21st Century Cycles: The Default Republican Coalition

 The GOP is the default party for America. If left to the ebb and flow of public opinion, most of this country votes Republican without thinking. In normal times, they have a solid and consistent 51-53% coalition. Most white ppl, most men, most businessmen, most of the gatekeepers of industry, an increasing majority of Latino and Asian men, religious conservatives, most suburban voters... vote Republican as their default. The groups that vote Democratic by default are college students, Blacks, urban professionals, Latino women, and Jewish voters, and that is not enough to consistently win local and state elections in most of the country. There are not enough votes or money, and this is a numbers game. So I'm not condemning that 51% coalition. I just want young ppl to ask 'why?' because the pattern of what happens next is so repetitive and destructive to our future: Republicans get in office, cut taxes, destroy social services, and unleash massive scandals that destabilize the country, and trash our reputation abroad. The gears of civilization grind down under the weight of incompetence, income inequality, and corruption. Then, in a temporary state of panic, enough suburbanites edge over to the Democrats' side in the next election cycle. Just enough voters so that a Dem president or a razor-thin majority of Dems in Congress can take office, clean up the mess, restore some social programs that save lives and offer education, and put the US on the upswing. And once things are calm again, this 51% coalition goes right back to voting Republican. There doesn't seem to be a learning curve. There isn't a "remember last time we elected a 2-term Republican president we got Bush and corruption and economic decline and subprime mortgage collapse, and before that we got Reagan and economic decline and Iran-Contra scandals and savings and loans collapse, and before that we got Nixon and economic decline and Watergate and the creation of HMOs which began the healthcare-for-profit industry that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year" collective memory.

So now here we are again. Rather than scream, I think we have to sit and ask: why does this keep happening? Is this a 51% coalition of idiots? Well, that's not true and -more importantly- it isn't helpful to label 51% of a population dumb when you're trying to win their vote. Are they just racist? There is a racial dynamic, but that doesn't hold true, and -once again- not really helpful to be screaming 'you're a racist and sexist and a homophobe' when you need to break up this coalition. Is it really just tax cuts? Or is it a narrative problem? Because narratives not only tell the story but also influence the frame through which people see their reality. Is it a Daddy thing? Do most men and women prefer a strong Daddy to a strong mom? Is the GOP the daddy party? Is it a guy thing of the 'individual cowboy ethos' that has this country in a strong vice grip because it is a compelling narrator for innovators, business leaders, and -let's be honest- most men: the lone superhero fighting crime and saving the world? No one goes to the movies to see 'Swedish Batman' who keeps Gotham at peace through social work and community gardens. The world would probably be a better place if Swedish Batman were in charge. But ppl don't want Scandinavian socialist heroes. We go to the theatre to see Iron Man, Batman, and billionaires who strap on hardware and fly into outer space. We write 1000-page biographies about Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, the champions of industry.  We have issues that prevent us from having better schools, roads, hospitals, and other things that require collective efforts. Is it a combination of Daddy party, Ironman party, cowboy, and 'DIY' culture? I'm spitballing here. I don't know, but I do think it has something to do with narrative and mythology? The Dems do not have one compelling mythology. They have a hodgepodge of ideas and a smattering of policies, and occasionally a charismatic leader. But there doesn't seem to be a center that comforts people or gets them to believe in something consistent. 

We are creatures of stories. And if we want better healthcare, better schools, gun control, it isn't about statistics or policy because that's already out there. It's about the overall narrative we're trying to sell. It's about the mythological lens we are offering people to see their world. Concise, compelling, engaging mythology. We need to figure this out before the next Trump or Bush or Orange asteroid of tax cuts and death crashes into our nation.

DGWG Tip: History-Philosophy-Metaphor (HPM)

 Dramatists Guild Writers' Group Tip: HPM (history, philosophy, metaphor). Every main character should have a history, philosophy, and/or metaphor. It's an image or phrase that serves as the character's moral code. It is a verbalization or physical representation of their internal monologue. "Life is like a box of chocolates." Is it reductive to say that Forrest Gump can be summarized by that, or Bubba Gump is defined by his obsessive lists on how to cook shrimp? Yes. But is it also helpful for an audience shuffling through dozens of characters? Yes!

So what is a good HPM? Any internal monologue you externalize that points toward the story's overall thematic question. For instance, in ABBOTT ELEMENTARY, the thematic question of the workplace comedy is "Can you maintain your principles in a dysfunctional and unprincipled school system?" Each character would answer 'yes and' in their own way to this question. The janitor, the veteran teachers, the young idealist. Even the cynical and corrupt principal is funny b/c she doesn't think she's corrupt...she thinks she is moral in her own way. If you asked each character to raise $100 for the school, they would do so in their own way, according to their moral beliefs and HPM.

