Get What You Want: May 2026

 GET WHAT YOU WANT

May / June 2026

20 Opportunities  ·  Residencies  ·  Fellowships  ·  Grants  ·  Prizes  ·  Competitions  ·  Jobs

Deadlines span May through early August 2026.

MAY 2026 DEADLINES

Bethany Arts Community — Fall 2026 Multidisciplinary Residency

Deadline: May 6, 2026  

Website: https://www.bethanycommunity.org/  

Bethany Arts Community runs one of the more genuinely cross-disciplinary residency programs in the New York metro area, housing visual artists, writers, playwrights, choreographers, musicians, filmmakers, and performance artists in the same community simultaneously. That cross-disciplinary friction is the point. For playwrights who develop work at the edges of their form — or who find sustained contact with artists outside the page genuinely generative — BAC is structured to produce exactly those collisions.

The Ossining, NY location is close enough to New York City to maintain professional connections but distant enough to actually work. Black and Indigenous writers should inquire specifically about designated fully funded fellowships that cover the residency fee entirely. Fall 2026 residency dates and specific award amounts should be confirmed on the BAC website.

Monson Arts — Fall Writer's Residency

Deadline: May 15, 2026 

 Website: https://www.monsonarts.org/ 

 Stipend: $1,000 (4-wk) / $500 (2-wk)

Monson Arts sits at the edge of Maine's North Woods and runs 2-week and 4-week residency programs throughout the year, each bringing five artists and five writers together in a small-town environment built for concentrated work. Private studio space, all meals, and a cash stipend make this one of the more financially viable options for writers who need focused time without the logistical overhead of sustaining themselves.

Playwrights and screenwriters are explicitly welcome alongside fiction writers, poets, and nonfiction writers. The Abbott Watts Residency for Photography also operates on-site if you happen to have visual arts in your practice. For writers who work best in isolation and are developing a specific long project — a play that needs uninterrupted drafting time, a screenplay in deep revision — Monson is worth the trek to Maine. No fee.

Candela Playwrights Summer Fellowship

Deadline: May 15, 2026  

 Website: https://candelafellowship.com/

Candela is the only program in the country specifically designed for theater writers of Latin American and Caribbean heritage — playwrights, book writers, lyricists, and choreopoets. The Fourth Annual Summer Jam takes place July 12–19, 2026 at the Dramatists Guild of America's Mary Rodgers Room in New York City. Completely free to selected fellows; around 10–15 writers are accepted per cycle. Financial aid is available for travel and accommodations for fellows coming from outside New York, and the program provides daily meals to address food insecurity.

The curriculum blends writing workshops, craft talks, seminars on the business of playwriting and producing, and cultural excursions to NYC institutions including the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Faculty have included Tony Award winners, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and leading Broadway and Off-Broadway voices: David Henry Hwang, Dominique Morisseau, Michael R. Jackson, Kristoffer Diaz, Itamar Moses, Quiara Alegría Hudes. The fellowship has welcomed artists from over 26 countries in six-plus languages. Open to writers 21+ from the US and internationally. Apply via the Google Form at the link above.

Apply directly: Google Form application link

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) — Spring 2027 Placement

Deadline: May 15, 2026  

Website: https://www.vcca.com/apply 

 Fully funded fellowships available

One of the most established artist residency programs in the country — over 50 years of continuous operation. VCCA's Mt. San Angelo campus in Amherst, Virginia offers residencies of up to six weeks. Each resident receives a private studio, a private bedroom with en-suite bath, and three prepared meals daily, while living and working alongside approximately 20 artists across disciplines. The May 15 deadline places fellows for Spring 2027.

Fully funded Greater Opportunity Fellowships are available at each of VCCA's three annual deadlines and cover the full residency fee for writers who need complete financial support. The fellowship application is integrated into the general application — no separate submission required. For playwrights with full-length plays in progress or scripts that need significant sustained development time, VCCA is one of the highest-value programs in the country.

