Destiny Estimate

MJ Kaufman

Destiny Estimate, MJ Kaufman. Photo by Kate Raines/Plate 3 Photography.

Recipient

Grant Year 2016

Grant Amount $60,000

Status Completed

Updated May 30, 2023

Playwright MJ Kaufman will debut the play Destiny Estimate, an experiment in narrative structure that combines several forms of storytelling, physical language, and a cappella choral music to examine "questions of prophecy, fate, and predestination," says Kaufman. Destiny Estimate follows Myles, a trans theater professor who struggles with a family history of terminal illness. Through magical realism, Greek mythology, a collage of scenes from classic plays and other texts, and imagined encounters with scientific and literary figures, Myles and an ensemble of characters guide the audience through an investigation of destiny. Co-directed by Mark McCloughan with set and lighting design by Masha Tsimring, the work will feature choral music by composer Emily Bate, utilizing close, a cappella harmonies that will evoke both familiarity and unrest.

*Additional unrestricted funds are added to each grant for general operating support.*

Primary EventsEvents & Exhibitions

Destiny Estimate

Oct 19–29, 2017
Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American Street, Philadelphia

More info

Recipient

MJ Kaufman

MJ Kaufman is a playwright whose work examines the human experience, often focusing on the lives of queer and transpeople. A "Core Playwright" at InterAct Theatre Company, they have been an artist in residence at the New Museum, and a resident teaching artist with Philadelphia Young Playwrights. Recognition for Kaufman's work includes a 2013 ASCAP Cole Porter Prize in Playwriting, a 2013 Global Age Project Prize, and a 2010 Jane Chambers Prize in Feminist Theatre. They have had work produced by New York Theatre Workshop, Yale School of Drama, and Aurora Theatre, among others. Kaufman received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

More info

Explore Connections

National Media Spotlight on Philadelphia’s Cultural Scene

Nels Cline in performance at Royce Hall, Los Angeles. Photo by Phinn Sriployrung.

Guitarist Nels Cline on Musical Lineage

Video Tradition & Translation

Walking with Trane, Urban Bush Women. Photo by Gennia Cui.

Questions of Practice: Choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar on Art and Social Justice

Video Social & Community-Based Practices

Celebrating Poet Sonia Sanchez, plus Pew Fellows Earn Guggenheim Fellowships, Peabody Award, and More

Pew Fellows Candice Iloh and Armando Veve. Photos by Neal Santos.

Fellow to Fellow: Candice Iloh and Armando Veve Find Inspiration in Each Other’s Mediums

Interview Cross-Disciplinary Practices

Enrique Bostelmann, Portrait of Cora Flores, 1980, part of Mirages series.

Projects in Process: Discoveries in the Archives with Berman Museum and Japan America Society

Essay Legacy & Archives

Yolanda Wisher, 2022 Philadelphia's Cultural Treasures fellow and 2015 Pew Fellow. Photo by Mark Palacio.

Four Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellows on Care and Community Impact

EgoPo Classic Theater, rehearsal for Ramayana with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Theatre Movement, 2023, Java, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of EgoPo.

Projects in Process: Wilma Theater and EgoPo on Creative Collaborations

Essay Co-Authorship & Collaboration