In DEATH OF A SALESMAN, one of the thematic questions is 'how do you become a success in America?" There is no single method to get there, but everyone seems to agree that one sign you have become a success is being well-liked by peers and family. So Arthur Miller takes a job that is 100% dependent upon being well-liked: a salesman. Then he flips the question by showing us a very unsuccessful salesman who is putting on a facade of success for his friends and family. Each character has an HPM on success. Willy Loman's HPM is the grand funeral procession of a legendary salesman... people came from miles around to pay their respects. And it's fitting because Willy is thinking about committing suicide as his body is failing him. He rationalizes it will be for the insurance money, but really, it's also for that funeral procession as moral vindication. For Linda Loman, it is the house payments...they've almost paid off the house, and then it's all ours. For the two sons, it's 'getting away with stealing and cutting corners' and then 'having sex with as many women as possible." Happy thinks life is about 'being loved', but he's a serial cheater, so he can't settle down and get married. Biff was the big man on campus in high school, but he realized his father was a hypocrite. So Biff starts cheating and stealing from coaches, bosses, and anyone in a position of authority b/c it is in response to feeling betrayed by his father cheating on his mom. His subconscious philosophy has been corrupted and perverted by his past history with male figures of authority who he views as hypocrites, aka his dad. Each character operates on their own HPM that revolves around themes of success, and they are either growing out of it or tragically returning to it. Happy promises to get married, but we know he's going to continue cheating even if he does. Biff promises to stay and help out, which is counter to his nature to escape and be free on a farm. Linda Loman thinks everything will be all right once the house is paid off and her husband stops traveling. Willy Loman is going through dementia/insanity b/c he can't keep up the facade of a successful salesman with bills piling up, and he's borrowing money from his neighbor to cover the costs. By the end, the only character who gets their HPM is Linda Loman: the house is paid off because of the life insurance money. And her husband is no longer traveling...b/c he's dead. In some ways, her HPM seems like the surprise twist b/c it winds up being the ending point of the story, and therefore some people have asked: have we been viewing this memory play through her HPM this whole time? Willy didn't get the big funeral; Biff is going to stray; Happy is going to continue sleeping around. But Linda Loman is the rock, the foundation, and the ending POV.

In BECKY SHAW, the thematic question is 'how do you love someone when you're damaged?" And we see all sorts of damaged people on a continuum from physical illness to corruption, to emotionally manipulative, to a rage-filled, money-obsessed man. But the titular character doesn't appear until the end of Act One. So why is the play called "Becky Shaw" when Suzanne and Max seem to be the main characters? Well, simple: Becky Shaw's HPM is the straw that stirs the drink. Her character comes in and shakes everyone up, and it becomes her HPM that overwhelms the others. Her damaged persona infects everyone else and the entire world of the play, which is another important point...

HPM should be act-able. It's one thing for Forrest Gump to say Life is like a box of chocolates.' But it has to be put into action. And that is tough b/c Forrest Gump is a passive character. He wants to love his momma and Jenny. But Jenny and his momma only appear in small parts of his life, and most of his adventures aren't about them. The assortment of adventures in his life is like a different kind of chocolate. Each adventure is attached to a specific colorful character who is the 'sample chocolate' Forrest Gump is tasting...that is his action. He is tasting by observing, fitting in, showing love and fidelity to the main person in that particular section of his life. By the end of Odyssey, we have the titular character, who has gone on a series of adventures around love and fidelity that are in the box. The only theme is to 'take life for what it is, sample, learn, move on, and love.' And Forrest becomes rich and successful. Without that HPM, the movie doesn't work. It's just a bunch of random things that happen to a kind, innocent fool. But with that HPM, the audience wants to be Forrest Gump. It wants to sample the next chocolate without having some grand ambition of 'success' like in DEATH OF A SALESMAN. The thematic question is 'how do you go through a chaotic life when you're underestimated?' You let life guide you and live in the moment. And maybe you'll see Jenny again...maybe you won't. But the important part is to spread that love to others.

Once you know have a general idea of what a character's HPM is...fill up their toy box. You're only going to use the top 1%, but it's important to have the rest of the iceberg beneath it, so come up with as many histories, philosophies, phrases, and metaphors around their principles as possible. And then put the character under pressure. Give them stakes, a ticking clock, a bus to catch, and watch the HPM's spill out as they try to accomplish their goals. Furthermore, watch them use their HPMs in act-able ways. And finally decide if the character is going to outgrow their HPM, leave, triumphantly return to it, or ironically return to the place they left.

