Playwright Deepa Purohit wins 2024 Hermitage Greenfield Prize

In collaboration with the Philadelphia-based Greenfield Foundation, the Hermitage Artist Retreat has selected playwright Deepa Purohit as the winner of the 2024 Hermitage Greenfield Prize. 

Purohit will receive a Hermitage Fellowship to spend six weeks at the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key and a $35,000 commission to create a new work of theater, which will have its first public presentation in Sarasota in 2026. 

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Purohit made her Off-Broadway debut in the Atlantic Theater Company's 2022-23 season with the world premiere of "Elyria." The play was a 2023 Drama League Award nominee for Outstanding Production of a Play.

The Hermitage Greenfield Prize is awarded annually, rotating between the fields of theater, music and visual art. 

Purohit was selected by a jury that included Obie Award-winning playwright Rajiv Joseph, Tony Award winner and artistic director of A.R.T. Diane Paulus and Tony Award-winning actor, director and writer Ruben Santiago-Hudson. 

“Amidst a truly extraordinary field of finalists, this remarkable jury faced an incredibly difficult task to select a single recipient. Deepa Purohit emerged as an ambitious and original theatrical voice who impressed the jury with her inspiring vision,” said Hermitage Artistic Director Andy Sandberg. 

“I’m humbled and deeply grateful to receive the incredibly generous Hermitage Greenfield Prize at this moment in my life. I’m honestly blown away,” Purohit said in a statement. 

“The support of the prize and the residency will provide me with the much needed space, time, and resources that I’ve been craving to not only create a new work, but also to grow and experiment in my craft in ways I hope will contribute to American theater and the cultural fabric of our society."

Based in Brooklyn, Purohit studied acting at the Harlem Theatre Company and appeared in "Sex and The City 2" and "The Sopranos." Before turning to playwriting, Purohit was a middle school teacher in Baltimore. She is an alumna of the Teach For America program.

She co-founded and ran Rising Circle Theater Collective, a theater company centered on the stories of people of color. Purohit was recently announced as the director of new works at People’s Light Theatre.

Purohit will be celebrated at the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Dinner on Sunday, April 14, at Michael’s On East in Sarasota. Additional information can be found at HermitageArtistRetreat.org.