PlayPenn's Artistic Director, Paul Meshejian, Awarded With Theatre Philadelphia's Lifetime Achievement Award

Theatre Philadelphia announced today that PlayPenn Artistic Director Paul Meshejian will be honored with Theatre Philadelphia's 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be bestowed to Mr. Meshejian at the Barrymore Awards Ceremony, scheduled for November 2018.

Given annually since 1995, the Theatre Philadelphia Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals who have made substantial contributions to the life of the Philadelphia theatre community over a significant period of time. Past honorees have included directors, actors, artistic directors, producers, educators, and patrons and supporters of the theatre.

Paul Meshejian is the founding Artistic Director of PlayPenn, which just completed it's 14th Annual New Play Conference. As a director, he has worked regionally and in New York with credits including new plays by Lee Blessing, John Orlock, Bill Corbett, Mia McCullough, Lou Lippa and Eric Pfeffinger, among others. He was a long time company member at People's Light and has worked extensively as an actor in Philadelphia and regionally as well as in film and television.

PlayPenn's annual conference includes workshops and readings of new plays, forums for artists, seminars, and classes, all centered around fostering artists by providing as many resources possible. Playwrights are invited to work with a director, dramaturg, and designers to develop a specific play, which will be chosen through a rigorous selection process. A three-day pre-conference retreat for playwrights, dramaturgs, directors, and designers begins the festivities. Following the retreat, the playwrights then develop their plays through in-depth workshops with directors, dramaturgs, designers, and professional actors. Each of the plays is given two free public readings, one at the conference midpoint and the other at the end of the development period.

The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre are a nationally recognized symbol of excellence for professional theatre in the Greater Philadelphia region, honoring local artists and theatre companies while increasing public awareness of the richness and diversity of our city's thriving theatre community.