Jocelyn Bioh, who wrote for ‘The Acolyte‘ and ‘Tiny Beautiful Things‘ has won the 2024 Horton Foote Prize for her play ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding.‘
Bioh will be presented the prize by the play’s director, Whitney White, on Oct. 7 at New York’s Lotos Club. The award includes a $50,000 prize as well as a limited edition of Keith Carter’s iconic photograph of Horton Foote. This item is found in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
“Ms. Bioh’s dazzling play is set in a bustling hair braiding shop in Harlem where we meet a lively and eclectic group of West African hair braiders as they transform their neighborhood clients. On a hot summer day they laugh, fight, and share their dreams about the future. The uncertainty of their circumstances simmer below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home,” reads an official statement.
The play was nominated for the award by the Manhattan Theatre Club.