A character's HPM in action is either going to save them or kill them. But either way, it should feel both surprising and inevitable. A character's HPM answers the story's overarching thematic question. It doesn't have to be a definitive answer, but we should feel like we have ended up in a different place by the end because of the long hand of fate moving across the chessboard. And this fateful movement is embodied in their character's action because the writer has set it up at the beginning of the story.

*****

HPM BREAKDOWN

HISTORY- character backstory that happens before the script starts. Traumatic or cathartic it's the important details that define their high's and lows, family profile, and personality. It's also how they remember the way things went down. Are they a reliable or unreliable narrator of memory or do they remember more as they keep recalling. When it comes to memory, there are 3 types: obvious, hidden, and deeply hidden. For example, a character may remember the first time his dad took him for ice cream, and he was so happy, and that's the obvious memory. Hidden memory is that dad was on his phone the entire time, and something wasn't right. Deeply hidden is the fact that the character realizes that it was the day his parents decided to divorce, and that is why the dad took his son for ice cream. The obvious is usually the actual thing that happens. Hidden is something a character may have sensed even back then but wasn't sure. Deeply hidden is the thing they realize later on, after processing the memory. Sometimes the deeply hidden comes out years later or in the process of reliving the memory. And this has influenced their...

PHILOSOPHY: a view of the world. Usually, these are centered around personal experiences related to big ideas: love, death, happiness, success, grief, truth, and community. These philosophies were either inherited from family and friends or acquired throughout the course of their lives. The character is either giving advice to someone else or explaining their reasoning through a philosophy or acting out in a specific way based on a belief system. In the column of negative emotions are loss and betrayal so a character might have a perspective on this.

METAPHOR: it's the object, ritual, action, or community. Usually it's physical or physicalized. In the previous example, a character's dad took him out for ice cream, and there were a lot of hidden things to that experience. And now the character looks at ice cream, how? father-son time, bonding, a compulsory thing to have when stressed, a sign of trouble? And then they may avoid ice cream stores because 'it's just frozen sadness,' or they may love them because they're their form of therapy. But when the audience sees the character reaching for an extra pint of ice cream after getting off a phone call, they will know BLANK. The main character just had a great day or a very bad phone call with his wife and needs soothing. Specific foods, Alcohol, smoking, drugs, clothes, cars, and houses are all repeated metaphors used throughout literature because we naturally attach meaning to these things we put in, on, or around our bodies. For actions: eating, sex, bathing, and exercise are all metaphorical gestures. If you're stuck on fictional characters HPMs, go back to you or your parents? What are the HPMs in your life? If you can't figure it out, look at your surroundings and work backward. Start with the physical objects in your space, and you can probably work back to some philosophy, which you can then work back to a history/memory. What was in your parents' home that was the iceberg tip of their HPM?

Wisdom and Giving in 2026

 During the 2020 quarantine, I was reflecting on my life...and feeling different. When I was in my 20s, self-reflection led me to be more active in the arts, politics, and protests. When I was in my 30s, self-reflection was about healing myself and becoming a better person. When the quarantine started, I was in my 40s, and my 40s brain was saying, 'You need to make more money. Now.' 

I didn't expect that. I like money, but it was never my primary motivation. I went into debt for an MFA in playwriting so my lack of financial concern was obvious. 

But there's something about the mind shifting into another gear while still having the 20s spirit of rebellion and the 30s spirit of healing going on. The 20s voice is like 'you should be ashamed of yourself...thinking about money' and the 30s voice is talking about its inner child. A 40s voice is saying 'yes to all of this...AND make more money,' with some expletives thrown in there.

Don't get me wrong: yay to protests, self-expression, and personal discovery. But that midlife brain is reptilian and direct: how can I accumulate as many resources as possible so that I die indoors and on a mattress...ideally 40-50 yrs from now?  It wasn't screaming as it would be in my 50s or weeping if I were in my 60s.  It was just a clear knowing combined with seeing far too many talented artists wrecked on the shores of medical bills or just not having enough to live. When I was at Juilliard, I was broke and still donated what little I had to artists who were a part of past avant-gardes: Andy Warhol factory artists and downtown theatre gurus. And I thought 'wow this is the life. People sacrificing everything for their art.'  And then later on I realized 'I admire that so much...but I don't want to be that.' Yes, it is possible to love the people who made the sacrifice but not want to emulate it, just like you can love Jesus for his sacrifice but not want to be on the cross. 

Seeing people get dumped out in the streets and lose their homes hits different when you're at the midway point in life.  Hearing people obsess about unpaid fellowships when you know several esteemed artist who died with gofundme campaigns to pay their rent...hits different. 

