The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has given a $425,000 grant to the National New Play Network, an alliance of nonprofit theaters that “champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays,” according to a statement from NNPN. The grant—by far the largest ever received by NNPN since its founding in 1998—supports the expansion of NNPN’s pioneering Continued Life of New Plays Fund, enhancement of new and existing partnership efforts, and infrastructure support. “This extraordinary gift ensures NNPN’s place as a leading innovator for new plays and playwrights,” says NNPN executive director Jason Loewith, former artistic director of the Next Theatre in Evanston. NNPN’s 26 member theaters include Chicago’s Prop Thtr and Victory Gardens Theater.