Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Prophet of Profanity and Power: Melvin Van Peebles

 In 2002 I met Melvin Van Peebles at Indiana University. Professor Audrey Mack invited me for a weeklong celebration of his legendary life. As a part of the deal, Peebles agreed to read some of our scripts and offer advice. AFSCME union commissioned me to write a play on AIDS in the Black community so I brought that with me. I had no expectations, no career, one script. Mr. Peebles was hilarious, prophetic, profane, no bullshit, and "Off the Wall" like MJ. There were more than a few workshop sessions where Peebles would say something and I would look around like 'did this ninja just say that to these sweet cornfed Midwestern students?!? LOL, oh lawd!" Peebles was like that uncle that's seen it all and just didn't give AF. He handed out his new memoir about the making of "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." I expected the book to be a serious study of cinema history. Instead it was a wild west, x-rated, 2 Live Crew, rant from a Jean Genet-like genius. 

At the end of the week, Peebles gave an after-dinner speech to the nice townsfolk. A symposium for high-minded thoughts. In the middle of the speech, Peebles spontaneously decided to read from part of his memoir. Other students were like 'oh no...no that's not a good idea Mr. Peebles.' WTF section is he going to read to these Golden Girls? Half the book is him fucking and the other half is him cussing out white people to get the money for the movie. He flipped between the memoir's pages, trying to find a few G-rated paragraphs to read. I looked out at the audience at all these serious old white people waiting for words of wisdom...and started to laugh. Other students started stifling their giggles as Peebles grew frustrated with his decision to read his memoirs like 'damn...can't say that...can't say that either.' It was glorious. He finally managed to string together a few disjointed sentences from various pages. Afterward, me and other students were legit crying. Towns folks thought we were moved, but we were actually cry-laughing. Peebles turned to the students and shrugged like "you know I can't say that shit to these white motherfuckers." In that moment we were forever bonded together by a camaraderie of a secret understanding. 

That's my Melvin Van Peebles memory. Rest in Profanity. Rest in Power. Rest in Peace.

Monday, September 13, 2021

The Empty Vault

 Imagine planning a heist at a well-protected bank. They're guards and fences and gates and special dogs. Inside it's a never-ending series of doors that you need keys to get through and as you pass the hallway gets smaller and the next door gets smaller until you're practically crawling on the ground. And you inch worm yourself to the last door and say the magic password to the guard who hands you the key. You open it and find...nothing. 

Now imagine you're an emerging theatre artist.

 You spent your whole life planning to 'break' into theatre, assuming the exclusivity of upper echelon theatre was a sign of quality and taste. Until one day you discover that all the guards and gates were protecting...the idea of exclusivity itself. There's nothing in the vault but a certificate that says 'congrats, you finally made it.' You look around and you want to scream. And you feel ashamed and ripped off. Then you discover there's a backdoor you could've just gone through the whole time. So you storm out of the theatre only to find adoring fans who heard that you made it inside. These awestruck, starved people desperate for hope ask you 'what's inside?' So you...lie. You tell them it's the most extravagant wonderful thing. You lie to save face. You lie to give them hope. You lie to maintain the belief that all that pain was worth it. But mostly you lie because someone lied to you. When you were outside begging, an old-timer came outside and the only thing he could trade on was status and in order to maintain that he had to buy into the lie of the empty vault. So he told you there was treasure and riches and glory inside. You just have to get through a few doors. He even wrote a book on how to break into theatre...like him. You bought it and gobbled it up and planned. 

Now that you've been on the inside and lost the best years of your life, the only thing you have is status. So you trade on that and promote the riches of the empty vault. 

The allegory could be theatre, the arts, socialites, or the finer circles of society. It's an empty vault. The velvet rope and red carpet exist for the appearance of status. The thing you seek is not there. Exclusivity rooted in bitterness leads to cruelty. It's what always happens in this part of the story. The old-timer has promoted the lie because it's all he has, and he hates it. He hates the adoring followers for being so stupid. He hates that he was once so stupid. And so he goes back to the bank...and builds another wall around it. He etches his name on the wall, adding another phalanx of security. He makes his wall extra high and filled with the sharpest wires. He wants to see people cut on his wires. He wants to see people die on his wires. He wants blood and sacrifice and pain to be experienced by all those who try to pass because of his curdled rage. 

