1. SALTONSTALL FOUNDATION RESIDENCY
DEADLINE: January 5, 2025
WEBSITE: https://saltonstall.submittable.com/submit
Each year, the Saltonstall Foundation awards free, stipend-supported, accessible residencies to artists and writers who are residents of New York State and Indian Nations therein. We support artists and writers working in the following disciplines:
Poetry
Playwriting & Screenwriting (NEW in 2025!)
Photography (film or digital) & Filmmaking
Painting | Sculpture | Visual Arts
Saltonstall is located eight miles east of Ithaca, New York on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫ' Nation (generally known as the Cayuga Nation), one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
A Saltonstall residency is a small community. We strive to provide a quiet, inviting, respectful, and nurturing community for creative individuals looking for uninterrupted time to focus on their craft. There are just five individuals in residence at a time: one poet, one playwright or screenwriter, one photographer or filmmaker, and two visual artists. Each group of five arrives and departs at the same time.
There is no cost to attend Saltonstall and no application fee associated with this application. Additionally, to help offset travel to Ithaca and other personal expenses, we offer stipends of $100/week to everyone who attends. Additional stipend support (up to $1,000) will be offered based on financial need and the median household income of an applicant's County. Artist- and writer-parents and full-time caregivers will each receive a $500 stipend.
All applicants must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age and must be residents of New York State or Indian Nations therein ** (all counties). Residencies are for individual artists and writers. We are unable to accommodate groups or pairs of people working together. Specific residency dates are inclusive. It is expected that those selected for a residency live at Saltonstall for the duration of the residency period and -- during the 2 - 4-week residencies -- participate in our Open House events.
2. 2025–2027 VLC OPEN CALL
DEADLINE: January 6, 2025
WEBSITE: www.veralistcenter.org
The Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School is pleased to announce its 2025–2027 Focus Theme, Matter of Intelligence, and Open Call. Our newly envisioned Open Call, now spanning two rounds, is designed to welcome ideas and project proposals that find support and advance across a range of VLC’s programs and initiatives, including our signature fellowship program.
As part of our sabbatical, a year of slowing down and recalibrating our institutional rhythms and programmatic reappraisals, the Open Call has been reimagined to better support and celebrate the richness and diversity of creative practice, scholarship, and knowledge of our extended communities, thus shaping our curatorial thinking, approaches, and programs throughout our two-year exploration of intelligence.
With Matter of Intelligence, and an emphasis on forms of collective intelligence, this cycle of the Open Call places artists and their ideas at the forefront of our exploration from the outset, continually highlighting these voices and perspectives throughout the two-year inquiry. This approach builds on a solid history of past fellowship project proposals that have been successfully supported and presented through the center’s programs and publications.
Projects submitted in the first round will be considered for the VLC Fellowship, as well as a range of other programs, including the center’s seminar series, exhibitions, annual VLC Forum, and digital or print publications. A limited number of applications will advance to the second round and be invited to submit full proposals for fellowship commission projects. This new open call approach is designed to minimize the labor involved in the fellowship application, while continuing to engage and develop ideas and projects from the first round within the center’s programs.
Fellowship project proposals creatively and rigorously approach the Focus Theme in content and form and make an intellectual and artistic contribution that advances the understanding of intelligence. Up to four two-year, non-residential fellowships will be awarded to commission and support scholarly and creative work that critically engages with the Vera List Center’s 2025–2027 Focus Theme: Matter of Intelligence. With support from the Mellon Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The VLC Producers Council, Vera’s List, and other donors, the VLC Fellowship stipend for this cycle has been increased to $25,000.
Vera List Center Fellowships support the development and presentation of ambitious art and research projects by national and international early or mid-career artists, writers, scholars, and activists, especially those who are members of underrepresented communities in the art world and those who struggle to find support because of the experimental, political, and/or research-intensive nature of their practice. The VLC Fellowship appointment is one of reciprocity and mutual benefits: VLC Fellows draw from the curatorial, academic, and professional resources of the Vera List Center and The New School, including faculty and students, as they contribute to the intellectual foundation of the Center. As commissions, the resulting VLC Fellowship projects are presented to the public through the Vera List Center’s interdisciplinary public programs and institutional networks.
For further information on the Fellowship Program, including eligibility, benefits, and terms and conditions, please visit our About page. To learn more about VLC programs and initiatives, such as our VLC Seminars, Exhibitions, VLC Forum, Publications, and Focus Theme, please visit www.veralistcenter.org.
