Sean David Robinson, a self-taught playwright in Asheville, has been named the winner of the 2019 New Play Project and Mark Gilbert Award for his work, "Starbright." The honor was bestowed by The Drama Center of City Arts and Events in Greensboro. The Drama Center will produce the play in January and kick off the 17th-annual Greensboro Fringe Festival. Robinson is a playwright, actor and photographer who has lived in Asheville since 2000. He is self-taught playwright, having spent much of the last two years consuming numerous books and masterclasses on playwriting. "Starbright" is his first full-length play. In addition, "Starbright” will be performed over the course of three weeks in an Off-Broadway venue as part of the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival in August. The play tells the story of Grace, an astronomer who recently lost her young daughter Abby. As Grace’s life spins out of control, Abby appears to her and begins making bold predictions about the movements of the cosmos. Grace must determine if her daughter’s appearance is a sign of her dwindling sanity, or proof that there’s more to the universe than even she understands. The Broadway Bound Theatre Festival selected 14 unproduced plays from hundreds of submissions from around the world. The festival was developed as a launch pad for new works into the Regional, Off-Broadway and Broadway circuits, and was attended by thousands of industry professionals and theatre lovers in New York City last year. Robinson’s playwriting blends magical realism with authentic dialogue to tackle big issues like death, grief, and the nature of the universe. His writing strives to bring science and fiction closer together and allows room for both to flourish in the theatre. Robinson is thoroughly committed to writing strong female leads and allowing for racial- and gender-inclusive casting in all his works.