Saturday, September 11, 2021

9/11 Memories: Deny Reality, Exploit Tragedy

What I remember most about 9/11 is when the second plane hit the towers I yelled out 'Al Qaeda." My co-worker at this magazine said 'what?' I explained that all throughout the 1990s Al Qaeda was the biggest threat to America but b/c it was under a Dem president, Republicans denied that reality and accused Clinton of fear mongering and trying to distract people from the real crisis: his zipper. Time and time again, Al Qaeda struck American targets or had very elaborate plots broken up at the last second by the CIA and the FBI. Time and time again, Fox News and Republican politicians screamed 'hey, stop trying to Wag the Dog with this Al Qaeda crap.' Clinton bombed chemical factory in Somalia run by Al Qaeda and tried to assassinate Osama Bin Laden and the right-wing howled with indignation. The very real threat was non-existent to them. Until...

...tragedy happens on their watch due to incompetence. Due to not reading the actual intelligence and warning signs and plans left in place for 'dept of homeland security' that the Bush administration threw away at the start of 2001, a preventable tragedy happened that we now honor every year. At the start of the Bush administration you know what they did after a decade of threats? You guessed it: they passed a massive tax cut for the wealthy people, ran up the debt, and cut gov. But once 9/11 happened and I screamed 'Al Qaeda' the right-wing machine went into high gear to erase its denial of history in order to begin...exploiting tragedy. Exploit the tragedy for more money and power. And that's exactly what they did. On top of the largest tax cut for the wealthy, they cranked up the military industrial complex through Dick Cheney's DynaCorp and other contractors and simply drained the money directly out of the US Treasury. They drained healthcare, environment, infrastructure repairs, FEMA...all of it went into the trillions spent to pay contractors to fight a remote control war and to give rocket launchers and TANKS to local police departments who were so brainwashed they thought they were keeping the home front safe from Al Qaeda by walking around with bazookas for traffic stops. Then an understaffed Army Corp of Engineers was so overwhelmed by all our wars that their plans to fix New Orleans' drainage system were scrapped in time for... Hurricane Katrina. And then 20-30,000 Americans died every year b/c they couldn't get healthcare. A dozen 9/11's every year due to insurance greed. And then our undertrained overarmed police force continued their abuses.  

The machine presses on with the same angle: deny reality and exploit tragedy. Coronavirus pandemic denials followed by tax cuts for the rich in 2020, using school shootings to spread open-carry gun laws, terrorist attacks to bilk taxpayers out of more money, using white fear to demonize black people saying 'my life matters' to accuse them of being the 'real terrorists.' 

Again and again, the record plays. We have been living in the post 9/11 media reality for most of my adult life. It's an Alice in Wonderland upside-down world where we honor the incompetent and reward the greedy for every tragedy. People will post about their 9/11 memories today. They will lower flags and share their tears. But the real horror is this: those ppl didn't have to die...but their deaths were capitalized to make the rich richer, the poor poorer, distract us from the truth, and ensure the the same cycle repeat itself in all walks of life. 

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Get What You Want: September 2021

 

1, BBC CHILDREN’S ANIMATION

DEADLINE: September 1st

WEBSITE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities/bbcignite/

BBC Children’s Animation is looking for fresh, bold, innovative new animation ideas for a fully funded development opportunity. You may be taking your first steps into animation, be a long-standing industry professional with something you’ve always wanted to explore or a production company or animation studio with an exciting new idea. Whatever your level of experience, They want to see your proposal with a view to developing it into an Industry Standard proof of concept with living breathing characters in a world that children will love.

Up to three ideas will receive full development funding to create two minute animated pilots which will be considered for a commission by BBC Children’s. They’re looking for submissions from sole creators over the age of 18, collectives, animation studios, production companies, or anything in-between, where creatives would like to co-develop with the BBC rather than engage with the BBC via the usual commissioning process (where applicable). If you’re a sole creator they can help you find a creative team to help build authentic and engaging characters and stories for Children in the UK and around the world.