3. THE LEAH RYAN FUND
DEADLINE: January 7, 2025/400 submissions
WEBSITE: https://leahryanfund.org/apply-the-leah/
Applications for the 2025 The Leah are now open. We are accepting submissions through Tuesday 1/7/25 OR when we have reached 400 submissions. Information on how to apply is below. Email Dev Bondarin at dev@leahryanfund.org with any questions.
All women, trans, and non-binary playwrights who consider themselves emerging (as distinct from fledgling or mid-career playwrights) are eligible to apply for The Leah.
Playwrights from all over the world are encouraged to apply, but the play must be written in English. Eligibility does not require that a submitted work adhere to the traditional three-act structure. One-acts, two-acts (even four-, five-, six- acts), monologues, adaptations, and any other wild (or deceptively tame) format will be considered with equal seriousness. The only absolute requirement is that the submitted text be a completed full-length work for theater. (We are not able to accept musicals submissions at this time.) There is no fee to apply.
The winner will be chosen by readers selected by the board members of the Leah Ryan Fund. They will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and a public reading and summer workshop as part of the Powerhouse Theater Program at Vassar College.
Finalists will be contacted in March 2025, and will have one week within which to submit their full play.
4. NAMT’S FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS 2025
DEADLINE:January 7, 2025
WEBSITE: https://namt.org/newmusicals/festival-submissions/
Now in its 37th year, NAMT’s Festival of New Musicals is the cornerstone of NAMT’s mission to be a catalyst for nurturing musical theatre development and production.
In 1989, the Festival of New Musicals was created to provide a forum to celebrate the new musicals that were being produced and presented around the country. Since then, the Festival has introduced musical theatre producers to 300+ musicals and 565 writers from around the world. More than 85% have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions and tours; been licensed; and/or recorded on cast albums as a direct result of the Festival!
Held over two days in New York City every fall, the Festival produces 45–minute presentations of eight new musicals before an audience of over 800 industry professionals with the experience and resources to move the work forward. We look for new musicals at all stages of development from the broadest possible range of voices.
Shows submitted by the early deadline require no fee for submission. Shows submitted after the early deadline will be charged a $40 late fee, which must be paid by credit card on the submission portal.
5. TERRENCE MCNALLY NEW WORKS INCUBATOR
DEADLINE: January 9th, 2024/500 apps
WEBSITE: rattlestick.org/terrence-mcnally-incubator-apply.
Applications are now open for the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Cycle 3! As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the incubator is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship, and access to a community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions. Playwrights chosen for the Cycle 3 will receive mentorship from a veteran playwright, an incubation period and workshop for submitted play, artistic support from Rattlestick Theater. Each McNally fellow will receive a one-time stipend of $7500 to be used as the playwright sees fit to best further their goals.
In consultation with Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions, each McNally Fellow will be paired with a veteran playwright mentor who will read a minimum of two drafts and offer one-on-one feedback, in addition to attending a workshop rehearsal and/or final presentation subject to their availability.
Three-Week IncubationAfter the initial mentor meeting, the playwright will revise and develop their play for three weeks. This is time for rigorous thinking, dreaming, and writing outside the constraints of a product-oriented rehearsal space.
In addition to mentor feedback, the playwright will meet with the literary teams at both Tom Kirdahy Productions and Rattlestick to discuss their work and process.
McNally fellows will be invited to participate in additional Rattlestick events where they will have the opportunity to get to know the teams at Tom Kirdahy Productions and Rattlestick as well as the other McNally Fellows and other industry professionals.
The second part of the incubator will take the form of a developmental workshop culminating in an industry presentation. Core collaborators (director, dramaturg, actors) will be chosen in consultation with the selected playwright, Tom Kirdahy Productions, and Rattlestick and will be compensated for their time.
Questions? Contact us at tmincubator@rattlestick.org.
Finalists are granted an interview with a selection panel, including representatives from Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions. In consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Panel, three playwrights will be awarded the Fellowship in April of 2025.
Only complete applications will be considered. Please review the Application Materials Checklist before submitting your application to ensure you have not missed any steps.
6. THE MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIP IN PLAYWRITING
DEADLINE: January 9. 2025
WEBSITE: https://pwcenter.org/programs/mcknight-fellowship-in-playwriting/
Playwrights’ Center IS currently accepting applications for the McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting. The McKnight Foundation, a family foundation based in Minnesota, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive.
The McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting recognizes and supports mid-career playwrights living and working in Minnesota who demonstrate a sustained body of work, commitment to their craft, and distinct artistic vision.
The fellowship which runs July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026 includes: a $25,000 stipend, an additional $2,500 to support a play development workshop and other professional expenses, and $1,400 in travel funds.
7. PEN AMERICA WRITERS EMERGENCY FUND
DEADLINE: January 10, 2025
WEBSITE: https://pen.org/us-writers-aid-initiative/
PEN America is an organization of writers and their allies, and that solidarity is never more important than when members of our literary community face crises. PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative, part of the PEN America Writers Emergency Fund, offers grants for writers in the United States facing acute financial need following an emergency situation. Visit the application page for more information and to view full eligibility guidelines.The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported. Grant decisions are made on a quarterly basis by a volunteer committee of literary peers in consultation with PEN America staff,
The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is not intended to subsidize writing-related expenses, such as residencies, sabbaticals, computers, printing, shipping, travel, or publicity services. Applications received on or before the following quarterly deadlines will be reviewed before the last day of that month.
Writers currently enrolled in degree-granting programs are also not eligible. Writers do not have to be Members of PEN America to receive a grant, but all recipients of emergency funding will be given a complimentary one-year PEN America membership.
8. GLOUCESTER STAGE WATER’S RISING FESTIVAL OF NEW CLIMATE ACTION PLAYS
DEADLINE: January 13, 2025
WEBSITE: https://gloucesterstage.com/waters-rising-submissions/
Gloucester Stage was built on lifting up new plays through first productions and staged readings. Since our founding, we have had an accessible play submission process for playwrights and have produced 39 world, 7 national, and 35 New England premieres with critical success. We are built on fostering new work.
The theater’s home in Gloucester has more than 62 miles of shorelines, with the building itself located in FEMA’s high-risk flood zone. What makes this location a beautiful destination contains an equally foreboding future as we see sea levels rise year after year. Our stage door looks out to Smith’s Cove along Rocky Neck, so we want to celebrate this location while creating avenues for awareness and continued conversation about our future. You will be notified by Friday, March 7 as to whether or not your play has been chosen for a reading. The readings will take place between Thursday, April 24 – Sunday, April 25, 2025. We would love to have the playwrights participate in the festival weekend, either virtually or in-person, so please note your availability when applying.
9. THE BRONX COUNCIL ON THE ARTS
DEADLINE: January 13, 2025
WEBSITE: https://www.bronxarts.org/grants/bronx-recognizes-its-own/
The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) offers grant funding and program opportunities to support community-centered arts and culture projects and to recognize outstanding local artists.
Applications are accepted from individual artists, artist collectives, and nonprofit arts or community organizations for projects in a wide variety of disciplines, including dance, visual arts & crafts, theater, music, film & video, opera, folk arts, interdisciplinary arts, literary arts, multi-disciplinary art forms, and others.
Emerging and pre-professional artists, women artists, artists of color, artists with disabilities, artists who identify as LGBTQ, and artists from other historically excluded communities and demographics are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit www.bronxarts.org/grants, send an email to tracey@bronxarts.org.
For over 35 years, BCA’s BRIO Award has recognized artists from a wide range of creative disciplines who demonstrate proficiency, knowledge, and intense practice in their chosen artform. Each year, BRIO provides direct support to individual Bronx artists who create works in the literary, media, visual, and performing arts with awards of $5,000. Artists who have received a BRIO award represent the vast diversity of Bronx residents, inclusive of all ethnicities, ages, and genders. Awardees complete a one-time public service activity known as Artists for Community Enrichment (ACE), an essential component required of all BRIO recipients to be completed within a year of receiving the award. ACE provides artists with additional visibility and demonstrates to the Bronx community the wealth of artistic talent available in our borough.
10. THE WATERMILL CENTER’S ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
DEADLINE: January 15, 2025/400 applications
WEBSITE: https://www.watermillcenter.org/residencies/
The Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program began in 2006 when the Center officially opened as a year-round facility. Each year collectives and individuals take up residence at The Watermill Center to develop works that critically investigate, challenge, and extend the existing norms of artistic practice.
The Artist Residency Program is process-based, without the expectation or promise of a final exhibition of the work. The Watermill Center provides artists with the time, space, and freedom to develop their practice in a communal environment that encourages experimentation. Artists-in-Residence share their creative process with the community through open rehearsals, workshops, and artist talks.