Art Explora / Vila 31 Tirana — Artist Residency [Intl]

Deadline: May 15, 2026  

 Website: https://www.artexplora.org/en/residences-dartistes-tirana  

 3-month residency · Studio apartment · Living grant

This deadline is May 1, 2026 — act immediately if you're going to apply. The Tirana - Vila 31 x Art Explora residency programme welcomes up to thirty artists and researchers annually for 3-month residencies spread over three sessions per year. Located in Vila 31 — the former home of Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha — the residence extends a local dynamic of public reappropriation of one of the most historically charged sites in the Balkans. The NeM architectural firm renovated the building to balance preservation of its difficult history with the creation of spaces for writing new, plural histories. That site-specificity is not decorative; it's the entire premise.

Each resident receives a studio apartment, production and exhibition spaces, and a living and production grant to develop their research. Three application tracks are available: the Solo programme (open to all international artists and Balkan artists), the Artists Collective programme (for a duo formed by an artist and a researcher), and a crossover programme that combines a 3-month Paris residency at the Cité internationale des arts with a 3-month Tirana residency. The selection committee includes curators from Centre Pompidou and the National Gallery of Arts Albania. For playwrights and theater makers with work that engages with collective memory, political history, post-communist transition, or Balkan and Eastern European cultural contexts — or who simply need three months of funded research time in a serious European arts environment — this is an exceptional opportunity. Paris-Tirana track applicants receive both residencies.

Applications open April 2 and close May 15, 2026. Apply at artexplora.plateformecandidature.com. Do not delay.

LMDA — Early Career & Mid-Career Dramaturg Travel Grants

Deadline: May 17, 2026 (extended)

  Website: https://lmda.org/the-mcd-travel-grant/

Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas is offering two travel grant programs for the 2026 LMDA Conference retreat in New Haven, Connecticut (June 12–14, 2026), hosted by the David Geffen Yale School of Drama. The Early Career Development Travel Grant is for artists or dramaturgs who self-identify as being early in their career; the Mid-Career Dramaturg Travel Grant is a new 2026 offering for those who self-identify as mid-career.

Both grants cover travel to attend the conference. The LMDA conference is the central professional gathering point for literary managers and dramaturgs in the country — if you work in this field or want to build relationships in it, this is the room. The deadline was extended to May 17. Apply via the LMDA website.

National Black Theatre — I AM SOUL Playwright Residency

Deadline: May 22, 2026  

 Website: https://www.nationalblacktheatre.org  

 $7,500 stipend · 18-month residency

The I AM SOUL Playwright Residency at National Black Theatre is the only program in the country dedicated exclusively to Black playwrights with a commitment to production. Founded in 1968 by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, NBT is the nation's first revenue-generating Black arts complex, and has produced over 300 original works in its history. This residency, launched in 2012, exists specifically to re-establish Black theatrical institutions as the foremost supporters and producers of new work created by Black playwrights — a mission that is both historic and urgent.

The selected playwright receives a minimum stipend of $7,500, support for up to six in-house readings of new plays, access to office space and administrative support, and complimentary tickets to all NBT productions that season. The 18-month residency begins September 8, 2026 and culminates in a public presentation in NBT's theatrical season. The playwright is required to actively participate in readings, workshops, rehearsals, and all public presentations, and will serve on the selection committee for future cycles.

Eligibility: Black playwrights, 21 years of age or older, citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Not eligible if currently enrolled in a degree program for playwriting. Application window: April 16 – May 22, 2026. Apply via the link above.

National Performance Network — Creation & Development Fund

Deadline: May 18, 2026 (Phase I: Creation Fund)  

 Website: https://npnweb.org/programs/cdf/  

 Minimum $15,000 unrestricted

NPN's Creation & Development Fund is one of the few grant programs in the country that funds the actual movement of work — creation, development, and national dissemination rather than another workshop in a room. The Phase I Creation Fund, which closes May 18, supports community-grounded new work with a minimum of $15,000 in unrestricted project funding. Requires a team of at least two co-commissioners from NPN member organizations.

NPN is a national consortium of presenters and producing venues, so successful applicants gain access to a network of potential hosting partners, not just a check. The emphasis on racial and cultural equity in selection criteria is substantive — it's baked into the founding mission of the organization. For playwrights whose work is explicitly community-grounded across regions, or whose projects require the kind of national infrastructure NPN can provide, this is one of the most strategically useful programs in the field.

