1. LANFORD WILSON NEW AMERICAN PLAY FESTIVAL
DEADLINE: October 1st
WEBSITE: https://semo.edu/colleges-departments/arts-media/conservatory/lanford-wilson
The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival honors new American plays that provide dynamic performance opportunities for college-aged actors. The festival endeavors both to recognize playwrights for their outstanding work and to provide a resource for universities across the country to identify dynamic plays with robust roles for college-aged actors for production at their institutions. The festival features both a full-length and short play division.
The 2024 Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival will be held in person at the Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance on the River Campus of Southeast Missouri State University from May 26-June 1 of 2024. The festival will feature staged readings of five Official Selection full-length plays and ten Official Selection short plays, as well as workshops and seminars on playwriting and new play development.
At the conclusion of the festival, one full-length play will be selected for the festival’s top prize and will receive its world premiere in the 2024-2025 Dobbins Conservatory Mainstage Season and will be considered for publication by Concord Theatricals.
FULL-LENGTH PLAY SUBMISSIONS
Seeking plays that have:
A cast of primarily (or exclusively) characters in their teens and early twenties (15-25 years old).
A mid- to large-sized cast (i.e., at least five actors, preferably at least ten).
A running time of at least 80 minutes.
Significant representation (in both number and quality) of roles for female-identifying actors.
Dynamic, fully-drawn roles to challenge student actors.
Thematic values that will speak to college-aged artists and audience members.
The festival also places a value on plays that have the potential to provide performance opportunities to actors from under-represented groups.
Please note: The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival is specifically seeking plays in which the characters are in their teens and early twenties, not simply characters that could be played by actors in their teens and early twenties. The festival is not seeking plays with characters that are “ageless” or “any age.” Plays should be about characters experiencing late adolescence and early adulthood.
Full-length plays should not have had a previous full production. Workshops and readings are fine.
Finalists for the festival’s top prize will receive airfare and housing to participate in the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival on the campus of the Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance at Southeast Missouri State University in May of 2024. Staged readings of the finalists’ plays will be presented as part of the festival, and the winner of the prize will be announced at the end of the week-long event.
The winning full-length play will receive:
A world premiere production in the 2023-2024 Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance theatre season.
Consideration of the play for publication by Concord Theatricals, the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of RandH Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection.
A meeting for the playwright with new play acquisition staff at Concord Theatricals.
SHORT PLAYS:
Seeking plays that have:
A cast of exclusively characters in their teens and twenties.
Dynamic, fully-drawn roles to challenge student actors.
A running time of 10-25 minutes.
Thematic values that will speak to college-aged artists and audience members.
The festival also places a value on plays that have the potential to provide performance opportunities to female-identifying actors and actors from under-represented groups.
Plays should not have had a previous production under an Actors Equity agreement.
Non-union productions, workshops, and readings are fine.
The ten Official Selection short plays will receive:A staged reading at the 2023 Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival. Publication in the anthology Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival 2023: The Short Plays, published by Southeast Missouri University Press and made distributed nationwide through online and retail outlets.
2. 2024 EYEBEAM FELLOWSHIP OPEN CALL
DEADLINE: October 1st, 2023
WEBSITE: https://eyebeam.org/2024-eyebeam-fellowship-open-call/
Eyebeam is pleased to announce an Open Call for artists working deeply in the areas mentioned above, particularly those working within or developing technology that focuses on decolonization, reframing history, language, care, the digital divide, and the future of tech. We invite proposals considering how to avert anti-human technologies and re-assume control to build a more humane future.
Selected artists participating in this six-month program will receive a $20,000 stipend and work in fellowship to support the development and implementation of their projects. Eyebeam will select five non-New York-based artists from anywhere in the world and five NYC-based artists for this fellowship. The fellowship will run from February 15, 2024, through August 15, 2024. The program will provide the same level of support and opportunity regardless of location through Eyebeam’s implementation of a digital-first approach.
As part of this fellowship, Eyebeam will provide access to our network of peers, mentors, and experts in the field and to partnered state-of-the-art facilities and resources. The fellowship will hybridize online and in-person components, including workshops, mentorship sessions, and networking opportunities. Additionally, Eyebeam aims to make available robust opportunities for exhibition, presentation, and public engagement at the close of the fellowship.
We are looking for boundary-crossing artists whose practices defy easy categorization due to their experimental and expansive nature. Fellows who are critical, creative, and social thinking and speak from their own experiences. Participating fellows will create an incubator to talk about hard topics. In a precarious economy, where one is expected to produce, this is an invitation to, at times, pause and engage in exchange around technology, democracy, society, and art with international participants. The new cohort will expound, interrogate, and contemplate experimental questions from prior cohorts, such as: What do global artists need? What is democracy? How does technology tie into it? How do artists want to work at this time?
CRITERIA:
Alignment with Eyebeam’s values:
Openness: All the work here is driven by an open-source ethos.
Invention: We build on ideas to generate new possibilities.
Justice: Technology by artists is a move towards equity and democracy.
A dedication to the guiding question: What subverts/resistance to the harmful use of technology can we explore and develop as artists?
Clear artistic intentions and goals.
A purposeful relationship to technology.
Social urgency and potential impact.
The open call application on submittable will include a few parts: a statement of purpose, a series of five short essay questions, and two work samples. The statement of purpose and series of five short essay questions can be submitted in one of these formats: written, video, or audio.
The statement of purpose may highlight a project plan or speak about your general practice.