The criteria for selection are wide and could include any of the following: originality, engagement for children, innovation, potential to run to multiple series, reaching an underserved section of our audience, international appeal, relatable storytelling and recognisable characters. But central to any idea must be that the stories, settings and characters represent the British culture and values.

In the first instance they would like to see a one-sheet for an animated series, targeting young audiences between 0-12 (0-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12 or any combination of these targets). This should give them a sense of the premise, tone and world you’d like to develop. It can include both illustration and narrative but should be no longer than one side of A4. All ideas will then be reviewed and shortlisted by the BBC Children’s Animation team and a panel comprising of the Director of Children’s and Education, Heads of Commissioning and Acquisitions for 0-6’s and 7-12’s and the Animation Development Executive will choose up to 20 ideas to receive funding for first stage development. .


2. NEW VISIONS

DEADLINE: September 1st

WEBSITE: https://nyclassical.org/new-visions

New York Classical Theatre, an AEA, Off-Broadway Theatre, is expanding its repertoire beyond the classics and launching its first-ever new play competition: New Visions. The vision statement of NY Classical affirms that we “believe that everyone—regardless of social, economic, or educational background—should have the opportunity to enjoy live professional theatre together as a community.” We recognize that the historic theatrical canon from which American theatre derives its “classics” has a long history of violence, oppression, and erasure of bodies, identities, and voices that are not white, not male, not cis-gendered, not heteronormative, and/or are not able-bodied. 


In an effort to expand our mission to address this erasure, NY Classical is embarking on a three-year initiative to develop two new, original plays for production in our 2024 and 2025 seasons. We are seeking plays that explore new ways of viewing the “classics,” expand our ideas of what “classics” can be, and challenge the power structures that undergird the notion of “classics.”


These New Visions can include, but are not limited to…


Adaptation/Translation; Response/Subversion;  Prequel/Sequel; Plays that engage with history and bring forgotten events to life; Plays that engage with written stories beyond the stage, including novels, poems and poetry collections, and journals that exist in the public domain; Plays that derive from oral histories, rituals, and other forms of creating, knowing, remembering, and documenting the world beyond the written word. 


During 2022, each selected playwright will receive: An invitation-only studio reading by a professional director and professional actors. A conversation with our Literary Director to discuss the play and determine how to structure feedback to best serve the playwright’s goals.

Targeted feedback from our invited audience of the theatre’s board, staff, and community members.  A $200 stipend. A script review by our Literary Director following the reading and revisions by the playwright.


For Phase Two, based on feedback from the invited audience, the development of the work, and the opinions of our Literary and Artistic Directors, at least four of the eight plays from Phase One will be invited to continue developing their work with NY Classical. 


During 2023, each continuing playwright will receive: A full, public staged reading under Equity’s 29 hour reading guidelines. Continuing conversations with our Literary Director to further develop the play.  A $300 stipend.


For Phase Three, 2 of the plays from Phase Two will be selected to receive in 2024: A one-week development workshop of their play with plans for a full production in our 2024 and/or 2025 seasons. This workshop will include a professional director and dramaturg chosen in conversation with the playwright. Round-trip airfare and housing for the workshop. A $70 per diem. A $500 stipend. 


We invite and encourage playwrights of all backgrounds, experience, and training to apply.


***We are especially interested in plays that engage histories and traditions from outside the European canon.*** ***We are especially interested in works that challenge and contest the classical canon.*** 


Eligibility Requirements:


USA Based Playwrights Only.


Play must be primarily in English. Bilingual plays, including ASL, are encouraged. Plays must have an estimated run time between 70 and 150 minutes.   Plays must include a minimum of 50% characters from historically excluded groups. We are not looking to commission a new play. We are looking to develop existing original works. We are not accepting musicals at this time. However, plays with music are okay. 


