Mindy Kaling to Receive USC School of Dramatic Arts’ Inaugural Multi-Hyphenate Award (EXCLUSIVE)

Mindy Kaling is known for her creating groundbreaking content — including the hit Netflix comedy “Never Have I Ever,” HBO’s “Sex Life of College Girls” and “The Mindy Project,” plus serving as a producer on the Broadway musical “A Strange Loop” — and now her efforts are being recognized the USC’s School of Dramatic Arts (SDA).

The Tony Award-winning producer, Emmy-nominated writer, actor and NYT bestselling author will receive the Multi-Hyphenate Award on Sat., Sept. 17 at the kickoff event for the school’s series of Multi-Hyphenate Masterclasses, 10 co-curricular weekend intensives designed to support the next generation of storytellers on their path to become “media-agile, multi-hyphenate dramatic artists.”

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“Mindy Kaling has architected a career path that is unique, sustainable and worthy of emulation by our students. As such, I can think no one better to receive our inaugural Multi-Hyphenate Award” stated Dr. Emily Roxworthy, dean of USC’s School of Dramatic Arts, announcing Kaling’s participation.

“We have assembled a group of compelling, inclusive, and creatively diversified artists to inspire our students toward thriving and fulfilling professional lives in entertainment,” Roxworthy continued. “With this masterclass series, SDA will continue to break the mold and expose our students to the myriad of opportunities available to them.”

The first event, held in USC’s Bing Theatre and dubbed “The Inclusion Playbook,” will be led by actor, writer, producer, SDA faculty member and newly minted Emmy winner Colman Domingo (who won his first trophy for his portrayal of Ali on “Euphoria” earlier this month). Domingo and Kaling will sit for a Q&A discussing her extensive career and her various roles both in front of and behind the camera.

Also participating in Saturday’s program are film executive and The Black List Founder founder, Franklin Leonard; film, television and Broadway producer and executive Paula Wagner; and Sean San José, artistic director of San Francisco’s storied Magic Theatre.

The Multi-Hyphenate Masterclasses are free to all School of Dramatic Arts students and taught throughout the academic year by USC faculty and guest artists from stage and screen, with topics ranging from artistic entrepreneurship to directing and writing, as well as representation in casting, producing for stage and screen, and adapting IP. Faculty developing these sessions include actor and director Kate Burton (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “The Dropout”), among others.

The series also spotlights a partnership between SDA and Dr. Stacy L. Smith’s USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which will “draw on the initiative’s long-standing commitment to research and advocacy that advances diversity and inclusion in entertainment to directly benefit SDA’s student body.”

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