After, please answer all five questions concisely and clearly: These questions are tailored further to reflect the themes and priorities outlined in the open call—a word limit of 300 words for each question.
1. What are some of the key resources you would need to bring your project to fruition?
2. How do you plan to engage with your peers across borders and cultures?
3. How will this fellowship enable you to build beauty and reimagine the role of technology in promoting human well-being and agency?
4. In what ways have you actively worked to center care, community, and solidarity in your practice, and how do you plan to continue doing so?
5. How do you envision your participation in the fellowship as a means to foster dialogue and engagement with historically marginalized communities?
If you are submitting a video or audio, you may include your Statement of Purpose and the series of the five questions above in the same file.
Please try to limit your video or audio to 90 seconds per question.
3. PLAYground FESTIVAL- TYA PLAYS
DEADLINE: October 1st, 2023
WEBSITE: https://purplecrayonplayers.squarespace.com/
Submit new plays for young audiences at this link: https://bit.ly/PLAYground2024
Plays must be intended for audiences between 5 and 18 years old, though they are not required to appeal to this entire age range. Plays must be unpublished and unproduced at the time of submission.
Plays should be full length or intended to be developed into a full length piece (between 30 and 90 minutes). Each play must be accompanied by a page-long cover letter, which may touch on development, significance, and goals. Only original plays will be accepted— musicals, screenplays, and direct adaptations should not be submitted. Playwrights can submit up to 3 plays (please fill out separate form for each play). Purple Crayon Players will select a group of semi-finalists in early November.
All playwrights will be contacted with the standing of their submission. Three finalists will be selected in December in collaboration with student directors. All semi-finalists will be notified whether or not their play was selected.
The Purple Crayon Players are committed to expanding representation for young people, and see PLAYground as an opportunity to to reflect the diverse experiences of young people today. Reach out to playgroundtyafestival@gmail.com with any questions.
4. BIGCI ENVRIONMENTAL AWARDS
DEADLINE: October 2nd, 2023
WEBSITE: https://bigci.org/awards/
We are excited to announce that we are once again inviting artists to apply for BigCi Environmental Awards! Australian and International artists from various fields – visual art, installation, multimedia, performance, literature, music, photography, film making, curating – are invited to submit entries for the BigCi Environmental Awards 2023.
Two Winners of the Awards will each receive (4) free weeks of BigCi residency and $4,000 prize money.
The winning artists will have an opportunity to explore the Wollemi, the Blue Mountains and the Gardens of Stone National Parks on guided walks and will be given research assistance relevant to their projects. At the end of their residencies, they will present their work at a BigCi Open Day event.
5. THE NEW HARMONY PROJECT
DEADLINE: October 2nd, 2023
WEBSITE: https://www.newharmonyproject.org/apply
For more than three decades, The New Harmony Project has gathered world-class writers and artists along the banks of the Wabash River for an intensive, creative residency and retreat program in the spring of each year. Throughout that time, Pulitzer Prize, Tony, Emmy, and Academy Award-winning artists have worked alongside early and mid-career writers, students, and the local community to create a one-of-a-kind experience in Utopia. With a unique focus on people over product, The New Harmony Project clears space and provides a supportive environment for each writer and artist to build their own experience. The New Harmony Project is a national arts organization whose mission is to nurture writers in the development of scripts and new works that interrogate the complexity of hope. Through artist-centered programming, we care for writers so they can change the world.
THE 2024 CONFERENCE
This year, through our open selection process, we're seeking storytellers who are interested in an artist-centered residency that will provide a creative and nurturing environment, supportive artistic community, and dramaturgical resources in a bucolic setting. These residencies will not include a full developmental workshop with actors and a creative team, but there will be opportunities to hear your work out loud in informal settings.
At the 2024 conference, we will also be supporting 1-3 Productions in Residence selected in collaboration with partner organizations outside of the open selection process. These projects will be receiving a full developmental workshop with actors and a creative team, but will be shorter in duration.
We are looking for artists who will be active participants in creating a welcoming, supportive and engaged artistic community over the course of the conference.
We support stories and storytellers interrogating the complexity of hope. If you’ve read our mission statement and you’re still not sure you're a good fit for the conference, you can gain a fuller sense of our aesthetic and philosophical interests by perusing our roster of writers and scripts that have recently found an artistic home at NHP.
We are actively working to dismantle racism within our organization, and are committed to supporting artists who honor a multiplicity of perspectives.
There is no out of pocket expense to apply or attend, and we pay a modest honorarium to each participant.
Additionally, we provide:
A creative community and an unparalleled level of artistic support, including dramaturgical meetings, informal salons to hear work, collaborators willing to read pages, student interns to provide support, etc.
Roundtrip air and ground transportation to/from Southern Indiana
Three meals daily
A private room at the New Harmony Inn
For parent artists, childcare support is available in a myriad of ways based on your artistic needs
If you have any questions, please email applications@newharmonyproject.org (please, no phone calls). We look forward to reviewing your applications, and thank you for taking the time to apply!
he West Side Show Room is seeking new 10-minute works which will be presented in a staged reading Feb 2-4, 2024 in Rockford, Illinois.
We accept spoken word poetry, plays, monologues, stories— anything written for live performance.
6. WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY EX- ROCKFORD NEW WORDS 2024
DEADLINE: October 15th, 2023
WEBSITE: https://wssr.org/rnw
You know who we’re talking about. They used to be the center of your little cosmic world— but now they’re gone gone gone! Ex-romantic partners, ex-family members, ex-friends, ex-pets— they all had to go! This year, we are asking writers to explore the laughing lessons your doomed relationships left behind.
