“This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours. What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”
Her play ‘God Said This’ was selected by playwright Ayad Akhtar for the prize.
The organization has awarded the Florida drama program with the Spirit of Thespis Award.
Akhtar will receive a cash prize of $100,000 for his play about junk bond tycoons of the 1980s.