So I did two things, I got my basic financial stuff in order. I paid off all my debt and started investing. Depending solely on salary is not enough in this country. Even if you work for 40 years straight, most people will still need a retirement fund to not feel the financial pinch of expenses later on in life. I started playing the stock market. It seemed like a better way to keep myself busy than playing video games. 

And yes, I went back to wisdom. I re-read "The Diamond Cutter" but this time from a midlife agenda, which felt like I was reading it for the first time. 

Wisdom is knowing money comes from giving. Not begging or taking or scheming or the 40 Dark Laws of Lucifer or 25 Ways to Manipulate Others. Giving. That's it. That's the entire ballgame. So I started the Squire Foundation to provide a solid platform for philanthropy and dedicated a percentage of whatever I earn to organizations that help others by combining resources with wisdom. 

Now I have 3 retirement accounts and a WGA pension. I have a side STASH account that has a return on investment in the range of 75-85% over the last few years. I have high-yield savings accounts so I can earn a few thousand dollars back every year, rather than letting it sit in a checking account with no interest. I am becoming my dad. He was focused on money but not in a greedy way, but with a clear understanding that having greater financial ease made him able to give to others with greater ease. And the greatest thing to give is wisdom so...

No more GoFundMe donations this year. I'm giving through Squire Foundation and only the Squire Foundation for the rest of the year. I'm giving to groups, orgs, and collectives that help other people and use wisdom. Money is the platform but it's not enough. A farmer giving food to someone without teaching them how to farm is a dysfunctional model. It sets up a feedback loop of codependency and resentment. The greatest gift is to teach people how to farm so that people can grow their own crops. It does require patience but it's more satisfying for the village to have a collective of farmers than one farmer and a collection of beggars waiting for their handout. And I feel like our arts community is becoming more beggars than farmers. 

And I'll teach with wisdom. On the topics of writing and finances and health. Only wisdom in 2026. We need more resources which means we need more knowledge on how to make that happen. 

DGWG Writing Tip: Must-Do

 Dramatists Guild Writers Group tip. What is the 'must-do' for a character? At the Actors Studio, everyone -actors, directors, writers- had to do dramatic improv. We were always asked, 'What must the character do?' The teachers never said 'want.' A character can want many things, but they must-do one thing for their survival or to maintain their emotional sanity. And you can judge a want vs. a must-do based on how someone would react if denied that.

Growing up, I played the violin. I was a B-average, second-chair violinist in some local childhood symphonies. I practiced about 3-5 hrs a day. Btw, 3 hrs was the absolute minimum to just maintain my skill level; 5 hrs was when I was improving my skills. While doing this, I also used my free time to write. If I were in deep-focused writing mode and someone interrupted me, I would get extremely upset. I couldn't explain it intellectually because I was a kid. But I would lash out and throw a tantrum. On the other hand, if the phone rang while I was practicing the violin, I would totally answer it. No problem, 'hey, just practicing...Yeah, I can talk. What's up?' I wanted to be a violinist. My teacher even said I could have a career if I dedicated 5-6 hrs a day. And I thought, 'Oh, that would be kind of cool.' I imagined myself playing with a professional orchestra and felt good. Proud.' But it wasn't core to my being. Meanwhile, I knew that whatever I did, I would continue writing. Doesn't matter if I were a violinist, bus driver, or a therapist; this thing would continue because there was something unexplainable that brought me to the page.

But my grammar is terrible. Doesn't matter. But I haven't read enough books. Doesn't matter. But more time is spent on the violin. Does not matter. I'm working as a high school janitor, and I'm an alcoholic...but I'm still going to write. There is a core magnetism behind a 'must do.'

So what must they do to be or exist? That's a must-do vs. a want.

Must-dos have at least 4 elements: character, action, time, and contradiction.

CHARACTER
There are 2 types of character must-do's. Situational and personality. Situational must-do is 'I got cancer and have six months to live, and want to go to India. Road trip movie.' The situation forces someone to activate a dream before it's too late or take a job to save their house.' In DOG DAY AFTERNOON, the situational must-do happens before the movie begins: get the girl. How? Well, the girl was actually biologically born as a man, but I'll help her transition her body. In order to do that, I need money for the surgery... so I will rob a bank.' That's what makes DOG DAY a comedy. It's the wrong way of showing love. And then the irony is that in doing this violent act out of love...the entire world starts to love the robber. Everyone except the one person he really wants love from.

A personality-based must-do is a driving passion. "Amadeus" or "A Beautiful Mind." They are obsessed and have a genius that will then show itself. And sometimes a situational must-do meets a character's passion: Oppenheimer. We're in the middle of a war, and we need your genius to help us win it.

ACTION
There are two types of actions with a must-do: survive or thrive. So a character is just trying to get through something...so that their life can resume or they are trying to elevate their life.