Length: 10 minutes or less
Award: $200
New Works: written after Aug 15, 2023
Theme: What I Learned From My Ex:
One Written Work per writer
Language: English
Writer Location: anywhere in the world!
Originality: no translations, adaptations, or excerpts of other works
Copyright: you must own it
Eligibility: no published or produced works
Length: Stories/Monologues: 4 pages or less double-spaced. plays 10 pages or less
Reading Time: 10 minutes or less
Writers will be notified about the status of their submission no later than December 15, 2023.
7. GREAT PLAINS THEATRE CONFERENCE PLAYLABS
DEADLINE: October 15th
WEBSITE: gptcplays.com
This conference provides a sanctuary for playwrights to create away from the pressure of the press, industry insiders, and representatives. It is a critical incubator in the Midwest that serves the nation. There are so few opportunities like this left (you can count them on one hand). The GPTC allows for new work to be developed to act as a pipeline for our American stages.
This year’s conference will take place from May 25th – June 1st (2024). The conference takes place in Omaha, Nebraska. *Playwrights who are accepted to the conference are required to attend the full week of the conference.
There is a $10 application fee. The fee helps to pay a part of the reader’s stipends. Selected playwrights are provided with travel, hotel, most meals, local transportation, and a $750 stipend.
Accepted plays will be assigned a local director and cast. They will also be assigned a dramaturg and designer from our national team. Plays may be one acts or full length, but no shorter than thirty pages in length. Plays may not have had a professional production. Playwrights may send only one play per year. Plays that were sent to us in previous years may be sent in again. No musicals or plays for young audiences are accepted.
Playwrights who are accepted to the conference agree to give full support to their fellow playwrights throughout the week.
8. ART OMI 2024 RESIDENCY
DEADLINE: October 15th, 2023
WEBSITE: https://artomi.org/residencies/writers
We are currently accepting applications for the 2024 residency sessions: Art Omi: Writers hosts authors and translators from around the world for residencies throughout the spring and fall. The program’s strong international emphasis provides exposure for global literary voices and reflects the spirit of cultural exchange that is essential to Art Omi’s mission.
Guests may select a residency of one week to two months; about ten writers at a time gather to live and work in a rural setting overlooking the Catskill Mountains. Daytime is reserved for writing and quiet activities, while evenings are more communal. A program of weekly visits bring guests from the New York publishing community. Noted editors, agents and book scouts are invited to share dinner and conversation on both creative and practical subjects, offering insight into the workings of the publishing industry, and introductions to some of its key professionals. Readings throughout the year invite the public to experience finished and in-process work by writers and translators in residence.
Art Omi: Writers welcomes published writers and translators of every type of literature. All text-based projects -- fiction, nonfiction, theater, film, poetry, etc.—are eligible. International, cultural and creative exchange is a foundation of our mission, and a wide distribution of national background is an important part of our selection process.
All residencies are fully funded with accommodations, food, local transport and public programming provided. However, please note that Art Omi: Writers does not provide travel funds. Selected residents are responsible for funding their own travel or securing travel funds from a third party.
Translation Lab
In early November, Art Omi: Writers hosts an annual Translation Lab, in which four English language translators are invited to work alongside the writers whose work they translate. The focused residency provides an integral stage of refinement, allowing translators to dialogue with the writers about text-specific questions. The Translation Lab emphasizes translation as a means towards cultural exchange.
The focused residency provides an integral stage of refinement, allowing translators to dialogue with the writers about text-specific questions. Following in the tradition of the Art Omi: Writers residency as started by Heinrich Maria Ledig-Rowohlt, the Translation Lab emphasizes translation as a means towards cultural exchange. It serves as an essential community builder for English language translators who are working to increase the amount of international literature available to American readers, as it is currently estimated that less than three percent of all books published in the United States are translated works.
The residency is a rare and unique opportunity for writers and their translators to work together, considering that most writers never meet their translators in person. All text-based projects—fiction, nonfiction, theater, film, poetry, etc.—are eligible. Translation Lab is fully funded, including travel, room and board, meals and workspaces.
Accommodations & Facilities
Art Omi is located two and a half hours north of New York City in the historic Hudson River Valley. Named for the hamlet of Omi, which is within the town of Ghent, New York, Art Omi is also near to Albany and Hudson, which offer train connections thirty or fifteen minutes' drive from campus, respectively.
The facilities, situated on three hundred acres of open land, include a large two-story barn with indoor studios; contemporary residence buildings designed with a vernacular reference to local barns, surrounded by abundant perennial beds, expansive lawns dotted with fruit trees, adjacent to The Sculpture and Architecture Park. Residents receive private bedroom accommodations with shared bathrooms and common areas. A Federal Period farm house serves as a gathering center, providing a full kitchen and library; while the front porch overlooks rolling hills and the majestic outline of the Catskill Range. A swimming pool, bicycles, WiFi access and a computer with printing capability is available on the premises.
Columbia County, and the nearby Berkshire Mountains, are popular destinations because of their historical, natural and cultural riches. From bird sanctuaries to modern dance, presidential mansions to farmer’s markets, the environs offer a singular blend of rural quiet and cultural stimulation. Staff and friends in the neighborhood are often available for excursions of interest to residents. The local library has a modest collection, but is a member of the Mid-Hudson group, calling on the resources of libraries within much of eastern New York.