Artists-in-Residence receive access to an extensive collection of resources central to The Watermill Center experience: 20,000 square feet of rehearsal/design spaces and outdoor stages; a theater production archive; The Watermill Center Study Library; The Watermill Collection; and The Watermill Center’s ten-acre landscaped grounds and gardens.
Applications are reviewed by an international committee of distinguished Watermill Center alumni made up of artists, academics, and cultural leaders across disciplines. To date, we have hosted over 250 residencies featuring 1500 artists from more than 90 nations.
We strongly advise submitting your application early. Applications will capped at 400 total; only the first 400 submissions will be reviewed. With many applicants waiting until the last minute to submit their applications, there can be technical difficulties on the day of the deadline, including payment processing. Please note: We do not accept late applications. There will be no extension on the deadline. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application by late summer 2025.
11. THE DRINKING GOURD: BLACK WRITERS AT WORK
DEADLINE: January 15. 2025
WEBSITE: https://truecolorstheatre.org/the-drinking-gourd
The Drinking Gourd: Black Writers at Work is a national program building a cohort of Black Theaters to focus resources on the development and production of work by Black playwrights. The Drinking Gourd returns Black stories to the care of Black Institutions and builds a pathway for Black Playwrights’ work to be seen in communities from Atlanta to Seattle and beyond.
The theaters in this year’s cohort are True Colors Theatre Company (Atlanta, GA), The Hansberry Project (Seattle, WA), National Black Theatre (New York, NY), The Ensemble Theatre (Houston, TX), Hattiloo Theatre (Memphis, TN), and Penumbra Theatre (St. Paul, MN).
Cohort theaters of The Drinking Gourd are committed to the co-commission, co-development, and co-World premiere of new plays by Black playwrights. We are currently seeking our second cohort of playwrights for 2025.
One playwright will receive a $10,000 commission contract in March of 2025 to write a new play by October 2025 with the expectation that the development of the playwright’s work will happen over the next three months with a rolling world premiere occurring over the next three seasons. Selected playwright will receive a dramaturg for the duration of the developmental period as well as funds to travel to one of our member theaters for development.
While the cohort will only select one writer to receive the commission, one finalist will receive developmental support to develop a work that is already in progress or completed.
Applications for 2025 open on November 15th, 2024 and close on January 15th, 2025.
12. THE NEXT FOREVER COMMISSIONS
DEADLINE: January 15, 2025
WEBSITE: https://thecivilians.org/upcoming/the-next-forever-call/
The Next Forever is a partnership of The Civilians with Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) and Lewis Center for the Arts, created to explore how dynamic storytelling can engage vital environmental subjects and provide the vision and inspiration we need to navigate the challenges of our planet’s future — the “next forever.” A multi-faceted initiative, The Next Forever comprises an ongoing series of public events and performances, an undergraduate class on narrative and the environment, and a competitive commission-and-residency program for theater makers. With funding provided by Princeton University, The Next Forever initiative will award two commissions to theater makers to create work that offers new visions for how we relate to the world around us. Additionally, the program provides the artists with the opportunity to engage over the academic year with Princeton faculty working in relevant fields.
HMEI functions as a vibrant central resource for faculty, postdocs, students, alumni, and others with an interest in environmental topics and research. Through their relationship to HMEI and the larger Princeton community, awardees will have access to a cross-disciplinary range of knowledge and ideas—of scientists, conservation psychologists, historians, policy and communications experts, and others— to support the artists, as they pursue a rigorous inquiry into their subject matter. The artists can be playwrights, composers, directors, performers, live art creators, designers, performance artists—anyone who is a generative creator of story-centered theater.
We believe that the scope and complexity of the present environmental crises ask all of us to think beyond business as usual. The Next Forever is an invitation to artists who are eager to break out of the writing studio or the rehearsal room and develop new work in conversation with leading scholars and thinkers. We are soliciting commission applications that prioritize narrative, require some kind of research process, and engage environmental subject matter on topics such as climate change, biodiversity, food security, urban systems, migration environmental justice, etc. Applicants are by no means limited to the examples in this list. We are interested in any and all possibilities.