JUNE 2026 DEADLINES

Venturous Theater Fund — Venturous Capital Grant

Deadline: June 1, 2026 (LOI)

 Website: https://venturoustheaterfund.org/  

  Awards $10,000–$45,000

The playwright is the primary beneficiary here, even though the theater submits the LOI. The Venturous Capital Grant funds extraordinary production expenses for ambitious new plays at small and medium-sized producing organizations — meaning it's the money that allows a theater to actually mount your play at full scale rather than apologize for the budget while doing it. Grant amounts range from $10,000 to $45,000. The LOI window opens May 1 and closes June 1.

If you have a production relationship with a theater that has been orbiting one of your plays, now is the moment to bring this fund to their attention directly. The Venturous ecosystem is designed for formally ambitious, difficult-to-produce work that deserves institutional infrastructure, not just aesthetic admiration. Past Fellowship recipients include Roger Q. Mason, Andrea Assaf, and Jaymes Sanchez.

NYFA — The Ryan Hudak LGBTQ+ Dramatic Writing Award

Deadline: June 17, 2026  

 Website: https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants/the-ryan-hudak-lgbtq-dramatic-writing-award/  

 $8,000 cash grant · NYS residents · LGBTQ+ writers

This is an $8,000 unrestricted cash grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts — one of the largest single grants available specifically to LGBTQ+ playwrights and screenwriters in the country. The award honors Ryan Hudak, a gay playwright, theater maker, filmmaker, and NYFA staff member who passed away in May 2022 at the age of 32 after a long battle with leukemia. The award was established by his parents, Pat and Tom Hudak, individual donors, and the philanthropic community. It's an act of love made into institutional infrastructure.

The grant is not project-specific — if awarded, funds do not need to be applied to a particular work. Applicants submit completed works and are evaluated on artistic merit, originality, depth of themes, innovation in storytelling, and the potential impact of receiving the award. Accepted forms include stageplays, screenplays, teleplays, libretti, radio plays, and audio dramas. Applications are reviewed by peer panels.

Eligibility: LGBTQ+-identifying playwrights or screenwriters who are full-time New York State residents (including all five boroughs of NYC) for a minimum of 12 months at the time of application closing. Must be at least 25 years of age. Cannot be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program. Previous NYFA grant recipients are eligible; previous Ryan Hudak Award recipients are not. Apply via Submittable at apply.nyfa.org/submit.

LSU SciArts New Play Festival

Deadline: June 30, 2026  

Website: https://www.lsu.edu/cmda/theatre/events/sciarts/2026_sciarts/sciarts_submission_form.php  ·  Cash prize · travel provided

Louisiana State University is running the return of its SciArts New Play Festival — staged readings of original, unpublished full-length plays that prominently feature accurate science as a thematic element. Co-sponsored by LSU's College of Science, School of Theatre, and Office of Research and Economic Development. Selected playwrights are flown to Baton Rouge for workshop rehearsals with theatre and science faculty, receive a cash prize, and have their work presented on the LSU campus in Fall 2026. Notification by September 1.

The specific lane — accurate science as integral to the drama — is narrow enough that competition is genuinely reduced. For playwrights working in the territory of climate, medicine, technology, biology, astrophysics, or ecology as dramatic subject matter, this is one of the few programs in the country specifically built for that work. No fee.

A Classic Theatre — New Play Staged Reading Series

Deadline: June 30, 2026  

Website: https://www.aclassictheatre.org/newplays/ 

  $100 stipend

A Classic Theatre in St. Augustine, Florida is accepting full-length new plays (no longer than 90–105 minutes, no more than six characters, no children or teens) for its 2026–27 Staged Reading Series. One performance per play with audience feedback; selected playwrights receive a $100 stipend. No fee. Multiple submissions accepted.

A low-ceiling opportunity, but genuinely low-barrier. For writers with a tight, small-cast play that hasn't had a professional production and needs a real audience response, this is a clean test. Notification by September 30, 2026. Submit by email to act@aclassictheatre.org or US mail.