9. HAWAI’I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK MAY 2024 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
Deadline: October 30, 2023
WEBSITE: https://www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org/hawaii
The National Parks Arts Foundation invites artists in all artistic media to join their residency programs at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, which offer a $4,000 stipend, housing, and artist events.
NOW is the time to artistically interpret this magnificent world wonder. NPAF is now offering Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park residencies, and close to some of the best beaches on the island. For an approximately one-month term in 2024. The residency includes a $4,000 stipend, FREE HOUSING, a studio, an electronic baby grand piano, sound booth, event(s), and publicity.
*We recommend you apply for this residency as soon as possible. The call for artists for this residency can be canceled at any time without notice*
This residency opportunity is open to Single Artists, Families, Artist Couples, artist collectives, or arts troupes.
Residency artists will stay at a spacious house just outside the park boundaries. Close to the beaches, 28 miles to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Visitors Center. There is a solo recording booth in the house for music, podcast, all sound recording, and an external mixing area. The artist(s) will have the opportunity to offer a public event, reading, concert, or workshop at the National Park, online, or at one of our partnering locations.
We are excited to continue our artist-in-residence program at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The Park boundaries include two legendary and sacred volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, as unique flora and fauna, as well rainforests and mysterious and ever-changing active lava flows. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is also an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Designated Site. This is a unique dramatic environment for all artistic media to flourish and to inspire new breakthroughs in process and result. Possible Art donation through NPAF to NPS Collection at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
10. FUTUREFEST 2024
DEADLINE: October 31st
The Dayton Playhouse invites playwrights of all races and ethnicities, all gender identities, all physical abilities, and all ages to submit your scripts for consideration as a Finalist for FutureFest 2024. The $20 fee will be waived for members of the Dramatists Guild
Festival dates: July 19 – 21, 2024. The Dayton Playhouse will hold the 2024 festival in person.
ELIGIBILITY
Entry must be an original work written for THE STAGE. No musicals or plays for children will be accepted. The script must not have been published, or produced where admission was charged, prior to FutureFest 2024. Staged readings/workshop productions are not necessarily disqualifying factors. Plays must be full length with a run time of at least 75 minutes.
SCRIPTS
Electronic submissions of scripts are required. Scripts in PDF format are preferred. Word or Google Doc formats are acceptable.
Submit an anonymized copy (no name/contact info) of your script, in standard play format with pages numbered. After the title page include a brief synopsis, character breakdown, setting, and scene breakdown, if applicable. The script submission form (link below) must be filled out for each script submission. If applicable, the form also provides the opportunity to submit an image of your Dramatists Guild membership card.
Please note that entries that do not comply with our guidelines will be disqualified. Scripts must be submitted electronically via the Submission Form or via email as an alternative method. Eliminated scripts will not be returned. Script evaluations will not be provided.
Should your script be selected and produced as one of the five Finalists, you must be available to attend, in person, the weekend festival (July 19-21, 2024) in Dayton, Ohio and participate in all events. Finalists must acknowledge the Dayton Playhouse when script is published. The winning playwright awards the Dayton Playhouse the rights to produce the winning play as part of its 2024-2025 Main Stage season royalty free.
SELECTION PROCESS
Each entry is guaranteed a minimum of three reads. The original play reading committee, following many months of discussion and voting, narrows down the entries to 15 – 18, which are then read by the entire committee before they select the 12 semi-finalists. A second committee selects the five finalists. During FutureFest weekend, the plays will each have a staged reading and be publicly adjudicated by a panel of five theatre professionals (nationally-based and regional). Following the final production of the weekend, the adjudicators vote and select the winning script.
FINALISTS
Finalists will be posted on the Dayton Playhouse website (www.daytonplayhouse.com) in May 2024.
AWARDS
A $500 honorarium will be awarded to the winning playwright; the other Finalists will each receive a $100 honorarium. The Dayton Playhouse provides the five Finalists travel (within the continental U.S.) to Dayton and lodging for FutureFest weekend.
The winning script will receive a full production as a part of the Dayton Playhouse Main Stage Season with six performances in March 2025. The winning playwright will have the opportunity to update the script based on feedback from the FutureFest weekend and participate in the production process.
SUBMISSION PROCESS
All submitting playwrights must complete the submission form for each submitted script. Please click this link to access the Script Submission Form:
FutureFest 2024 Script Submission Form
The form requires use of a Google account, and includes an option to upload script PDF documents. If you do not have, or do not wish to use a Google account, as an alternative, you may e-mail the script to futurefest@daytonplayhouse.com. Please include in the body of the email your:
Name
Full mailing address
Email address
Website (optional)
Play title
Play synopsis (500 characters maximum)
Attach anonymized play in PDF format
Attach Proof of Dramatists Guild membership, if applicable
DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY
The Dayton Playhouse invites playwrights of all races and ethnicities, all gender identities, all physical abilities, and all ages to submit your scripts for consideration as a Finalist for FutureFest 2024. The Dayton Playhouse seeks to learn if the diversity of our submitting playwrights aligns with the diversity of our FutureFest Finalists.
To do this, we ask the help of our submitting playwrights. At the end of the Script Submission Form is a link to an OPTIONAL anonymous Demographic Survey. Please consider completing this survey so we can better understand the level and types of diversity of our submitting playwrights. (Survey Link for Playwrights submitting by email.)