Survive what? Slavery, Holocaust, war, poverty, a bad job, a prison stint. A BICYCLE THIEF: Father and son are trying to find some small joy in a day of survival for poor Italians. THE LAST DETAIL: Two sailors are escorting an 18-year-old sailor to military prison. It's not their dream to escort someone to prison. It's a job they are just trying to get through so they can go back to their normal life. In the process of doing this job, they go on a journey and their life changes forever. COOL HAND LUKE, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and A PERFECT STORM are 'let's just survive this.' But of course, what makes a great survival must-do is that the characters change and -in some internal way- thrive under the harsh conditions. The dream becomes apparent through the survival of hardship.

The " Thrive must-do" is easier to understand: it's a dream, a passion, a location, an unrequited love... maybe it's all of them embodied in one destination. The character's life is 'fine,' or it's maintaining, but they want more. LOST IN TRANSLATION starts off as 'just trying to get through this trip in Japan where I feel dead inside' and it becomes 'thrive through unlikely love.' The two leads are age-inappropriate, and one is married. But they want to live more than they are currently living at the start of the movie.

TIME
Must-do has a time element: it's buried or uncovered. So it either becomes apparent in act one and launches us on the journey...or it happened before the story begins and we find out about it on the journey.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON must-do is buried. LAST DETAIL is introduced in the story 'Here is a job. Go do it. Come back.'

If you know the character, action, and time of the must-do, then there's only one more thing: the contradiction.

CONTRADICTION
You must do something that is diametrically opposed to your status or what the outside world is doing. TITANIC: The status of the two lovers is too far apart, but they must love. Conflict!! LOST IN TRANSLATION: age inappropriate and one person is married, and this is just a temporary feeling that will go away once we're back in the US (or will it?) All this chemist teacher ever wanted was to feel powerful... as a drug lord?!? So he is BREAKING BAD.

Writing Tip: Go for A and Get B

-each scene should go for A and get B. 

A common phrase in TV and film, but what does it mean? The 'A' is a character going for something related to their want/their emotions/stakes and then gets something else. It's the expectation you set up for the audience. 'B' is the unexpected thing that happens in the scene. 

How do you define the unexpected "B" thing? According to David Ball's "Backward and Forward" there are only 2 things that 'B' involves: a reveal or a reversal. So you are invited to a 'small party' and when you get there...everyone is doing drugs. Even your high school teacher. That is a shocking reveal. You expected a party...you didn't expect 'this' kind of party. You get invited over to someone's house to meet their boyfriend, and when you get there, you find out you are meeting their boyfriend...'in the midst of a wedding ceremony, and you are the main witness who is there to sign the marriage certificate.' You did meet the boyfriend but not in the way you expected. So the reveal is unexpected in some way. The other is a reversal which is a lot easier to understand...you go to a wedding and end up a funeral. You go for a job interview and end up on a date. The terms have been totally changed and the main character is either adapting to this or intiating the go for A and get B. 

When you lay out your scenes, there should be a flow of 'go for A and get B.' So most movies and TV shows have scene-to-scene architecture that unfold like... reveal, reveal, reversal, reversal, reveal or reveal, reversal, reversal, reveal, etc. You don't want too many reversals in a row or the story starts to feel like a melodrama or a soap opera (unless that is what you are writing). You don't want too many reveals in a row without a reversal or the story may start to feel flat. 

Reversals don't have to be huge to have an impact. In the movie "Frances Ha" the lead character spontaneously flies to Paris for a weekend...and then spends most of her 2 days sleeping b/c of jet lag. It's funny. She went to Paris for romance/adventure as all the great movies promise, and she ends up groggy and disappointed in herself...which is both a reversal and keeping with the character's flaw/feature: she doesn't know how to 'act right' according to expectations. She could have saved her money and slept in a Holiday Inn in New Jersey. 

Good scenes go for A and get B.  Great scenes go for A, get B, which leads to C. The 'C' is how the character adapts and transforms in response to the unexpected thing. These are the megascenes that stand out in movies.  The character goes through a major change. In "Wicked" Elphaba is finally invited to the cool kid party. She arrives with her best witch outfit and finds that she is totally dressed incorrectly and ostracized. Ppl laugh at her, and she feels embarrassed to the point of breaking into tears. She went to the party to be accepted and she ends up even more 'an outsider.' Most scenes end there with the character running out. What I liked about this scene is that they didn't wait for the 'C' in another scene. Some times the transformation happens in the same scene and the character takes control. So Elphaba turns her 'ostracism' into a style choice and starts to dance like she doesn't care. A mortified Galinda gets courage from Elphaba and joins her, and then everyone starts dancing like Elphaba. It was go for A, get B, and then transform into C all in the same scene. 