JULY 2026 DEADLINES

Yaddo — Artist Residency, Summer Application Cycle

Deadline: July 1, 2026 · Portal opens June 1  

 Website: https://yaddo.org/apply/  ·  Fee: $30 (waivers available)

If you write plays, this is the one. Yaddo is one of two or three residencies in the country where the prestige of the program is not incidental to its usefulness. Playwrights apply under the Literature panel — the specific category is 'drama, librettos, and graphic novels.' The terms: private studio, private room, three meals a day, two weeks to two months at the historic Saratoga Springs estate. No residency fees. Travel reimbursement and need-based stipends available to open the residency to the broadest possible community.

The Summer Application Cycle portal opens June 1 and closes July 1 at 11:59 PM Eastern — that deadline is firm. Note that Yaddo recently updated their application calendar: the old August 1 deadline no longer exists. July 1 is now the summer deadline. Applications are reviewed by independent professional panels composed of working artists, and selection is based solely on the quality of the work — no consideration of financial means or career stage. Applications must be submitted through SlideRoom; the $30 fee can be waived upon request.

Savage Wonder — Full-Length & 10-Minute Playwriting Competitions

Deadline: July 3, 2026  

Website: https://savagewonder.org/submit-your-work/

 $5,000 (full-length) · $1,000 (10-min) · No fee

Savage Wonder accepts submissions for both full-length and 10-minute playwriting competitions through July 3, 2026. Eligibility requires that playwrights meet one of the following criteria: current or former US military, law enforcement, fire service, EMS, foreign service, intelligence service, DoD employee, or DoD contractor. The program specifically values veteran writers and active-duty storytellers who bring those lived experiences to dramatic form.

The prizes are meaningful: $5,000 for the full-length winner, $1,000 for the 10-minute winner. No submission fee. The eligibility filter makes this less broadly applicable but highly relevant for writers who qualify — and there are far fewer competing submissions than in open national competitions. If your network includes playwrights in these categories, this is worth passing along directly.

Stone Canoe — Drama Submissions

Deadline: July 29, 2026  

Website: https://stonecanoe.submittable.com/submit

Stone Canoe is an annual literary journal based in Syracuse, New York, published by Syracuse University, that accepts short plays and dramatic excerpts alongside poetry, fiction, and visual art. It has been in publication since 2007 and has established itself as one of the more serious literary journals in the Northeastern US with a genuine commitment to including dramatic literature as a first-class genre.

For playwrights with short dramatic work — a tight one-act, an excerpt from a longer play that reads as a standalone piece, an experimental short form — Stone Canoe offers publication in a reputable literary venue with a regional and national readership. Publication credit in a serious journal remains meaningful for grant applications and residency applications that ask for prior publication history.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR — COMING SOON

MacDowell Fellowship — Spring/Summer 2027 Cycle

Deadline: Applications open August 15, 2026  Deadline September 10, 2026  

Website: https://www.macdowell.org/apply/

MacDowell's Spring/Summer 2027 application opens August 15, 2026, with a September 10, 2026 deadline. Theater is one of MacDowell's seven recognized disciplines. Free (no residency fees), with travel reimbursement and need-based stipends available. Residencies run 10 days to six weeks at the 450-acre campus in Peterborough, New Hampshire. One of the most competitive and prestigious residency programs in the country — acceptance rates run around 9% in recent cycles.

Start preparing your project proposal and work samples now, well in advance of August. Alumni include Suzan-Lori Parks, Ayad Akhtar, Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin, Charlie Kaufman, and thousands of others across all disciplines. A MacDowell residency on a playwright's CV carries weight in grant applications, commission conversations, and institutional relationships that extends well beyond the time spent on campus.

Stanley Drama Award — Wagner College

Deadline: September 1, 2026  

Website: https://wagner.edu/theatre/stanley-drama-award/

The Stanley Drama Award at Wagner College is an annual prize for an original full-length play, musical, or one-act series that has not received a professional production. The award provides meaningful recognition and a cash prize, and has a decades-long track record as one of the more respected regional playwriting prizes in the country. For writers with a production-ready script that has not yet had a professional premiere, this is the kind of competition where submission leads somewhere tangible.

The September 1 deadline gives the full summer to get a script ready. Given the time horizon from the current list, flag it now and plan accordingly.