QUESTIONS
Contact Tina McPhearson or Debra Strauss, FutureFest 2024 Co-Chairs, at 937-424-8477, or email futurefest@daytonplayhouse.com.
11. ABBEY THEATRE OPEN SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: October 31st
WEBSITE: https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/scripts-and-ideas/
Our submission window is currently open. As Ireland’s National Theatre, our commitment is to reading scripts and ideas by writers and artists resident on the island of Ireland, or Irish writers and artists who might live abroad. Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we are unable to read work that does not match this description.
Once submitted, each play is read by our panel of experienced theatre professionals. For this first read, each play is read anonymously, meaning we get an honest assessment of the play’s potential and theatricality, as well as the play’s suitability for the Abbey Theatre. After being read by a member of our panel, every play is further considered within the department. We’ll consider, as part of its context, the general interest of the play in relation to the rest of our programming and how the play might develop from this draft. For this reason, it’s sensible to send us a draft that you’ve taken time to reflect on, as we won’t be able to read the same play again.
If we decide not to produce your play, we will send you a letter offering some feedback on your script, and may point you in the direction of other opportunities either at the Abbey Theatre or elsewhere. This can take us up to six months as we receive in excess of three hundred submissions a year and reply to them all.
If you have an idea which you can’t really send us as a finished script, you can still let us know about it. It might be a play you want to write that you want to research, a play without words, a piece of dance theatre, an event, a happening or an interdisciplinary work that would be difficult to get a sense of in a script alone. It could also be a proposal for a co-production. The process of submitting an idea is, on purpose, short; we want to get a sense of what excites you about the project and why you need our support to achieve it. We will fully consider all of the material you send us to come to a decision.
Your proposed idea should answer these questions.
What is it you want to make? (50 words max)
What do you want to happen in the show? (500 words max)
How do you want to make the show? (100 words max about the ways you might go about making the work)
Why do you want to make it now? (100 words max about why this idea is urgent)
Your idea may be accompanied by links to video, audio, images, extracts of text or other supporting materials.
What happens after you submit your idea?
Once you have sent us an email, your idea will be logged. All of the material you send will be considered by the Abbey Theatre’s artistic team in one of our quarterly meetings. You will receive a response by email within six months of your submission.
Submission Guidelines
These submission guidelines refer to both scripts and ideas. Please have a careful read of them before you consider sending in your work.
If you submitted your play or idea between 1st November 2022 and 31st January 2023, we ask you to re-submit your work on or after 1st February 2023, as no scripts will be accepted during this time.
When you send in your submission, tell us in your email a little about yourself, why you feel your play or idea would be a good fit for the Abbey, and any experience you have (it’s fine if you have none!).
We do accept short plays, musicals, and adaptations, but we are not in the position to read work in or intended for mediums other than live theatre. Novels, short stories, screenplays, audio plays, and teleplays will not be read.
We can only accept plays or ideas written in Irish or English.
For scripts, we only accept completed plays. Extracts will not be read.
Unfortunately, we’re not able to re-consider an idea or script that has already been through the process.
Your script or idea must be clearly typed and formatted; we cannot accept handwritten work or printed hard copies.
Your script or idea must be sent in Word, PDF or other standard formats (such as JPG for photographs) as an attachment.
Do not include your name or contact information on the script document.
We only accept one script or idea at a time.
Where to Send Your Script or Idea
Before submitting, make sure you have read the submission guidelines in full.
To submit your script, please email script@abbeytheatre.ie. To submit your idea, please email ideas@abbeytheatre.ie.
If you have any questions about the New Work department, please drop us a line at new.work@abbeytheatre.ie.
If you would like us to come and see your produced play or rehearsed reading, write to us at new.work@abbeytheatre.ie telling us a bit about you, the play and its stage of development. As a small team, we can’t see everything, but we will come if we can.
12. DOWNTOWN URBAN ARTS FESTIVAL
DEADLINE: November 1st, 2023
WEBSITE: https://www.duafnyc.com/
Downtown Urban Arts Festival (DUAF) is seeking theatrical works (plays, musicals, and solo performances) for its 22nd anuual season to be held in June 2024 in the Theatre District in New York City.
DUAF supports diverse, new, and emerging voices from America’s burgeoning multicultural landscape. Over 200 playwrights have participated in DUAF and some have gone on to greater success on Broadway and have claimed top prizes such as the Pulitzer, Tony and Obie awards and nominations.
Submission Categories:
Short-length play (under 45 minutes)
Full-length play (not exceeding 70 minutes)
Eligible Projects:
Plays do not exceed 70 minutes
Plays should be new or existing work with minimal exposure
Plays should not have any other production in New York City during the 30-day period before and after the 2024 festival
Playwright’s Supports: No submission or participation fees
$750 (short) and $1,000 (full) playwright stipends
Actor and director stipends
Casting support
Technical design and operation
Reimbursed rehearsal space rentals
Actor’s Equity Showcase Code application administration
$1,000 awards for best full, short and audience
Submission Checklist:
Playwright's bio with contact info including name, address, phone # and email
Photo of playwright
Synopsis of theatrical work
Complete script of theatrical work
Estimated running time of work
Actor/director/crew bios, if available
Description of stage set (if any) and production needs (i.e. sound and lighting)
Please submit all attachments as .pdf. Photos must be in either .jpg or .jpeg.
The submission deadline is Friday, November 10, 2023. Please submit to coordinator@duafnyc.com. For more info about DUAF, visit: duafnyc.com.
