FELLOWSHIP/GRANT/COMMISSIONS
1.
I AM SOUL Residency (National Black Theatre)
Deadline: May 1st
I AM SOUL recognizes one black playwright annually whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit and excellence in the field. Alongside NBT’s Theatre Arts Director, the selected playwright will develop a new play during the 18 month residency. The program will provide the playwright with a stipend [pending funding], administrative and dramaturgical support, in-house readings, one 29-hour workshop and a workshop production in NBT’s following season
With I AM SOUL, NBT seeks to deepen the artistic relationship between black theatrical institutions and black playwrights, and to begin to re-establish black theatrical institutions as the foremost supporters and producers of new works created by black playwrights.
2.
Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation
Deadline: May 31st
Website: http://aabbfoundation.org/comp-guidelines
The 2016 playwriting competition will be open to submissions from March 1 through May 31, 2016. All manuscripts must be electronically submitted and received by midnight on May 31. (No hard copies sent by postal mail will be accepted.)
Only full-length works (dramas, comedies, musicals, screenplays) will be considered. One entry per author, please. Scripts must be original and in English. All must concern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or genderqueer life and be based on, or directly inspired by, a historical person, culture, work of art, or event.
There is no entry fee. Prizes are as follows: First Prize, $3,000; Second Prize, $1,500; Honorable Mentions, $500. Prizewinners will be announced before the end of the year.
To be eligible for the Foundation’s 2016 competition:
Your script must involve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or genderqueer characters and/or themes.
Your script must portray a historical period or incident. The past must be central, not incidental, to the work. (For more information on the meaning of “historical,” go to the “What Is Historical?” page.)
You must submit a brief statement, no longer than one page, describing how the script fulfills these requirements. This statement should explain the time period and historical issues involved.
If your work has been produced in any form (workshop, staged reading, or full production), your submission must also include a synopsis of the work’s production history. Works that have never been produced are welcome.
If these conditions of eligibility are not met, your submission will not be read.
When submitting:
Manuscripts should be in standard play or screenplay format, using a 12-point or larger font, and saved as a .doc, .docx, or PDF.
The first page must include the title and your name, as well as your own email address, mailing address, and phone number. Even if you are represented by an agent, please provide your personal contact information.
Page numbers should appear on every manuscript page.
In the case of musicals, audio segments should be sent separately as MP3 files and limited to a total of 10 minutes. We will request more if necessary.
3.
Stage Left Theatre: Downstage Left Residency
Deadline: April 15th
website: stagelefttheatre.com/participate/playwright-residencies/
The purpose of this residency is to give playwrights an opportunity to develop a play with Stage Left Theatre, moving from the conceptual stage to a production-ready script. We will be developing two projects, one in Fall 2016 and one in Winter-Spring 2017. Playwrights will work closely with one of our ensemble directors and members of the literary team to design a process tailored to the particular needs of their project. Residency projects will also be eligible for a public workshop in LeapFest, our annual developmental festival of new work, in Summer 2016. Thanks to a generous gift from the Cedars Legacy Fund, Stage Left will provide a stipend to both Residency playwrights, and can reimburse some travel expenses for out of town playwrights.
Application Requirements
While we will consider full manuscripts, you do not need a completed draft to apply. Just be sure to send us any relevant materials (partial draft, written scenes, outlines, synopsis, etc.) to give us an idea of the current shape of your project and what your long-term goals are. If you do not have any material from the project being submitted that you are able to share, please also include a sample of your writing. The deadline to submit this application is April 15th, 2016. We expect to announce our selections by the end of July. If you have multiple projects, please submit separate applications for them, in separate emails. We are unable to reconsider projects that have been previously submitted to either the residency or our regular rolling literary submissions program unless they have undergone major revisions. Please indicate what revisions have been made when submitting projects with identical or similar titles and themes. Failure to do so may result in your submission being rejected without reading.
4.