3. SUREL’S RESIDENCY 

DEADLINE: September 1, 2021 

WEBSITE: https://surelsplace.org/residency/


Surel’s Place believes that artists should be supported at a level commensurate to the value they add to their individual and collective lives.  We aim to give you the time, shelter, and professional support your work deserves.  In exchange, we ask you to offer art experiences to our community.  Boise values artists and their work, and as a resident, you will be valued and appreciated for the energy, ideas, and dedication that you bring to our city.


The program is open to professional visual, literary, and performance artists:  painters, writers, musicians, architects, filmmakers, and choreographers… any artist who needs a place to focus.  We favor artists whose work is technically advanced, unique, attractive (need not be pretty!), and conceptually valuable.  Work that is predominantly conceptual, that must be explained in order to attract a viewer, may not be met with as much enthusiasm by our jurists.  In addition, because we ask our residents to interact with the public through one workshop and one final event, we welcome artists who desire to connect with an audience in these ways.



4. THE WIOI PRIZE

DEADLINE: September 3rd

WEBSITE: https://www.letswriteitout.com


Playwright Donja R. Love (Sugar in Our Wounds, Fireflies, one in two, soft), in partnership with National Queer Theater, MOBI, The Lark, BC/EFA, The Each-Other Project, and the support of Billy Porter and GLAAD, has created the WIO! Prize as a way of uplifting a playwright living with HIV. The prize consists of $5,000 and a year of dramaturgical support to help the recipient develop a wholly new work. Visit www.LetsWriteItOut.com to find out more about Write It Out!


Strict confidentiality will be given to all applicants.


Eligibility:

• The WIO! Prize is intended to support a Playwright living with HIV.

• The applicant must be a United States resident and must be 18 or older.

• The applicant must have a full-length play (60-pages of more) ready to submit. At this time, musicals will not be considered.

• Playwrights may not submit a co-authored work.

• The work submitted should be primarily in English.




5. THE INTERNATIONAL WRITERS LAB

DEADLINE: September 8th

WEBSITE: https://iwlafrica.com


The International Writer's Lab (IWL) is a first of its kind creative accelerator whose core mission is to support global, emerging storytellers in the development of compelling film or television, projects (in live action), create a bridge between African and Hollywood-based African-American storytellers, and help position participants on a path to propel their careers forward through increased awareness and preparedness. Our vision is to create a premiere on-ramp for writers of exceptional talent, starting in Kenya, to high value opportunities and exposure to the best in the Hollywood film and television communities, which will also benefit from greater diversity and inclusion of these dynamic storytellers.


Through a series of modules designed as a Hollywood “writing room” and led by a top Hollywood writer and instructor, participants will take their existing original idea and work with the instructor as well as experienced African-American Hollywood writers, executives, agents and producers to refine their projects and ready them for pitches. In addition, Fellows will meet in groups and 1:1 with mentors and facilitators who will help provide feedback and information on how to position themselves as writers in Hollywood and how to brand themselves and their unique voices. 


Fellows will emerge from our program with the requisite skills and confidence to successfully pitch to a major Hollywood studio or streamer, increased awareness of the fundamental tenets of writing for global audiences, and the skills and know-how to establish and build their brand as writers. he inaugural Fellowship class will launch in Nairobi, Kenya. The first cohort will consist of five (5) experienced writers with demonstrated credits who will participate in a consecutive ten (10) week virtual and in-person program that will help them take existing original ideas and accelerate them to the next level. Fellows will be invited to attend The Blackhouse Foundation events at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Airfare and shared accommodations will be provided. 


Eligibility Criteria:

  • Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application;

  • Must be both a citizen and a current resident of Kenya;

  • Must have professional writing credits in either narrative feature film or narrative episodic television. International credits a plus;

  • Only individual writers will be accepted at this time. No writing “teams”.



6. RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FELLOWSHIP

DEADLINE: September 9th

WEBSITE: https://radcliffe.onlineapplicationportal.com

 

Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellows are in residence for a period of nine months from September 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023 and receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. Fellows are expected to be free of their regular commitments so that they may fully devote themselves to the work outlined in their proposal. 