13. PREMIERE STAGES PLAY FESTIVAL
DEADLINE: November 1st, 2023
https://premierestagesatkean.submittable.com/submit
Through the Premiere Play Festival, Premiere Stages has developed many plays that have gone on to have successful productions in New York and at regional theaters throughout the country. We strive to facilitate relationships between writers and theater professionals who we think will respond to their work, in hopes that plays developed at Premiere will go on to subsequent productions. We offer Play Festival writers we produce the option to retain the coveted “World Premiere” brand on their plays. Additionally, Premiere’s productions are consistently reviewed, scouted by major publishing houses, and honored by the American Theatre Critics Association.
From September 1, 2023 through November 1, 2023, Premiere Stages will accept submissions of unproduced plays written by playwrights affiliated with the greater metropolitan area. We accept 10 page script samples and synopses from playwrights without professional representation. Every sample is read and considered, and Premiere Stages will request the full script to read if the play seems viable for the 2024 season. The winners of the 2022 and 2023 Play Festival were both first received as samples. All plays submitted to the festival are evaluated by a panel of professional theater producers, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, and publishers. Four or five finalists are subsequently selected for public Equity readings in the Spring of 2024.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Plays must be full-length and have a cast size of no more than eight. Playwrights without professional representation are invited to submit a 10 page sample, synopsis, development history (if any), and a bio and/or resume. Every sample is read and considered, and Premiere Stages will request the full script to read if the play seems viable for the 2024 season.
Plays must be unpublished and unproduced (readings and workshops are okay), with no productions or publication currently scheduled.
Playwrights must have strong affiliations with the greater metropolitan area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware).
Musicals, adaptations (of existing plays or other sources), and solo shows are not eligible.
Submissions are limited to one script per playwright.
Please contact Premiere Stages to inquire about submitting a script that has been previously submitted.
Playwrights must be available for the development of their script (see 2024 schedule).
14, THE RICHARD RODGERS AWARD
DEADLINE: Nov. 1st, 2023
WEBSITE: https://artsandletters.org/awards/richard-rodgers-award/
The Richard Rodgers Awards were created and endowed by Richard Rodgers in 1978 for the development of the musical theater. These awards subsidize full productions, studio productions, and staged readings by nonprofit theaters in New York City of works by composers and writers who are not already established in this field. The winners are selected by a jury of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Richard Rodgers Awards are the only awards for which the Academy accepts applications.
15. VELVET PARK LGBTQ WRITERS RESIDENCY
DEADLINE: November 3rd, 2023
WEBSITE: https://velvetparkmedia.com/application2024/
Velvetpark welcomes LGBTQ+ writers to develop and share their stories through our 4th Writer’s Residency. A 6 month live-work studio in Brooklyn, New York will be awarded to the resident.
Velvetpark Residency is a project based live-work studio, awarded through a selection process by open application. It is open to LGBTQ+ writers and visual artists to complete a proposed project.
The studio will be awarded bi-yearly, and will alternate between writers Winter/Spring, and visual artists Summer/Fall respectively. This schedule will continue to alternate into the ensuing years.
Velvetpark‘s Residency award is open for for an artists, writers, creators age eighteen and above, who are not enrolled in an academic program. The residency is for a 6 month term, as indicated in application form. The VP Residency is housed within Crown Studios, an artist building on a floor of eleven working arts professionals in the Crown and Prospect Heights neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York.
For almost two decades Velvetpark has recognized queer people in the arts, academia and activism, by featuring stories on, by, or about these individuals in the pages of the print magazine and online. It is in the same spirit that our residency program has been launched and expanded to include imaginative and enterprising LGBT+ creators, who need space to support and cultivate their work.
15. THE JEWISH PLAYS PROJECT
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: www.jewishplaysproject.org/guide
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN TO ARTISTS OF ALL
BACKGROUNDS, DENOMINATIONS, FAITHS, CREEDS, RELIGIONS, and other IDEALS.
SUBMISSION PROCESS: Fill out the Project Application Form and attach a play to the form as a PDF. You must submit your play with your name and other identifying information removed (we review all plays blind). We will consider submitted plays and musicals:
MUSICALS: Submitted musicals must include links to recordings of at least 3 songs to be reviewed. Please note, we review musicals on a different timeline than our other programming.
ELIGIBILITY:
The following must be true of a submitted play or musical:
It contains significant Jewish themes, characters, content, or points of view.
It is in English, or primarily in English—we love plays that play with language as a theatrical tool, and plays that explore the differences in language. It just needs to be primarily accessible to an English speaking audience. (We welcome translations.)
It is full length, meaning over around 75 minutes in length. (For a guide, that usually means 60 pages or more. We DO NOT review 10 or 20 minute plays.)
It has not had a full production in the NY Metro region or a major regional theater (LORT C or above).
It has never been published in any form.
NOTE: We are most interested in submissions that embrace and depend on Jewish identity at their dramatic core, while avoiding stereotypical forms that rely on cultural or ethnic shorthands in lieu of dramatic development. This holds true whether dealing with the historical gravity of the Holocaust or employing stereotypical tropes for comic effect.
The JPP brings all the tools of new play development to bear on the plays we select: dramaturgical consultation and research; the involvement of collaborating artists - including directors, designers and actors - at all stages as needed; private and public presentations; and industry advocacy. We partner with great writers who not only have a great idea for a play, but have a heartfelt intention to write a Jewish play. To us, this means that during the development process, the writer is committed to making decisions about the progress of the play (or musical) that enhance and deepen the Jewish content, spirit, ideas and values in the work.