Joan Mitchell Fellowship — Nomination-Only · $60,000 · Painters & Sculptors

Deadline: No open application — nomination-only | Annual cycle  

 Website: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/joan-mitchell-fellowship  

 $60,000 over 5 years

This is not a program your readers can apply for directly — but it belongs in GWYW because every playwright who is also a visual artist, or who moves between disciplines, should know it exists and should be actively positioning themselves to be nominated. The Joan Mitchell Fellowship annually recognizes 15 US-based artists with primary practices in painting or sculpture. Each fellow receives $60,000 in unrestricted funds distributed over five years, woven with convenings, finance and legacy planning workshops, self-advocacy training, and consultations with arts professionals. Fellows in their fourth year and beyond are also eligible for a residency at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans.

The Foundation uses an invitation-only nomination process — no open call — specifically to ensure a diverse pool and maximize funds going directly to artists rather than administrative overhead. Nominators are anonymous; you cannot ask to be nominated. The Foundation actively encourages nominators to put forward artists of color and Indigenous artists, women artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, and artists from non-traditional career paths outside city centers. The practical advice is straightforward: connect with your art community, hold open studios, seek out other grants and residencies, and make your work visible. The Foundation is actively seeking artists at various career stages. For theater makers with a serious parallel visual arts practice, this is one of the most significant fellowships in the country — $60,000 unrestricted, spread over five years, is a genuine career enabler.

JOBS — THEATRE & LITERARY POSITIONS

Playwrights Horizons — Artistic & Literary Fellowship (2026/27 Season)

Deadline: Confirm current deadline  

 Website: https://www.playwrightshorizons.org/site/jobs/fellowship-program  

$17/hr Begins August 2026

Playwrights Horizons is offering its 2026/27 season Artistic & Literary Fellowship, beginning approximately August 2026 and running through the full production season. The Fellow actively participates in new works development — from script submission process to supporting developmental readings — working four days a week. This is not a playwright development program; it is a professional formation program for people who want to work inside a major literary department.

Past Literary Fellows include Sarah DeLappe, the Pulitzer Prize finalist author of The Wolves. This is one of the most direct ways to embed in the new play development ecosystem at one of New York's most important writers' theaters. The fellowship is geared toward those who have completed undergraduate training. Confirm the current application deadline directly with Playwrights Horizons.

Northwestern Oklahoma State University — Instructor/Assistant Professor of Theatre

Deadline: Open Until Filled 

Available: August 2026 ·

Website: https://www.nwosu.edu/employment

 Salary commensurate with experience · 9-month, full-time position

Northwestern Oklahoma State University's Reichenberger Department of Fine Arts is seeking a dynamic theatre artist-educator for a full-time, nine-month Instructor or Assistant Professor of Theatre position beginning August 2026, based on the Alva, Oklahoma campus. Teaching load is 27 credit hours per academic year. Production responsibilities are substantial: the position requires producing, directing, designing, and technical directing four productions per year — two per semester. Courses typically include Theatre Appreciation, Musical Theatre Production, Acting, Script Analysis, Stage Makeup, and Principles of Directing.

The position also includes student advisement, mentoring in academic and production settings, guiding senior capstone projects, participation in program assessment and curriculum development, assistance with university and regional theatre contests, and active engagement in recruitment. A terminal degree (MFA qualifies) is required for the rank of Assistant Professor; non-terminally prepared faculty hold the rank of Instructor until terminal degree completion.

This is a generalist position at a small regional university with a production-driven program and a tradition of student achievement. For theatre artist-educators who want to run a full season — not just teach — this is a hands-on job with real creative scope. Preferred qualifications include versatility across multiple areas of theatre, evidence of sustained creative activity, and experience fostering student leadership. Apply by emailing a cover letter, teaching statement, CV with three references, NWOSU faculty application, and transcripts (unofficial acceptable) to Dr. Steven Maier at sjmaier@nwosu.edu.