As this is a residential fellowship, fellows are expected to reside in the Greater Boston area for the duration of their fellowship. Fellows may be eligible to receive additional funds for moving expenses, childcare, and housing to aid them in making a smooth transition. Healthcare options are made available as needed.


Harvard Radcliffe Fellows receive office or studio space in Byerly Hall and full-time Harvard appointments as visiting fellows, granting them access to Harvard University's various resources, including libraries, housing, and athletic facilities. If fellows would like to hire Harvard undergraduate students as Research Partners, we will cover their hourly wages.


Fellows are expected to engage actively with the colleagues in their cohort and to participate fully as a member of the Harvard Radcliffe community. To this end, all fellows present their work-in-progress, either in the form of a private talk for their cohort or a public lecture, in addition to attending the presentations of all other fellows during that academic year (up to two talks per week). We offer group lunches and other opportunities to connect with members of your cohort, but attendance at these is optional.



Evaluation Criteria


Applications are evaluated on the quality and significance of the proposed project and the applicant's intellectual and creative capacity, as evidenced by a strong record of achievement or extraordinary promise. We seek diversity along every dimension, including geography, ethnicity and race, stage in career, and ideological perspective.


Each application is reviewed in a two-tiered process–first by experts in the relevant field, then by a multidisciplinary committee charged with selecting a diverse class of fellows of the highest achievement and potential.


Project proposals should be original, well-conceived and developed, accurately described, and feasible. 


As a uniquely multidisciplinary community, we highly value collegiality and openness to cross-disciplinary conversation. Evidence of collaborative and/or multidisciplinary work is a valued addition to the application. 


Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by the end of March 2022. 

 


7. GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS OF ALL DISCIPLINES FOR CREATIVE ENDEAVORS

DEADLINE: September 10, 2021

WEBSITE: https://www.artworkarchive.com/call-for-entry/grants-for-individual-artists-of-all-disciplines-for-creative-endeavors-2021-09-10


Integrity: Arts & Culture Association (IACA) Mini-Grants generally average $250, and are intended to assist with such things as artistic supplies, recordings, studio time, exhibits, performances, project-related expenses, residences, etc. This is our way of planting seeds that we believe will continue to grow. Given the pandemic, funding requests for remote programs and projects are most welcome.




8. PRINCETON ARTS FELLOWSHIP

DEADLINE: September 14th

WEBSITE: https://arts.princeton.edu/fellowships/princeton-arts-fellowship/



Princeton Arts Fellowships will be awarded to artists whose achievements have been recognized as demonstrating extraordinary promise in any area of artistic practice and teaching. Applicants should be early career composers, conductors, musicians, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, poets, novelists, playwrights, designers, directors and performance artists–this list is not meant to be exhaustive–who would find it beneficial to spend two years teaching and working in an artistically vibrant university community.


Princeton Arts Fellows spend two consecutive academic years (September 1-July 1) at Princeton University and formal teaching is expected. The normal work assignment will be to teach one course each semester subject to approval by the Dean of the Faculty, but fellows may be asked to take on an artistic assignment in lieu of a class, such as directing a play or creating a dance with students. Although the teaching load is light, our expectation is that Fellows will be full and active members of our community, committed to frequent and engaged interactions with students during the academic year.


An $86,000 a year stipend is provided. Fellowships are not intended to fund work leading to an advanced degree. One need not be a U.S. citizen to apply. Holders of Ph.D. degrees from Princeton are not eligible to apply.


To apply, please submit a curriculum vitae, a 500-word statement about how you would hope to use the two years of the fellowship at this moment in your career and how you would contribute to Princeton’s arts community through teaching and/or production, contact information for three references (should the search committee choose to contact references, please do not request letters or have letters sent in advance of a request from the search committee), and work samples (i.e., a writing sample, images of your work, video links to performances, etc.). You are also encouraged to submit an optional 300-word diversity and inclusion statement as part of your application package.