Don & Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
Deadline: April 18th (normal fee); May 2nd (extra submission fee)
Screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing fictional work for film or television are eligible for this fellowship. Entry scripts must be the original work of one writer, or the collaborative work of two writers, and must be written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. Up to five $30,000 fellowships are awarded each year to promising new screenwriters. From the program’s inception in 1986 through 2010, over $3 million have been awarded to 126 writers.
The online application must be completed and script uploaded by April 10th. All entrants will receive notification of their status by e-mail sent no later than August 1 of each year.
5.
CartHorse Fellowship 2017-18 available
Deadline: May 1
We are thrilled to announce the 2017/18 CartHorse Fellowship - the future core program of Buran Theatre. In 2017, Buran Theatre will celebrate ten years. As we approach this milestone we are proud to unveil the CartHorse Fellowship - the core program for our second decade.
After ten years of producing work generated by the artistic director, Buran Theatre will transition in our second decade to support and produce theatre/performance-based artists through transformative process-based fellowships. Utilizing the Buran process - developed over the past decade by the artistic director and associate artists - CartHorse Fellows will build, produce and present an entirely new theatre work over two rigorous years of development with the support of the company’s resources and talent.
This fellowship will be an immersive experience for artists who are eager to develop their own process; delve deep into a new project; gain/build skills in self-production, marketing, development and administration; build a company/family of collaborators under the auspices of Buran Theatre’s creative and organizational capacity; and a means to expand our mission and ethos to pioneering and under-represented artists.
The submission process is anonymous and requires no resume, bio, work samples or references. We are interested in changing the game of submissions for our applicants, to ignite an equitable discussion about the future of creative work without nepotism.
DUE MAY 1, 2016
6.
Dramatists Guild Fellowship
Deadline: April 29th
Applications for the Fellows Program commencing in Fall, 2016 must be received by DGF no later than 5:30pm on April 29, 2016. Please read all of the instructions carefully.
IMPORTANT CHANGES: We have expanded eligibility to include writers who have had one or more professional productions.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants will be eligible for the program with any of the following qualifications: 1.Participation in a graduate program in theatrical writing within the last five years; or 2. Participation in an organized theatrical workshop within the last ten years; or 3. Comparable experience, such as one or more professional productions, and a recommendation by a theater professional or theater educator; or 4. Pertinent, documented practical experience.
All applicants must be residents of New York or the surrounding metropolitan area for the time of their fellowship. Applicants must also be prepared to meet on alternate Monday evenings of every month, and to make themselves available, if possible, to participate in observerships, assistantships, etc. when those opportunities arise.
For questions about applying to the Fellows Program, email applications@dgfund.org.
PLAYWRITING FELLOWS:
Please submit a cover letter answering the following: “Describe an experience in which somebody’s input on your work as a writer affected you”; a resume containing pertinent contact information for you; 20 pages of a script you have written. Please name submission as follows: PlayTitle (for example: Ruined.pdf. The document(s) must be uploaded as a PDF.
MUSICAL THEATER FELLOWS:
If you are applying as a Musical Theater Fellow and you write both music and lyrics, you may apply alone as a “self-contained” writer. Members of collaborative teams must apply together. Collaborative teams with composer and lyricist should also consider applying with their librettist partner, or, at the very least, make their librettist partner available whenever that project is being discussed. Unfortunately, we cannot accept people who write only lyrics or only music or only libretti without a writing partner, as we cannot pair collaborators. The cover letter and materials submitted should make it clear whether you and your collaborator(s) are applying as a team or whether you are applying as a self-contained writer.
Please submit a cover letter; a resume containing pertinent contact information for you; mp3 files of four (4) songs with lyric sheets; a brief description of each song as to its plot placement, a brief synopsis of the musical, and the complete libretto, if one exists. Musical submissions need not be elaborately produced; piano and voice is sufficient. Please note that we can only accept music in the mp3 format. Please label individual songs as follows: MusicalTitleSong# (for example: Ragtime#1.mp3) The other documents must be uploaded as a PDF.