University of San Diego — Lecturer, Theatre (Part-Time, Fall 2026)

Deadline: Open Until Filled (review begins immediately) · 

Available: Fall 2026 ·

 Website: https://jobs.sandiego.edu/cw/en-us/job/497312 · 

Compensation: $2,581–$2,659 per unit, bi-weekly · Part-time (max 6 units/semester)

The Theatre Department at the University of San Diego is seeking part-time instructors for in-person Fall 2026 courses. The department houses both undergraduate and MFA programs with a liberal arts foundation, emphasizing empathy, critical analysis, and creative problem-solving through the lens of playmaking. The position is part of the Non-Tenure Track Bargaining Unit (SEIU Local 721). Instructors may apply for one or more of the following courses: THEA 111 Theatre and Society (T/Th 2:30–3:50pm); THEA 230 Fundamentals of Acting (two sections, MWF and T/Th); THEA 360 Theatre History I (T/Th 10:45am–12:05pm); THEA 370 Performance Studies (T/Th 4:00–5:20pm).

Minimum qualifications are a BFA or BA in Theatre plus professional experience in theatre, television, or film. Preferred: MFA in Theatre. This is a lean but solid part-time teaching opportunity at a well-regarded private Catholic university in San Diego — good fit for professional theatre artists with a West Coast base who want classroom work. Not more than 6 units per semester. Submit a brief letter of application, CV, and contact information for three references via USD's online portal. For questions contact search chair Nate Parde at nparde@sandiego.edu.

The Age of Kid Rock

 For better or worse, social media has blown up the talented 1%  assumption, aka this concept that there's this hyper-exclusive club of ppl who are just born with a talent, and the rest of the world is just here to pay rent on this earth and watch the talented 1%. My scroll shows me so many amazingly creative and artistically dynamic ppl around the world in the arts, science, cooking, fashion, modeling, etc, that I've wondered if it 1% talented or just 1% given access?" What if it's actually 10%, 20%, or 50% who have genius-level talent for something, or even higher... but only 1% are given the keys to the training and pipeline to higher-level opportunities. There are hilarious ppl doing sketches in the Samoan Islands, amazing musicians performing in sub-Saharan Africa, and unbelievable dancers in the Baltic countries who can penetrate my world b/c they have a phone and wifi. I see kids with no training who have a higher ceiling in certain talent, but I know they will never reach that level because they don't live in NYC, London, or Paris. They don't live in a cultural hub where gatekeepers determine who is special and who the audience is. Many of these talents live in a third-world country or in a rural area, so they will never have access to develop those skills, and even if they do develop them, they have no pipeline outside of social media. 

I think we are taught in school this romanticized perspective that there is some special treasure within an artist that makes them the talented 1%. And then schools and universities reinforce that concept by offering exclusionary programs for the .001% of the 1% so they have more access and opportunities. And then b/c that .001%  is given more opportunities, they have a wider window to succeed. And many do succeed. Then professors, teachers, and people all the way down to the parents go 'see I knew they were born in this exclusive club.' And it makes the teachers feel proud: they found the diamond in the rough and molded it. But it's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, no? 

What if talent isn't a gemstone in the heart or an artist, but it's an antenna? It is something that just has to be tuned to the right frequency to pick up the genius intuition that is flowing out there like radio waves. What if talent isn't this thing an artist dispenses from their soul, but it's a Brita water filter: it's a vessel you pour raw data into, and then talent is the filtration system that separates the impurities from one's aesthetic preferences and then holds the purified and best substance of you in one container. And, of course, every once in a while, the filter of intuition needs to be changed, or the water in the vessel becomes polluted. 

It's disconcerting and humbling. What if I were just given the right tools to tune my antennae, but the same genius is out there for anyone?

 Let's expand this out beyond the arts...

In the early 1900s until the 1960s, many medical schools had a hard cap on Jewish students. Regardless of test scores and grades, they would only allow 5-10% of the student population to be Jewish. But there were far more Jewish students who wanted to be doctors than there were slots in medical school, so many medically inclined Jewish ppl became pharmacists. So there was this thought 'oh Jewish ppl aren't meant to be doctors, they don't have that capacity BUT they have a natural talent for pharmacy.' And then that medical school cap went away, and it became obvious that all of these ppl were medically talented, but white male Christians were given MORE access to being doctors. The same holds true for the large number of black women who are nurses. 'Oh well that's just their talent.' No that's their access level within the field of medicine. As barriers were removed, the number of black women becoming doctors surged. So many of those black nurses back then would have been doctors, gotten paid more, had more wealth to distribute to the community, but society denied them access and then came up with the excuse, 'well, that's not your talent. You're just better at this job that pays less.' Now the trend is that hospitals are seeing Filipino women from poor areas as nurses. "Oh they're just more nurturing at this job that pays them less."

