FST Announces Winner of Terrence McNally’s $10,000 Gaming Commission

Aspiring playwright Jake Brasch is getting a huge career boost after being selected as the recipient of a $10,000 Terrence McNally Recovery Commission.

Brasch was selected by Florida Studio Theatre, the Recovery Project and the Terrence McNally Foundation, a program that considered playwrights who identified themselves as being in recovery from substance abuse disorder.

Brasch will be commissioned to write a new play and will be mentored by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Craig Lucas, author of the Tony Award-nominated play Prelude to a Kiss and the books to the musicals The Light in the Piazza and An American in Paris. Lucas is also being commissioned by FST to write a new play.

Described on her website as a “queer, sober, Jewish clown from Colorado,” Brasch is a graduate of the Juilliard School's playwriting program and winner of the Kennedy Center's 2024 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award.

“By being able to commission artists in recovery, we not only continue to let people know that recovery is possible, but we can also encourage and show that many artists in recovery are doing well,” said Sean Daniels, director of the Recovery Project, in a statement. “In 2015, one-tenth of all overdose deaths in the U.S. occurred in Florida. Personally, as an artist in recovery, I am grateful to the Terrence McNally Foundation and FST for being true leaders in not only creating more art, but also keeping our artists alive.”

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Daniels is the author of The White Chip, which chronicles his own journey to sobriety. The book was launched at FST earlier this year.

Artistic Production Director Richard Hopkins said FST has been working with emerging playwrights since its founding 50 years ago.

“What makes this collaboration special is the opportunity to pair one of my favorite American playwrights, Craig Lucas, with an emerging playwright as a mentor,” he said in a statement. “This experience will no doubt be valuable to the fellow, to FST, and certainly to Mr. Lucas.”