7.
Playwrights Realm Writing Fellows Program
Deadline: May 16th
Website: http://www.playwrightsrealm.org/fellow-app/
The Writing Fellows Program is at the heart of what we do: helping writers write. Four early-career playwrights will receive nine months of resources, workshops and feedback designed to help them reach their professional and artistic goals. Over the course of the season, Fellows develop a single new play. Monthly group meetings provide a collaborative, energizing setting for writers to share and refine their work. Individual meetings with the Realm’s Artistic Director and Literary Director support each writer’s specific artistic process. Fellows work with a director, design consultant, and actors over the course of two workshops to see their work come to life. Professional development resources are also an integral part of the program and are tailored to the individual group of Writing Fellows. Mentor opportunities, meet-and-greets, and professional workshops shed light on the often opaque business of theatre, and empower the Fellows to be active, informed participants in their own careers. The Writing Fellows season culminates in a public reading of each fellowship play as part of our INK’D Festival of New Plays.
What We're Looking For
Above all, we look for dedicated early-career writers who crave a long-term, rigorous development process. We value intellectual curiosity, imagination and bravery. We love plays with evocative language, plays that contemplate big, unanswerable questions, plays that embrace the complexity of life, and demonstrate an understanding of the possibilities of dramatic storytelling.
Writing Fellows Receive...
$3,000 Award
A monthly Writers Group
Internal workshop
Professional Development Opportunities
A public reading in our INK'D Festival
Access to all our resources: borrow our wi-fi, camp out in our conference room, use our stickies
The occasional hug
Program Criteria
• Playwrights must be able to attend meetings and workshops in New York City on a twice-monthly basis from September 2016 through May 2017.
• Playwrights should identify as early-career.
• Those enrolled in an MFA program during the span of fellowship are not eligible.
• Plays to be considered for the fellowship should be complete drafts (minimum 60 pages) at a stage of development that would benefit from a nine-month rewriting and workshop process. Plays should have no commitments to other theaters that will limit their development with The Playwrights Realm.
• Plays going through another similar development process simultaneously, or that have had a production outside of an academic environment, are not eligible.
• We are not looking for solo performance projects at this time.
8.
Next Act New Play Summit
Deadline: May 1st
website: http://capitalrep.org/next-act-new-play-summit/next-act-play-submissons
Submissions are now being accepted for Capital Repertory Theatre’s Fifth Annual NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT!
Next Act! celebrating its five year anniversary, is an expansion of Capital Repertory Theatre’s continued commitment to the development of new work. At the same time, the weekend long summit is designed to complement the Upper Hudson Valley’s rich diverse populations. The summits directly reflect the theatre’s mission, “to create meaningful theatre generated from an authentic link to the community.” Next Act! New Play Summit 5 takes place October 21 - 24, 2016 and will feature readings of four never-before produced plays, with additional special events throughout the weekend.
As in years past, the theatre is devoted to finding a play that can be produced in an upcoming season. Evidence of this devotion can be found in theREP’s productions of Suzanne Bradbeer’s The God Game (2015) and Naked Influence (2016), Sherry Kramer’s How Water Behaves (2015), and the 2017 production of Assisted Loving by Bob Morris, all of which started at Next Act.
Accepting full length plays only.
Multi-cultural and ethnically diverse pieces encouraged.
Comedy and Drama welcome!
ELIGIBILITY
Eligible plays can not have been previously produced, though previous readings are allowed. No more than 7 characters. (Please do not submit works in which actors play multiple roles, unless it is a device used to illuminate generations.)
Plays previously submitted to Next Act will not be considered for this years’ Summit.
Agent and non-agent submissions accepted.
Submission Deadline: END OF DAY – Sunday May 1, 2016
HOW TO SUBMIT
Plays: Playwrights should submit, as a single Microsoft word or single PDF file attachment, a short one-paragraph synopsis – that illuminates the plays entire plot including its ending; character descriptions and the first 10 pages (and only the first ten pages) of their play. Submission documents should be void of playwright’s name and contact information.