16. NATIVE VOICES PRODUCTION SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: theautry.org/events/signature-programs/native-voices-annual-call-for-scripts
We accept scripts all year long. Do you have a full-length script that has been developed and produced that you would like us to consider for a future Native Voices production in Los Angeles? Please follow the Checklist for All Submissions below and in the Native Voices Script Submission form check the box for 2023 General Production Consideration.
Checklist for Call for Scripts
Please label script attachment as follows: PlayTitle_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: MyNewPlay_Doe, J.doc).
All submissions must conform to a standard play-script format (one-inch margins, #12 Times or Courier font, all pages numbered).
Include a title page with full contact information (mailing address, phone numbers, e-mail address) and a draft or revision date.
Include a character breakdown at the beginning of your script.
Provide a biography of 75–100 words. Please label attachment as follows: Bio_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: Bio_Doe, J.doc).
Provide a press ready photo of at least 300dpi. Please label attachment as follows: Photo_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: Photo_Doe, J.doc).
Provide development history for the play. Label attachment as follows: DevHistory_PlayTitle_Author’s Last Name, First Initial (Example: DevHistory_MyNewPlay_Doe, J.doc).
To submit, fill out our online form and upload your submission materials here: Native Voices Script Submission Form
Please do not send treatments or outlines. Previously produced plays should be submitted under the 2023 General Submission for Production Consideration. Playwrights are encouraged to make multiple submissions (up to three per event), but selection will be limited to only one play per playwright, per event.
17. AUDIBLE EMERGING PLAYWRIGHTS FUND
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: https://www.audible.com/ep/audible-theater
In 2017, Audible launched a theater initiative, intended to radically increase access to exceptional plays and performances. A core pillar of the initiative is the Emerging Playwrights Fund, a program that invests in and nurtures self-identifying emerging playwrights, some of our most inventive, delightful, and provocative storytellers. Through the Fund, Audible aims to connect extraordinary performers with remarkable original work, amplifying new voices and harnessing the power and potential of audio to reach millions of listeners.
The Fund specifically supports t he creation of original dramatic work, written with audio in mind, but theatrical in spirit. Audible is dedicated to commissioning, developing, and producing work that reflects the diversity of our members and our world. To accomplish this, Audible is committed to granting at least 50% of emerging playwright commissions to artists of color and women.
To be considered as an applicant for a commission, please submit all of the following to AudibleTheater@audible.com:
1. One full-length script for an original or adapted play (in English language only) that represents your voice ("Script"). The Script can be in any genre and may include one-acts and solo pieces;
2. A short biography; and
3. A brief statement about why audio plays appeal to you.
If you have an idea for an original audio play, you are welcome to include a pitch or summary along with your statement (this is encouraged, but not required).
Any applicant over the age of 18 may submit a Script. Submissions are accepted year-round. Due to the number of Scripts that Audible receives, Audible will only consider one Script at a time from each applicant and will not consider resubmissions, including those that have been significantly revised. The Audible team evaluates submissions on a rolling basis, and applicants will be notified regarding the status of their submissions via email. Thanks in advance for your patience while we process your Script; our typical response time is 6-8 months.
18. THE STOCHASTIC LABS
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: https://stochasticlabs.org/residencies/
The Stochastic Labs offers fully-sponsored residencies to engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs from around the world. Residencies include a private apartment at the mansion, co-working and/or dedicated work space, shop access, a $1,000 monthly stipend and a budget for materials.
19. THE FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/grants/emergency-grants/
Created in 1993 to further FCA's mission to encourage, sponsor, and promote work of a contemporary, experimental nature, Emergency Grants provide urgent funding for visual and performing artists who:
Have sudden, unanticipated opportunities to present their work to the public when there is insufficient time to seek other sources of funding
Incur unexpected or unbudgeted expenses for projects close to completion with committed exhibition or performance dates
Emergency Grants is the only active, multi-disciplinary program that offers immediate assistance of this kind to artists living and working anywhere in the United States, for projects occurring in the U.S. and abroad.VEach month FCA receives an average of 95 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 12-15 grants. Grants range in amount from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is now $1,700. We recommend that artists review all of our eligibility guidelines and FAQs before applying. You may also complete our Eligibility Questionnaire, but please note that the questionnaire is not a substitute for a thorough review of program guidelines.
20. THEATRE ARIEL OPEN SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: Open
WEBSITE: http://www.theatreariel.org/opportunities
Theatre Ariel is always seeking the next great Jewish play to present to our audiences. Theatre Ariel is looking for plays that engage with the rich world of Jewish life, thought and practice; plays where Judaism, Jewish identity or Jewish perspectives are significant or driving factors in the story (In other words, not plays where the characters ‘happen’ to be Jewish or that have a few yiddishisms or “Jewish jokes” in them, but plays where Jewish life/thought/history is integral or particularly relevant to the story.). Theatre Ariel seeks plays with casts of five actors or less.
You do not have to be Jewish to have your work considered by Theatre Ariel.
All our performances are presented as salon-style theatre readings in people’s homes, following a long tradition of Jewish theatre. For the foreseeable future, we will be presenting in a hybrid model of both in-person and virtual performances. To have your script considered, please email the following to submissions@theatreariel.org:
Brief cover letter introducing yourself and your play, as well as a short plot summary and character breakdown (indicating doubling, if any)
Ten minute excerpt from the script (if these are not the first ten pages, then please supply a brief explanation of where we are in the story when your sample picks up)
Theatre Ariel is committed to reading and responding to every submission we receive. Please allow three to six months for a response. Please forward any questions you may have to the same email address listed above.