So what happens when a field is suddenly flooded with talented people who now have access to maximize their potential? The old guard doesn't like it. First off, the old guard thought they were special, whether it's artists, doctors, or engineers. The old guard was told that they were meant to be doctors and Filipino women were meant to be nurses, and that's just the way it goes. No, it has nothing to do with privilege. True democratization is scary because it rips a hole in the theory that underpins exclusive tribes that form within a large society: I naturally deserve this more than you. I'm just smarter and better at this thing than you. Don't complain or look to balance things out. I am the talented 1%.

Democratization pulls down the 1% theory. And then it rips a hole in the tribe member's ego: what if I'm not a doctor b/c I'm smarter than the POC nurse? Then everything I've based my ego on is a lie. And if that's a lie...then who am I really?

Ego doesn't like that train of thought. Ego thrives on exclusivity. Ego feeds on being 'the special one.' If you tell a person, 'you're not genetically special, you're just culturally privileged, ' the ego lashes out to preserve exclusive status. It screams DEI when it sees a black pilot or doctor. It feels deeply harmed by democracy. If the club isn't exclusive, then what's the point of being a member? After all, part of the joy of an exclusive country club is that most people aren't allowed to attend. You are the special one.

Next is the backlash. Ego punishes outsiders who have succeeded at becoming their best selves. It fines them, passes new laws to limit their success, and -in many cases- egos will kill that exceptional outsider for merely moving into their neighborhood, living on their block, wanting to go to the same school in Little Rock. There is this deep volcanic violence behind exclusivity. But there's also a slick salesman who reformulates this violence into a new lie: we need to preserve 'our culture.' I don't hate you. I just need you to stay away from my school or my block. I'm sorry I killed your child, but he shouldn't have looked at me and scared me. The ego looks for any signs of imperfections in new members as a sign of inferiority, and that becomes the excuse to lash out, kill, and restrict. Meanwhile, the ego is totally blind to the imperfections of the club's members and the gross corruption of the old guard. 

What's going on with MAGA isn't exclusive to white Americans. It exists in all cultures of exclusivity and violence that believe their own propaganda. They're not special and deep down inside they know it. So they must deport b/c 'they're stealing our jobs.' They must rollback civil rights because the club is beginning to feel a bit less special. We need to preserve our culture by having Kid Rock perform at the Super Bowl, not Bad Bunny. Right, because Kid Rock is more talented than Bad Bunny?!?

The backlash is the downside of social media. We are living in the age of backlash. There will be rollbacks, backlashes, budget cuts, excuses, and tons and tons of mediocre men promoted above their talent level who will do an incompetent job. There are many Kid Rocks who will bop around on the stage and other Kid Rocks will be promoted to Secretary of War or Health and that leads to death and harm. Those Kid Rocks lead to plummeting vaccination rates, and epidemics, and planes crashing, and farms going bankrupt. This is where we are right now: we are living in the age of Kid Rock. The backlash is today.

The upside is that today does not last forever. Eventually, medical schools got rid of the caps on Jewish doctors because the hypocrisy became too stupid and obvious to ignore. And once the lie goes away...you have better doctors. You can have better pilots, better art, and a better society if you get rid of this romantic lie of the 'talented 1%' in arts or medicine or leadership. If we stop listening to the ego, we can have true democracy.  

Forgiveness is the Jailer's Key

 Forgiveness is more of a gift to the holder than the receiver. You are doing yourself a favor when you forgive. And even bigger favor when you use wisdom to forgive. When I was coming up as an emerging artist in NYC, there were ppl who took advantage of my circumstances. Late payments, no payments, lying, breaking a contract, etc. A lot of the time, it was other struggling artists who decided to cut corners or 'be slick.' For about 99% of those people, their careers and their lives didn't work out for them. It required nothing from me. 