Submissions that do not conform to the guidelines stipulated will not be accepted.
Email your submission to nextact@capitalrep.org with 2016 SUBMISSION in the subject line. OR submit play here.
A small stipend and limited travel available for playwrights selected.
Electronic submissions preferred.
PLAYS SELECTED:
Playwrights selected for the summit will be notified by the end of August.
Three plays will be selected to have readings (with an eye towards a potential future production) during the annual 4-day summit, which takes place October 21 – 24, 2016.
Capital Rep is a professional LORT D theatre, established in Albany in 1981.
9.
The Relentless Award
Deadline: May 2nd
Website: http://www.americanplaywritingfoundation.org/the-relentless-award.html
What we are looking for:
Plays that are challenging.
Plays that exhibit fearlessness.
Plays that are not mainstream.
Plays that exude passion.
Plays that are relentlessly truthful.
The American Playwriting Foundation encourages submissions by first time playwrights, women and playwrights of color.
Prize:
The author of the Relentless Award-winning play will receive $45,000.
The winning playwright will have the option to have the winning play published by the Dramatists Play Service.
The winning playwright will have a week-long residency at SPACE on Ryder Farm, an artist residency program housed on a working organic farm in Brewster, New York. The author can elect to have a director, a dramaturg and actors join him or her while in residence on the farm.
The selected play will have a national roll-out through the Ed Vassallo Relentless Reading Series, established to help bring to life and develop the winning play by presenting a series of staged readings at some of the top theaters across the United States.
When the winning play is selected, three runners-up will also be named.
Deadlines:
Submissions will be accepted from March 1, 2016 through May 2, 2016. Submissions must be sent via this website by 11:59pm EST, May 2, 2016.
Eligibility/Criteria for Submission:
Any unproduced play written by a United States citizen or permanent resident (green card holder) is eligible for The Relentless Award.
Each play must be submitted with a letter from a theater professional recommending the play. “Theater Professional” is defined as anyone who has worked in theater in any artistic capacity for a minimum of four years.
Plays with a producer, producing organization or theater attached are not eligible.
As much as we love them, one-act plays, musicals and plays for children are not eligible.
The author must be at least 21 years old.
How to submit your play:
Use the form on our website to submit your play and accompanying letter of recommendation to The American Playwriting Foundation.
NOTE: please DO NOT have your name or other identifying info (email/phone number) on any of your manuscript pages. Please also exclude agent info, development info, and dedications.This will preserve the author's anonymity for the judges.
Please provide your script file in pdf (rather than Word documents), with the title format: TITLE OF PLAY.pdf. Do not include your name in the file script title.
You'll receive confirmation that your script and accompanying materials have been received. As submissions are processed manually, please allow up to two weeks to receive this confirmation.
10.
BARKERS
Deadline: April 15th
New York, NY
BARKERS, a young theater company based in New York City, is
holding submissions for American Playwrights to work alongside a European
Playwright to create new English adaptations of contemporary European plays.
It is our mission to foster collaborations between the best unknown talents
from both sides of the Atlantic whose work we will later workshop and
produce in New York.
For more information on the international collaboration we propose and
Deadline for submissions is April 15th, if you have any questions you can
contact us anytime on info@barkersnyc.com
11.
Elite Theatre Company Playwriting Competition
Deadline: May 31st
The Elite Theatre Company’s 2016 One-Act Play Writing Competition offers North American playwrights the opportunity to submit for judging no more than one (1) one-act play with a running time of no more than 30 minutes each. There will be up to 5 winners; each winner may have their one-act play(s) produced on stage by Elite Theatre Company in 2017, for a run of up to 12 performances.
(ETC reserves the right to produce the one-acts at any venue during the calendar year.)
Script Submission Rules
Electronic submissions only.
Send to oneact@elitetheatre.org as a Word or PDF document only.