As part of your submitted application materials, we encourage all applicants to describe their experiences with encouraging diversity and inclusion in their artistic practice, teaching and/or research in the past and present, and their ability to make future contributions. Any submitted statement should include their potential for supporting the Lewis Center’s commitment to diversity and to furthering equitable practices within the arts as well as their potential to mentor and educate students from backgrounds underrepresented in the candidate’s artistic field.


Applicants can only apply for the Princeton Arts Fellowship twice in a lifetime.



9. THE HODDER FELLOWSHIP

DEADLINE: September 14th

WEBSITE: www.puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/apply/application.xhtml?listingId=19901



The Lewis Center is designed to put the creative and performing arts at the heart of the Princeton experience. This mission is based on the conviction that exposure to the arts helps each of us to make sense of our lives and the lives of our neighbors. We pursue this mission by bringing together a vibrantly diverse community of people with different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, skills and talents. 


The Hodder Fellowship will be given to artists of exceptional promise to pursue independent projects at Princeton University during the 2022-2023 academic year. Potential Hodder Fellows are composers, choreographers, performance artists, visual artists, translators, writers or other kinds of artists or humanists who are selected more "for promise than for performance" and have "much more than ordinary intellectual and literary gifts" as traditionally defined. Given the strength of the applicant pool, most successful Fellows have published a first book or have similar achievements in their own fields; the Hodder is designed to provide Fellows with the "studious leisure" to undertake significant new work.


Hodder Fellows spend an academic year at Princeton, but no formal teaching is involved. An $86,000 stipend is provided for this 10-month appointment as a Visiting Fellow. Fellowships are not intended to fund work leading to an advanced degree. One need not be a U.S. citizen to apply. 


The Lewis Center is committed to fostering an academic environment that acknowledges and encourages diversity and differences. The successful candidate will pursue academic excellence in diverse, multicultural, and inclusive settings.


Please apply by submitting a resume, a 3,000-word writing sample of recent work, and a project proposal of 500 words. 


Composers, Performing Artists, and Visual Artists: 

Please apply by submitting a resume, a project proposal of 500 words, and examples of ten minutes of performance through link(s) to sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Flicker, etc. Visual artists should provide up to 20 still images organized into a single PDF file and submit as part of their online application. Composers may send 1-2 scores as a PDF file and submit as part of their online application and/or supply a link to a website. 




10. PLAYWRIGHTS FIRST NEW PLAY AWARD

DEADLINE: September 15th

WEBSITE: http://www.playwrights-first.com/how-to-submit.html


Since 1993, Playwrights First has recognized, rewarded and advanced playwrights of unusual promise. We are offering a $1000 prize.

  • One, single full-length play per playwright in English from anywhere in the world.

  • Not produced full scale prior to submission. Readings, workshops, and college productions are acceptable.

  • No joint authorships, adaptations, translations, musicals, or shorts.



11. JENTEL ARTS RESIDENCY

DEADLINE: September 15th

WEBSITE: http://jentelarts.org/apply/


Experience time apart from daily concerns. Experience a place where the time passes in the quiet certitude as it did 50 to 100 years ago. Experience the remarkable landscape and atmosphere of a working cattle ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. Experience solitude balanced with the opportunity for community. Sitting just eight miles away from UCross is Jentel, which hosts month-long residencies year-round. The program accepts both established and emerging artists, so long as you’re dedicated to your craft and your work has a “personal voice or vision.” Though food isn’t included, they do provide a $400 weekly stipend to help with the costs of your trip. Applicants must be over the age of 25. Deadlines are January and September 15; $23 application fee.



12. CULLMAN CENTER FELLOWSHIP

DEADLINE: September 24th

WEBSITE: https://nypl.onlineapplicationportal.com/misc/guidelines/default.aspx


The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers supports projects that draw on the research collections at The New York Public Library's Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (formerly the Humanities and Social Sciences Library). The Center looks for top-quality writing from academics as well as from creative writers and independent scholars. Visual artists whose projects require extensive use of Library collections are also encouraged to apply. The Center seeks diversity in ethnicity, age, gender, field, and type of project. The Center aims to promote dynamic conversation about the humanities, social sciences, and scholarship at the highest level—within the Center, in public forums throughout the Library, and in the Fellows' published work.