Let them be slick. 

Let them scheme. 

Don't plot their downfall. Don't get dragged down into their mud.

Forgive. And keep forgiving until you see the God in them. A deity that is struggling to get out of the prison of their ego. Learn to love that prisoner. 

A friend asked me if I could help an actor who was having a rough go of things. I said, 'Of course.' What I did not say was that I knew that I had worked with the actor a LONG time ago. The things I remembered were that they were exceedingly talented, very egotistical, and very, very nasty. Their main collaborative skill was belittling people in the room. Even back then, I thought, ' I wonder how this is going to work out for you?' It took me a few weeks, but I forgave and moved on. I went down my path, and they went down there until a decade later, I'm getting a GoFundMe to help pay this same actor's rent.  So I donated and continued down my path. A year later, at a party, the same actor came up to me and thanked me. They didn't recall our previous collaboration, so I didn't need to remind them. What's the point? Life humbled them. I forgave them a decade ago so I could lift them up. I saw the God who was struggling behind the prison of their anger. There was still a spark in them.

Sometimes you meet people at their worst. They're having a bad day. Sometimes people have been taught that the way to get ahead is to be the worst. 

Let it go. Find the prisoner trapped inside. Know that the prisoner is NOT the prison. They are not the bars of hatred or ignorance, so love that prisoner until the anger fades on both sides of the bars. And maybe one day we will all get out of our own prisons through forgiveness.

Teaching in College

 Why don't you teach? You should teach? When are you going to teach?

I've written about this before but it keeps popping up. And each time I circle back to this question, I get unsettled. I've had playwrights in academia encourage me to apply for prof gigs at universities. And I always put it off like 'maybe next year' because I have a deep unease about 4-year universities and MFA programs. On the one hand, teaching can be amazing. On the other hand, 90% of ppl with MFAs don't end up working in that field. On the one hand, I had an amazing education with phenomenal teachers. But I was also on scholarship at the New School and only had to pay for housing, which I solved by becoming an RA and getting free housing. And Juilliard is free, and they give playwrights a stipend. And even still, NYC was expensive and daunting. I took on various jobs. At one point, I ended up in the hospital because my appendix burst, and I was so relieved. It felt like a vacation until...I started thinking about the hospital bill. With student insurance, I still owed $10k. During that time, I was working 2 unpaid internships, 3 jobs, and writing at every free moment. I was stressed about meeting my minimum expenses and producing art that would get me ahead. I remember walking around NYC with burning headaches. My mind was aflame with juggling jobs, medical debt, and trying to stay focused enough to create art. And this is without worrying about student loan debt. Most of my other debt came from Northwestern undergrad, which- by the way- I still think was worth it.

But that was 20 years ago. Now the price tag for an arts degree is 150-250k undergrad or grad. At that price, I don't know if an arts degree is setting someone up for success or a debt trap that will force the young artist to go back to school in their 30s to get another degree in business admin just to pay off the arts degree.  I have seen some amazing artists get turned down for a Starbucks job they desperately needed to stay ahead of their debt. In particular, I have seen a much larger percentage of POC and women artists struggle with homelessness, wage inequality, and opportunity inequality while carrying their degree debts around like an albatross. And what about the dream? A dreamer in debt can be dangerous, reckless even. 

Larger universities are doubling tuition and keep associate professors in poverty so where is the money going? Real estate. Major universities have a second business: urban landlords. Big education is really big real estate, funded by students who will then not be able to afford to live in the dorm gentrified neighborhoods after graduation because their university has jacked up the rent price and stuck them with 200k debt.

There are solutions. Colleges that offer tuition-free MFAs. Two year institutions. European or Canadian colleges that have both universal healthcare and free tuition. But I fear we are running endless Ponzi schemes on the vast majority of people applying to college. What are they going to do with this degree in an post-AI world where most starting positions have been eliminated? How are they going to repay their debt? And what time is there to focus on art? And if there's no time and too much anxiety, was the arts education just a cruel joke. A satire in which the working class student can see the paradise of a 'stable working artist' off in the distance but is stuck in the swamp of low wage jobs that don't keep up with the Fannie Mae's interests rates. 

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?