Must have name, address, e-mail address and telephone number on title page.
To be accepted into the competition, one-act play scripts must:
Be written by a U.S. or Canadian playwright;
Be original, unproduced and unpublished;
Be written in generally accepted play script format;
Have a running time of not more than 30 minutes (under 20 minutes is recommended);
Be a comedy, drama, mystery, thriller or a monologue (no musicals or children’s plays will be accepted); and
Be received between March 1, 2016 and May 31, 2016
ONLY THE FIRST 100 SCRIPTS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR JUDGING.
Scripts not in compliance will not be accepted for judging. Playwrights will be notified via e-mail only when their script has been received.
It is recommended that the play have single or unit sets; no more than six (6) characters; and not require complicated costuming, sets, props or special effects. These are recommendations only and will not disqualify a play from the competition.
Judging
The judges are comprised of qualified playwrights, theatrical directors, producers or theater educators.
The Literary Manager of The Elite Theatre Company and the Judges shall have sole discretion over the manner in which the plays are judged, and their determination of the winners will be final.
Winner Notification
Winners of the competition shall be notified by e-mail or mail by October 15, 2016. Winners may make minor corrections and changes to their script before rehearsals begin in December, 2016. Additional consultations may take place between the winning playwrights, ETC’s Artistic Director and Festival Producer before rehearsals and again before performances.
12.
McKnight Theatre Artist Fellowship
Deadline: April 16th
Website: pwcenter.org/sites/default/files/program/applications/mcknigh-theater-artist-application-2016-17_0.pdf
The McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships at the Playwrights’ Center recognize theater artists other than playwrights whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit and whose primary residence is in the state of Minnesota. The grants are intended to significantly advance recipients’ art and careers. Three fellowships of $25,000 each will be awarded in 2015-16. These grants are funded by the McKnight Foundation as part of its Arts Program. Final selection decisions will be made by a diverse panel of both local and national theater artists. Fellows will also receive two years of complimentary Playwrights’ Center membership, as well as additional opportunities and services available through the Center.
NOTE: Advance notification of intent to apply is strongly encouraged (but not required). Panelists attend live performances to help familiarize themselves with applicants' work, so it is very important to declare your intent to apply and inform the Playwrights’ Center where and when your performances take place. You may notify the Center of intent to apply any time before the final application deadline. (You may submit a final application without notifying the Center in advance; however, by providing no notice of your intent to apply, you are limiting panelists’ ability to view your work in a live setting.)
JOBS
1.
Adjunct Faculty - Screenwriting
Harold Ramis Film School
Chicago, IL
Responsibilities:
The Harold Ramis Film School at The Second City Training Center seeks to recruit adjunct faculty members in SCREENWRITING for the Yearlong Filmmaking Program effective May 2016.
Job responsibilities include teaching students of the Yearlong Filmmaking Program at The Harold Ramis Film School as well as advising on curriculum supervising student writing and inspiring students to find their creative voices. Sense of humor preferred.
Required Qualifications:
Candidates will have professional industry experience in writing comedy for
film and television and ideally experience teaching a diverse population of
students.
- Act as a resource and team member to refine curriculum.
- Provide students with instruction based on that curriculum.
- Mentor students on projects, writing, and shoots.
- Run lectures and classes in a timely fashion.
- Stay current with industry practices and techniques.
The classes that we are looking to hire teachers for in this area are:
- Comedic Writing
- Fundamentals of Comedic Storytelling
- Adaptation
- Finding Your Comedic Voice
- The Working Screenwriter
More detailed curriculum information about the program can be found here:
Preferred Qualifications:
Post-secondary certificate, diploma, degree and/or industry experience.
Ability to lead workshops, seminars, and lectures. Great communication and interpersonal skills. Some knowledge of The Second City and our approach to content creation or a willingness to integrate your teaching style with our general philosophy. Did we mention a sense of humor?