In "Carrie" the outsider goes to the prom in a beautiful white dress. The cool kids dump a bucket of pig blood on her and laugh. This causes Carrie to go into a psychotic state and use her psychic power to lock all the doors to the gym, start a fire, and kill all the students. The 'C' is, of course, Carrie killing everyone but it's also the full reveal of Carrie's real psychic power. The trauma makes her blossom into her full madness but also her power that she's been reluctant to use. The difference in 'C' choice is that "Carrie" is a horror movie and "Wicked" is a musical at a midpoint. By the end of "Wicked" Elphaba's "C" is more aggressive and dangerous against the system. She's not just dancing off her problem. She's 'defying' the entire system...and gravity. 

A satisfying story has A-B and A-B-C scenes. The C is how the character grows unexpectedly in the moment. And these are built on expectation (A) leading to reveal or reversals (B) which some times leads to (C) character action that transforms themselves and the world. 

5 Questions for Scene Analysis

 I have been facilitating the monthly Dramatists Guild Writers Group since 2018. We use the Liz Lerman-esque feedback model for submitted material: what excited/intrigued you, what bumped you out, questions to consider in process? Yesterday I tried something different. After reading "Story and Plot" article about 5 key things for each scene, I added their 5 questions for each scene in my feedback. 

1. What change needs to happen to move the story forward?

-This is the most elemental question of all. Why does this scene exist? What is different at the end of the scene? What is true that wasn't true at the beginning? What new understanding is there for the characters and for us?

2. Whose scene is it?

Every scene is a mini-story in itself, so whose story is it? Who changes? Who is most affected? Know who the most important person in the scene is, and how the events affect them and how this relates to #1.

3. Who wants what?

Someone trying to get what they want is what drives a scene.

A scene that lingers is usually because no one is trying hard enough to get what they want. Identify who wants want in the scene. Why is it challenging to get it? Do they get it? What tactics do they use?

4. What's the emotion(s) of the scene?

How do you want us to feel? Sad? Angry? Joyful? Tense? Dread?

Track this through each moment as it ebbs and flows from beginning to end. The writer is directing the emotional experience of this script just like a director guides the emotional experience of a film, tv show or stageplay.

5. Why is the scene compelling to WATCH?

Every scene should be interesting in its own right. Never write a scene just to get to the next. Surprisingly, this is the one people forget most. Not with the big scenes, but with the smaller scenes. Here, we are interested in how the scene is conceived and the mechanics of its execution. Why is it funny? What generates the humor? Why is it scary? What generates the scares?

With this method, I could go scene by scene, have my immediate Liz Lerman response and then frame my feedback into constructive observations. Instead of 'this scene bumped me out' it could be 'this scene bumped me b/c I didn't know #3: whose scene it was? Or I couldn't track #1: what changes happen by the end that make it a scene?

Across the board, the best scenes in all the diff works answered all 5 questions with clarity and confidence. The weakest scenes answered only a few or left me feeling like there were partial answers. I could immediately tell writers "scenes 3, 6, 10, 11 were your strongest scenes' and concretely explain why, and then suggest they go back and answer those questions for the weaker scenes by using their best scenes as architectural examples of their style.

It removed the writers' group epidemic of vague feedback... 'oh I liked that' or 'consider rewriting this scene' or 'I didn't respond to that.' It became about what specific things in the scene architecture to look at in rewrite mode. And just as importantly, it removed the feeling of being attacked as a writer and kept it to the scene-by-scene blueprint, and starting off with the best scenes that were clicking on all 5 Qs so that the writer could note how their own unique style works when it's operating at an optimal level. Constructive, specific, focused observations with a clear template.

Get What You Want: April 2026

 GET WHAT YOU WANT: APRIL 2026

Playwright Opportunities: Residencies · Fellowships · Competitions · Grants

April & May 2026 Deadlines   |   Compiled for working playwrights

Opportunity doesn't knock — it posts online with a deadline. Below is your curated guide to the most compelling playwright opportunities with deadlines in April and May 2026, spanning development programs, fellowships, residencies, competitions, and grants at every career level. Apply widely. Apply strategically. Get what you want.

— APRIL DEADLINES —

Playwrights for Change — AATE Adult Playwright Competition

Deadline: April 1, 2026   |   https://www.aate.com

Got something to say about how we treat each other — and the planet? The American Alliance for Theatre and Education wants your 10-minute play on the theme “Widening Our Circle of Compassion.” This blind-adjudicated national competition is looking for work that resonates in schools and community spaces, with a big emphasis on empathy toward adversaries and the natural world. Six characters max, one author only — tight, focused, and purposeful.