Successful candidates for this Fellowship will need to work primarily at the Schwarzman Building rather than at other divisions of the Library. Applications from those working in languages other than English are welcome; however, the applicant must be conversant in English, and the application materials must be in English.


Fellows are required to work at the Cullman Center for the duration of the Fellowship term and may not accept other major professional obligations during the term. Anyone who needs to be away for more than two days must notify the Center's Director or Deputy Director. Fellowships will not be granted for academic projects to post-doctoral fellows or to applicants doing graduate-school dissertation research. The Cullman Center will not accept dossier letters in place of new letters of recommendation.Completed applications and supporting materials—research proposal, Curriculum Vitae, letters of recommendation, and creative writing sample or art work sample—must be submitted by 5 p.m. EDT on September 24, 2021.




13. CAPE COD THEATRE PROJECT

DEADLINE: September 30th

WEBSITE: http://capecodtheatreproject.org/apply/



We develop new plays for the American Theater. Each weekend in July, audiences get to experience a newly developed play for the first time. These staged readings provide the playwright with invaluable information about their as-yet-unproduced work. A talkback session follows each presentation. Audience members directly engage with the playwrights, directors and cast. And changes are made to the work.

Playwrights may send one play per season for consideration. The proposed play must still be in development and cannot have received a professional production, or a production that has been reviewed, prior to August 2021.

As we rely on the kindness of our donors for housing, we usually limit our cast sizes to no more than six actors, though there have been exceptions. To answer a frequently asked question, we do develop musicals and have done so in the past. If your play is selected, your play will have a 20-25 hour developmental rehearsal period followed by 2 or 3 public readings with talkbacks.


14. FORT UNION NATIONAL MONUMENT ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM

DEADLINE: September 30th

WEBSITE: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/fort-union


A Non-Profit Foundation offering Artist in Residence Programs, Museum In-Loan Programs, and Workshops inspired by our National Parks, National Monuments, World Heritage Sites, and other parks. Beautiful northern New Mexico in the spring and fall! Nestled against the far tip of the Sangre de Cristo Range and facing the great plains, Fort Union National Monument is one of New Mexico’s legendary and historic frontier army posts, located in Mora County near Watrous, NM, was the hub of commerce, national defense, and migration at the final stretch of the Santa Fe Trail. Open to all artists, writers, musicians or performance artists.




15. ADIRONDACK THEATRE FESTIVAL

DEADLINE: October 1st

WEBSITE: https://www.atfestival.org/opportunities/submissions/


ATF produces new scripts of the highest caliber throughout each season. To help fulfill this mission, we welcome the opportunity to read submissions from skilled playwrights who feel their work would be a good fit at the Adirondack Theatre Festival.


If you are interested in submitting your play to be considered for future seasons at ATF, please send the following via email to Literary@ATFestival.org:

  • Full PDF version of the script (Word also accepted)

  • Brief (3-5 sentence) synopsis of the play

  • Production history—including any readings, workshop or full productions the play has received thus far

  • Professional playwright resume or bio

  • Unpublished full-length plays and musicals only.  

  • Plays submitted via email can be sent either by the playwright or by a literary agent on the playwright’s behalf. 

16. SYRACUSE NEW WORKS, NEW VOICES

DEADLINE: October 1st

WEBSITE: https://vpa.syr.edu/academics/drama/


The Syracuse University Department of Drama is seeking submissions for the inaugural year of its New Works, New Voices (NWNV) initiative. The purpose of NWNV is to support the development of musicals by writers and composers whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the musical theater canon. 


NWNV is seeking completed musicals or musicals-in-progress from teams who are interested in developing their work with undergraduate BFA students. One musical will be selected, to receive a four-week developmental reading during the Spring 2022 semester, directed and music directed by SU Drama faculty and performed by SU Drama students. The writing team will be in residence during the final two (2) weeks of the rehearsal process (travel and lodging provided by NWNV) and will participate virtually during the first two (2) weeks.