Special Instructions:
The Harold Ramis Film School at The Second City Training Center is hiring SCREENWRITERS for multiple part-time positions in the Yearlong Filmmaker Program. This first-of-it?s-kind comedy film school is dedicated to the legacy of Second City alum, Harold Ramis. The Yearlong Program educates writers, performers, directors, and filmmakers through the collaborative styles of comedic content creation embraced by The Second City. In the spirit of Harold Ramis, we will encourage students to work from the top of their intelligence. Students will be exposed to great comedic films, literature and inspired teachers to help nurture their emotional and intellectual storytelling abilities.
Students in the Yearlong Program will be immersed in comedy training, film history, storytelling, and film production classes. Student will graduate the program with produced content, be it a screenplay, sitcom pilot, hour-long pilot, or short film.
We are looking for instructors to help us create curriculum and teach
classes in their area of specialty.
Rank and salary are commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Positions are dependent on budget approval. Applications received by March 30th, 2016 will receive fullest consideration, but will continue to be
accepted after that time.
Submission Requirements:
1. A current Curriculum Vitae
2. A writing sample that demonstrates a high quality of professional work.
3. A detailed syllabus for a proposed course in film or television writing
4. A portfolio ? 2 samples of creative work
5. Two letters of recommendation
Please email submission materials to: filmschool@secondcity.com
Required Qualifications:
Candidates will have professional industry experience in writing comedy for film and television and ideally experience teaching a diverse population of students.
- Act as a resource and team member to refine curriculum.
- Provide students with instruction based on that curriculum.
- Mentor students on projects, writing, and shoots.
- Run lectures and classes in a timely fashion.
- Stay current with industry practices and techniques.
The classes that we are looking to hire teachers for in this area are:
- Comedic Writing
- Fundamentals of Comedic Storytelling
- Adaptation
- Finding Your Comedic Voice
- The Working Screenwriter
Submission Requirements:
1. A current Curriculum Vitae
2. A writing sample that demonstrates a high quality of professional work.
3. A detailed syllabus for a proposed course in film or television writing
4. A portfolio ? 2 samples of creative work
5. Two letters of recommendation
Please email submission materials to: filmschool@secondcity.com
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2.
Literary Fellow
Signature Theatre Company
New York, NY
Signature Theatre, one of New York?s leading off-Broadway theatres, is
seeking a LITERARY FELLOW to assist the Literary Manager and Literary Associate with all aspects of managing Signature?s Literary Office. Founded in 1991, the Company exists to honor and celebrate the playwright, producing six to nine productions annually; and, in 2005 Signature began its groundbreaking Signature Ticket Initiative, providing affordable tickets to all of its productions. In 2012, Signature opened the Pershing Square Signature Center, the Frank Gehry-designed 75,000 square foot Center featuring three theatres, two rehearsal studios, a central public lobby with a cafe and bookstore, as well as administrative offices.
Fellowship responsibilities include: providing assistance and support to
the staff dramaturg for productions throughout the season; writing for
Signature?s magazine, multimedia and lobby displays, website, and
supplemental materials; reading and evaluating scripts; copy-editing;
maintaining the Literary Office archival materials; assisting in
supplemental programming events; and overseeing Literary Office interns.
This is an educational position intended for an early-career theater
professional. Ideal candidates will demonstrate a serious commitment to a career in dramaturgy and/or literary management. Some experience in the professional theater is strongly recommended. Candidates must also possess excellent research, writing, and analytical skills in tandem with strong computer and organizational skills. This is a full-time, seasonal position with an approximate start and end date of 6/1/16 and 5/31/17 (dates flexible).
Please email a resume, cover letter, non-creative theatre-related writing
sample, and references to careers@signaturetheatre.org. Please type
LITERARY FELLOW in the subject line. E.O.E. No phone calls, please. For
Application Instructions / Public Contact Information
Please email a resume, cover letter, non-creative theatre-related writing
sample, and references to careers@signaturetheatre.org. Please type
LITERARY FELLOW in the subject line.
