Top Prizes, Fellowships, and Professional Recognitions Roundup

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust has announced Christopher Chen and Zora Howard as the recipients of the 2025 Steinberg Playwright Awards. These accolades, specifically known as the Mimi Awards, are designed to honor early-to-mid-career playwrights who possess unique and compelling voices and demonstrate exceptional artistic excellence.

Each of the two recipients will receive a prize of $100,000. The Steinberg Trust has spent 40 years investing in the future of American playwriting and highlighting distinctive theatrical voices amidst the challenges facing artists.

Christopher Chen’s Career and Contributions

Christopher Chen was born and raised in San Francisco. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds an MFA in Playwriting from SF State.

His body of work includes several plays that have been produced across the United States and internationally. These productions include Caught, The Headlands, Passage, The Late Wedding, You Mean To Do Me Harm, and The Hundred Flowers Project.

These works have been staged by various companies, including the American Conservatory Theater, Lincoln Center (LCT3), Soho Rep, The Play Company, Crowded Fire, Singapore Rep, S.F. Playhouse, The Wilma, InterAct Theatre, and Shotgun Players.

Chen’s play The Motion is scheduled for production at Arena Stage in the spring of 2026.

Throughout his career, Chen has received numerous honors, including the Windham Campbell Prize, the USA Fellowship, the inaugural Ollie Award, the Paula Vogel Award, and a Sundance Time Warner Fellowship. He was also a co-winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and received an Obie Award for Caught.

Beyond the stage, Chen has worked as a screenwriter. He co-wrote the Sundance award-winning film The Accidental Getaway Driver. His upcoming projects include the film The Hole, directed by Kim Jee-woon, and the television series Spider-Noir.

He currently holds commissions from the Mark Gordon Company, Portland Center Stage, and ACT.

Additional Theatrical Recognitions

The announcement of the Steinberg Playwright Awards coincides with a broader roundup of recognitions within the theater community. Other notable mentions include the International Ibsen Award, the TYA-USA Awards, and the Undermain Commission.

Jaha Koo has been identified as a recipient of the International Ibsen Award.

Other recognitions noted in recent industry summaries include:

• The CAATA Godfather Prize
• The BASE + RADAR residency
• The Steinberg Awards