★  Winners receive national recognition and distribution through AATE's educational networks.

LAB Theater Project — Full-Length New Play Submissions

Deadline: April 1, 2026   |   https://labtheaterproject.org/submissions/

Tampa's LAB Theater Project is one of the rare organizations that takes new plays straight from the page to a full production — no workshop purgatory, no endless developmental limbo. If your full-length script is ready to live on its feet, this is the pipeline for it. Competition is stiff (400–500 scripts per cycle), but selection carries real weight.

★  Selected plays are produced as part of the upcoming main season. Page to stage, for real.

BAX — Artist in Residence

Deadline: April 2, 2026   |   https://www.bax.org/artists-in-residence

Eighteen months of protected time, 450 hours of free rehearsal space, a $8,000 stipend, monthly cohort check-ins, and fiscal sponsorship — BAX's Artist in Residence program is the full package for theater and interdisciplinary performance artists committed to racial and cultural justice. The emphasis is on process, inquiry, and peer exchange, not polished product. Parents of school-age children also get free arts programming throughout the residency.

★  $8,000 stipend + 450 hours free rehearsal space + fiscal sponsorship. Benchmark presentations in 2027–2028.

Creative Capital Award / State of the Art Prize

Deadline: April 2, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET   |   https://creative-capital.org/creative-capital-award/award-application

This is the big one. Creative Capital's multi-year project funding plus sustained professional development support is as good as it gets for independent theater artists in the US. And every applicant for the Creative Capital Award is automatically considered for the State of the Art Prize — an unrestricted $10,000 grant just for being in the room. You need at least five years of professional practice and no active degree enrollment.

★  State of the Art Prize: $10,000 unrestricted grant. One of the most transformative opportunities in American theater.

BRIC TV — Pilot and Short Film Funds

Deadline: April 10, 2026   |   https://bricartsmedia.org/art-artists/opportunity/bric-tv-nea/

If your stories want to live on screen, BRIC TV (in partnership with the NEA) is commissioning four new scripted projects: two short films at $15,000 each and two pilots at $7,500 each. Selected artists get access to BRIC's professional editing suites, equipment, and festival marketing support. The focus is New York City history and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence — a wide mandate with real money behind it.

★  Short films: $15,000 each. Pilots: $7,500 each. Final delivery by October 31, 2026.

Goethe-Institut — Shadowing Programme for Theatre Professionals

Deadline: April 10, 2026   |   https://www.goethe.de/en/kul/foe/hos.html

Want to see how the other half lives? Germany's subsidized theater ecosystem is one of the most robust in the world, and this program drops you inside it. International theater practitioners are embedded at major German houses for immersive professional development — full access to rehearsals, travel support, and a monthly allowance. The relationships built here often lead to co-commissions, translations, and European premieres.

★  Travel support + monthly allowance. A direct line to the international co-production circuit.

Village Playwrights — Annual June Pride Festival

Deadline: April 10, 2026   |   https://sites.google.com/site/villageplaywrights

Founded in 1985, Village Playwrights is one of New York's oldest LGBTQ+ collectives — and they're looking for one-act plays (up to 30 minutes) for their annual Pride Festival at Theater for the New City in lower Manhattan. Selected plays receive full productions with professional casts. This is a community-rooted, lower-barrier entry point with a genuine production credit at a respected downtown venue.

★  Full production with professional cast at Theater for the New City. NYC-area writers especially encouraged.

SOZO Fellowship

Deadline: April 12, 2026   |   https://sozomedia.com/fellowship

What if someone taught mid-career artists how to actually run their careers? That's the premise of SOZO. Using the APEC (Artists and Producers as Entrepreneurs and Changemakers) framework, this fellowship trains independent artists in financial literacy, sustainability, and entrepreneurship — with access to experts from the startup, finance, and wellness worlds. Vision-setting, leadership development, and a pitch panel are all part of the package.

★  For mid-career independent artists ready to think like entrepreneurs.

Hedgebrook — Writer in Residence

Deadline: April 17, 2026   |   https://www.hedgebrook.org

Private cottages on Whidbey Island, Washington. All meals provided. Travel supported. Time to write. Hedgebrook's fully funded residency for woman-identified writers is built around the philosophy of radical hospitality — the belief that making space for women's voices is an act of world-changing. Applications for the 2027 season close April 17, with notifications in November 2026.

★  Fully funded: travel, meals, private cottage. Notifications November 2026 for 2027 season.

National Playwriting Competition — Theatre Rocks!

Deadline: April 17, 2026   |   https://www.theatrerocks.com/nationalplaywritingcompetition/

A straightforward national competition for unpublished, non-musical, full-length plays in English — open to all US residents, no career stage requirements. First place wins $500 and an option for a full production in the upcoming season. Second and third place may also receive production options. There's a $30 entry fee, and you can submit as many plays as you'd like.