17. MILLAY COLONY OF ARTISTS

DEADLINE: October 1st

WEBSITE: https://millayarts.submittable.com/submit



Founded in 1973, the Millay Colony for the Arts is a multidisciplinary artist residency program. Our mission is to nurture and promote the vitality of the arts by providing writers (fiction/nonfiction), poets, playwrights, screenwriters, filmmakers, visual artists and composers with a supportive and secluded retreat that encourages creative exploration and experimentation. Works created at Millay enrich lives and communities globally: our alumni are consistently recognized internationally with Pulitzer and Lambda Literary Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, National Book Awards and other prestigious honors. We host emerging and established artists alike.


The Millay Colony for the Arts is located at "Steepletop", the historic estate of poet/activist Edna St. Vincent Millay, in the upper Hudson Valley, nestled against the Berkshires. We invite parent/creators to apply to our OCTOBER deadline (for residencies in June/July that offer shorter stays) -- we strive to schedule parent/creators together during this period in order to provide the richest cohort experience. 



  • Residency Length: Mostly one-month, with some two-weeks stays (one-week stays provided for parent/creators as requested).

  • Collaboration: Must apply and be accepted individually

  • Geography: Open to US and  non-US artists

  • Additional eligibility information:


Application fee of $40; all Core Residency programs are provided FREE OF CHARGE. Our historic Core Residency program provides private studios and bedrooms, shared living/dining space, workstation with desktop/printer, laundry room, B&W darkroom and groceries, including chef-prepared communal dinners, for month-long stays (June/July include 2-week sessions). 



18.TITANS ART EXHIBITION DEADLINE: October 1, 2021 WEBSITE: https://www.artworkarchive.com/call-for-entry/titans-art-exhibition


The Tennessee Titans, in conjunction with The Fort Houston Artisan Support Project, call for artists of all media to submit up to (3) pieces each for a three-day art exhibition in December 2021. This event will take place in Nashville, TN, and feature artwork selected in addition to interactive installations and performances. Submissions of all types of media are highly encouraged.


Work submitted should reflect an intersection of Art, Football and Nashville. Team colors, logos, photography and the stadium are all encouraged as inspiration but not mandatory. We want to proudly celebrate your artistic license in the work. Take chances and push the work. That’s where the magic happens. While a literal approach is not necessary, it must be apparent that your work is Titans themed or related.


When submitting via email, please title your subject line ‘Titans Artwork Submission’. Your submission should consist of images of your finished piece(s), personal contact information, and a short statement about your work.


WHO: US residents. Artists of all mediums, including 2D work, sculpture, video, new media, site-specific installation, performance, text, poems, essays, publication-specific work, etc



19. LONG WHARF THEATRE LITERARY PROGRAM & NEW WORK DEVELOPMENT

DEADLINE: Year round

WEBSITE: https://longwharf.org/casting-and-literary


Long Wharf Theatre has a proud and rich history of forming meaningful relationships with artists, supporting the development of their work, and moving their projects towards production. We are particularly interested in incubating new pieces that center BIPOC voices, push form, and feature innovative dramaturgy. We are also eager to support projects that originate with artists other than playwrights, such as designers, directors, dramaturgs, and activists. Many of these works have become part of the modern American canon with more than thirty Long Wharf Theatre productions transferred to Broadway or Off-Broadway runs.


We are revitalizing our commitment to playwrights at all stages in their careers, and are now welcoming scripts from unrepresented playwrights as well as agents.


The following are examples of ways we have supported and continue to support new work development. These offerings are flexible, as we are committed to tailoring the process to suit the needs of each artist. We strive to be nimbly responsive to our artists’ goals.


Email scripts to:

literary@longwharf.org


Type of Materials:

Full-length, One act, 10-minute scripts, musicals, adaptations, translations, virtual/Zoom plays.


Special Interests:

Plays by BIPOC writers, plays centering cultural narratives, stories of joy and resilience, multi-disciplinary work, and theatrical innovation.


EVIL endings

 Evil: 2nd to last ep of the entire series. This morning in Bucaramanga I woke up and cut some fresh fruit and had a delicious changua, whic...