. For example, Lauren Holmes ’23, won the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship; Minna Lee ’24, the Dramatist Guild’s prestigious Lanford Wilson Award; and Jesse Jae Hoon ’23 the Terrence McNally Award from the Rattlestick Theater.
The Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellows is a year-long intensive program for New York City-based emerging playwrights in which they develop existing plays. Fellows receive a $5,000 stipend, career resources, an industry mentor, and the opportunity to partner with arts organizations. At the conclusion of the program, each fellow presents their work to industry professionals.