★  First Prize: $500 + production option. $30 entry fee. Multiple submissions allowed.

Abingdon Theatre Company — One-Person Play Submissions

Deadline: April 17, 2026   |   https://www.abingdontheatre.org

Solo performance is one of the most demanding and intimate forms in theater — and Abingdon wants to champion it. They're seeking full-length one-person plays not previously produced for New York audiences, across all genres. Writers at every career stage and from any location are welcome. Submit one play plus an artistic statement (250–500 words), bio, and resume. Performer-writers should include a 2-minute reel.

★  All genres, all career stages. Champion solo performance as bold storytelling.

Page 73 — Playwriting Fellowship & Writers Group

Deadline: April 26, 2026   |   https://page73.org/application

Page 73 is one of the most beloved early-career playwright support organizations in New York, and this dual application is one of the best deals in the business. The Playwriting Fellowship gives one writer $20,000 unrestricted plus a $10,000 development budget and multiple workshops. The Writers Group is a year-long cohort of 7–8 playwrights meeting twice monthly in Brooklyn, with each member receiving a $3,000 stipend. Apply to one or both through the same portal.

★  Fellowship: $20,000 + $10,000 development. Writers Group: $3,000 stipend. One application, two shots.

Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize

Deadline: April 30, 2026   |   https://premiocarloannoni.eu

Milan-based and internationally minded, this prize celebrates plays in English or Italian that center LGBTQ+ themes — identity, love, gender fluidity. All lengths are welcome, including 10-minute plays, and previously produced works are eligible. Two grand prizes of €1,000 each go to the best plays in English and Italian, with additional jury special mentions. Award ceremony in Milan, September 2026.

★  €1,000 grand prize each for English and Italian. Previously produced works eligible.

PlayGround — 2026-27 Writers Pool

Deadline: April 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT   |   https://playground-ny.org/submit

PlayGround is selecting 25 early-career playwrights for its Writers Pool across San Francisco, LA, New York, and Chicago. Members participate in the Monday Night PlayGround series — write an original 10-page play in 4.5 days based on a monthly prompt, see the top six scripts receive public staged readings with professional directors and actors. The season culminates in a Best of PlayGround showcase in 2027. BIPOC, trans/gender-non-conforming, and disabled playwrights are strongly encouraged to apply.

★  25 spots. Four cities. Monthly prompts. Public staged readings. Showcase in 2027.

— MAY DEADLINES —

Donald J. McCann Memorial Playwriting Contest — Oswego Players

Deadline: May 1, 2026   |   https://oswegoplayers.org/productions/don-mccann-playwriting-contest

For New York State residents and students 18 and older, the Oswego Players have been producing community theater since before most of us were born — and they want your original, unproduced full-length script. No verse plays, no adaptations. First come, first served: this contest is strictly limited to the first 100 submissions, so don't wait.

★  NY State residents only. Full production by one of Upstate New York's oldest community theaters. Limited to 100 submissions.

Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) — Fall 2026 Residency

Deadline: May 1, 2026   |   https://www.sundresspublications.com/safta/residencies

A quiet farmhouse outside Knoxville, Tennessee. A private room. Shared creative community. August 16, 2026 through January 2, 2027. SAFTA's fall residency is a slow-burn, sustained creative retreat — and while the standard fee is $350/week, fully funded fellowships are available for Black, Indigenous, and trans writers. Black and Indigenous writers can also apply for a $350 support grant for travel and childcare.

★  Fully funded fellowships for Black, Indigenous, and trans writers. $350 support grant also available.

Carolina Playwrights Lab

Deadline: May 10, 2026   |   https://capitalartstheaterguild.com/cplaywrights-lab/

If you're based in North or South Carolina, this one's for you. Two playwrights are selected for a three-week intensive development of full-length scripts (70+ pages) with staged readings and feedback from local and national professionals. Submissions are blind and must be unproduced. Writers from outside the greater Triangle area receive housing.

★  NC/SC residents only. $500 stipend + housing for out-of-area writers. Blind submissions, unproduced work.

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA)

Deadline: May 15, 2026   |   https://www.vcca.com/apply

One of the country's most established artist communities, VCCA offers residencies of up to six weeks at its Mt. San Angelo campus — private studio, private bedroom, three daily meals, and 20+ fellow artists across every discipline. This May deadline is for Spring 2027 placement. Residency fees apply, but fully funded fellowships are available at every deadline for writers who need total financial support.

★  Up to 6 weeks. Private studio + meals. Fully funded fellowships available. Spring 2027 placement.

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