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The Drama Desk Special Award is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements by an individual or an organization that has made a significant contribution to the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway productions in New York City.
The award was first presented in 1976; in 2012, the Drama Desk Award Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award was added as a component of the Special Award, and those award winners are included in this article.
The Breadth of Vision, Which Inspired the Exceptional Direction, Performances, Sets, Lighting, Costumes, Music and Sound That Made it the Theatrical Event of This Season
Versatile and Finely Nuanced Performances Over the Past 35 Years, and for His Exceptional Work This Season in Tigers Be Still, A Small Fire and The Dream of the Burning Boy
Her Artistry as an Exceptionally Versatile and Distinctive Broadway and Off-Broadway Performer
Samuel D. Hunter
His Emphatic and Indelible The Whale Affirms His Arrival as a Distinguished Dramatist Who Depicts the Human Condition
Maruti Evans (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award)
His Ingenious Lighting Designs, Reflecting an Exquisite and Bold Theatrical Aesthetic. This Season's The Pilo Family Circus and Tiny Dynamite Confirm His Incandescent Creativity
Her Ability to Express the Eccentricities, Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Range of Characters, and Notably for her Comedic Flair as Evidenced in This Season's The Old Friends and The Most Deserving
Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award)
His Visionary Directorial Excellence. This Season's The Golden Dragon and The Mysteries Exemplify His Bold and Strikingly Original Imagination
2015
Bess Wohl (Sam Norkin Off-Broadway Award)
Her writing expresses sensitivity, compassion, and humor with a sure hand.
Unwavering commitment to producing new works by American playwrights since 1968, and enriching this season with productions of When January Feels Like Summer, Winners, and Five Times in One Night. Its Youngblood program fostered and nurtured Hand to God, setting Tyrone off on his devilish path to Broadway
Continued her versatile career of compassionate, searing work with numerous companies, with two of Off-Broadway's most humane performances this season in Coal Country and Nothing Gold Can Stay
The current Mobile Unit tours free Shakespeare throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, homeless shelters, and community centers, reminding audiences new and old that the play really is the thing.
The largest, most enduring American company (and its founder) that nurtures and produces works by female-identified creators
Claire Warden
For her pioneering work as an intimacy choreographer on recent productions, and her leadership in the rapidly emerging movement of intimacy direction. Co-founder of Intimacy Directors International, contributing to theater experiences that are safer for performers and more authentic for contemporary audiences.