21. THE DOROTHY ROSS FRIEDMAN RESIDENCE
DEADLINE: Rolling
and
The Friedman Residence, located at 475 West 57th Street, offers affordable housing for senior citizens, working professionals, and persons with HIV/AIDS. All apartments are complete with dishwasher, washer, dryer, central heating and air conditioning. Many apartments have terraces and feature spectacular Manhattan views. The Friedman Residence also features 24-hour security.
Eligibility for The Friedman Residence is based on federal guidelines for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. An applicant’s annual income from all sources (employment, benefits, asset interest) must be more than $28,500 and less than $47,760. The annual income of a household of two should be at least $30,000 and cannot exceed $54,600.
Please note:
• Applicants receiving specific rental subsidies may also be eligible. • Full-time students are NOT eligible for residency.
• Assets must be evaluated in determining eligibility.
(Assets do not include personal property, such as: furniture, automobiles, and clothing.)
• No pets are allowed. The Friedman Residence is a building for adults. Households of two will be considered for a one-bedroom unit only if both members are either a person with HIV/AIDS or a senior citizen. The Friedman Residence is not able to accommodate households greater than two. Tenants who live in one-bedroom apartments are responsible for paying a monthly rent and electric charges.
SHARED HOUSING
Apartments at The Friedman Residence are comprised of two- and three-bedroom units. There are also a limited number of one-bedroom units; however, priority for these units is given only to persons with specialized medical needs. In the shared apartments, each resident has a private bedroom and shares a living room and kitchen with one or two other people. Some bedrooms feature private baths, while others feature shared baths with one other person. Tenants living in shared apartments must pay a monthly rent charge. Electricity costs are not charged for tenants who live in these (shared) units.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Once the Intake Office receives your completed application, it will be screened for eligibility and you will receive written notification of your application status. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed and you may be notified that additional information is required for us to process your application. If your application meets the preliminary requirements for housing at The Friedman Residence, your name will be placed on our waiting list and you will be contacted when your name comes to the top of the list. As The Friedman Residence strives to maintain a commitment to all the populations that it serves, please be advised that apartments will be filled according to vacancies for seniors, persons with HIV/AIDS, and Low-Income working professionals. Please also note that waiting list status will depend upon the types of apartments available for each category and may be quite lengthy. We will do our best to accommodate you in a timely fashion as vacancies become available. Thank you for your interest in The Friedman Residence.
If you would like to receive an application by mail, please call the Breaking Ground Application Hotline at 1-800-324-7055 and leave a clearly understandable message with your name and correct mailing address, and an application will be mailed to that address.
If you have additional questions about the Friedman Residence or the application process, please contact the Intake Office at 212.246.2424, ext.-4, or send an email to AuroraIntake@breakingground.org
22. WILD CULTURE , WILD PROJECT
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: http://www.thewildproject.org/programs/wild-culture/
Wild Culture is a program where wild project partners with a cross-section of independent, downtown performance artists to help both professional and emerging theater performers nurture, broaden and advance projects that are in various stages of development. Wild Culture gives artists free or subsidized space at wild project’s 89-seat eco-friendly theater, a stipend, box-office split, tech staff, marketing and community outreach to sustain the innovative creativity of downtown performance and unburden independent artists from prohibitive production costs. The program generally grants each project limited engagements of one to three performances. Projects that wish to submit to Wild Culture should align with wild project’s mission to enrich and educate the community, explore issues relating to female, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ artist communities, and demonstrate a clear performance aesthetic.
Wild Culture adapts each partnership to the specific needs and artistic vision of the project. Wild Culture is an ongoing program throughout the year. If you have a project that might be suitable for a Wild Culture partnership, please email Producing Artistic Director Ana Mari de Quesada at adequesada@thewildproject.org to get the conversation going to partner with us.
23. NY THEATER FESTIVAL SPRING/SUMMERFEST
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: http://newyorktheaterfestival.com/summerfest-festivals/
We strongly believe that self producing a play or a musical can offer a very important tool for the growth of every playwright’s work. Once a playwright sees their work onstage, it provides an opportunity for the playwright to improve or modify their story. It’s also a great opportunity to invite people from the industry to see your production. People are more likely to go see a show than to read an unsolicited script, as some industry people receive on average thousands of submissions per month, and they understand that the journey for a show to be successful often goes through several productions.
Our team is completely dedicated to help get your work seen. We are always with you to help, from the first moment of your tech rehearsal to the closing of your last show. You will never be left alone during the process. We will help you to choose some of the 85 set/furniture props we offer to dress your stage for your run, and give you a complete crash course on how to use the audio/light/video system, which are intentionally very user friendly. After we show you how to use the tools we provide and how to utilize the space, you will be able to rehearse your tech rehearsal with whatever plan works best for you and your production. A team member will be present to provide prime responses to every inquiry, as well as a telephone # you can call anytime during relevant hours throughout the run of your show. In 11 years and 19 seasons we have successfully hosted 1,200 plays and 300 musicals and rewarded with cash prizes over 300 artists who participated in our Festival.
PRIZES:
We offer up to $8,000 in Prizes. $3,500 alone goes to the season’s best production (either a play or a musical)