13. FOLGER ARTISTIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
DEADLINE: January 15, 2024
WEBSITE: folger.edu/research/the-folger-institute/fellowships/apply-for-a-fellowship/artistic-%20research-fellowships/
Folger Institute Artistic Research Fellowships are open to all artists whose work would benefit from significant primary research related to the histories, concepts, art, and objects of the early modern world (ca. 1400-1800) and its legacies. Artistic applicants are not required to hold a formal degree, but should describe their training and level of industry-specific experience in their CV. Artistic applicants may apply for one, two, or three months of research support and have the option to take their fellowships fully onsite, fully virtual, or a combination of the two. Fellowship awards are $4,000 per virtual month and $5,000 per onsite month, and may be taken any time between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Applicants may propose the research schedule that best fits their project’s needs. A final art deliverable is not required upon conclusion of the fellowship residency. However, we do require all fellows to complete an evaluation survey to help us continue to improve our program.
14. 17TH ANNUAL ANT FEST/ARS NOVA
DEADLINE: January 15, 2025
WEBSITE: https://arsnovanyc.com/ant-fest-about/
Ars Nova is now accepting applications for our 17th annual ANT Fest, a festival of All New Talent showcasing new work from New York’s most adventurous emerging artists. Every summer, Ars Nova throws open our doors to the next wave of pioneering theater, comedy, music and hybrid theater-makers who fill our stage with their most dynamic ideas. We’re on the prowl for artists with diverse viewpoints and impressive skills, who see the future of live entertainment and want the chance to try out their ideas on stage. Each night of the festival in June, Ars Nova will present a show in our 99-seat, uptown theater. Artists are encouraged to assemble enterprising teams that can load in, tech, and present their show all in the same day. The energy of the festival stems in part from its creative velocity.
We’re interested in unique, innovative projects that span traditional genre boxes (theater, comedy, music, burlesque, drag, variety arts or anything else you can think of) in an exciting way to tell a story, make us laugh, or showcase musicians with a vibrant new sound. This is the place to pitch that crazy show you’ve been dying for an excuse to make! We’re waiting for you.
Please fill out the online application form which includes space for:
A short description of your evening
An Artist Statement that describes what makes your key creator(s) tick and why you want to make this show in ANT Fest
Samples of your key creator(s) work
Bios or resumes for key creator(s)
A range of unique submissions will each be given a night to perform in Ars Nova’s intimate Off-Broadway theater and the opportunity to be a part of artist-driven events throughout the festival. Artists of color and all theater-makers with wide-ranging viewpoints are strongly encouraged to apply.
15. THE CORE WRITER PROGRAM
DEADLINE: January 23, 2025
WEBSITE: https://pwcenter.org/programs/core-writer-program/
The Core Writer program is a three-year appointment designed to support a diverse group of playwrights who demonstrate a sustained body of work, commitment to their craft, and distinct artistic vision. The program is available to committed professional playwrights nationally and offers significant resources intended to further a playwright’s career.
The Core Writer program annually gives 25-30 of the most exciting playwrights from across the country the time and tools to develop new work for the stage. Each year, Playwrights’ Center selects four to seven new writers to join this group, as four to seven other writers wrap up their three-year term. All Core Writers receive play development workshops with the Center, in collaboration with prominent directors, actors, dramaturgs, and designers. All writers are paid for their workshop time, and Core Writers who are not local are provided travel to and housing in Minneapolis for their workshops.
Core Writers are eligible to be included in our formal season of public readings: the PlayLabs festival, the Ruth Easton New Play Series, and the In the Lab Series. Core Writers are also promoted by the Center and provided opportunities through an extensive network of colleges and universities, cultural institutions, and producing theaters.
Each term is three years; Core Writers may reapply for additional terms. At the end of the term, all Core Writers will become Affiliated Writers of Playwrights’ Center.
Playwrights’ Center IS currently accepting applications for the Core Writer program.
Applicants must reside in and have the legal right to work in the U.S. This program is highly competitive and is designed for committed professional playwrights who are pursuing playwriting as their primary career. Students enrolled in a full-time educational program are not eligible. Playwrights’ Center Staff who are directly involved in administering fellowship programs are not eligible. The Core Writer term will be July 1, 2025-June 30, 2028. At least one slot each year is reserved for a Minnesota writer.
16. PUBLIC THEATRE EMERGING WRITERS GROUP
DEADLINE: January 26, 2025
WEBSITE: https://publictheater.org/programs/emerging-writers-group/
The Emerging Writers Group is a fellowship at The Public Theater for playwrights and other generative artists at the early stages of their professional careers. For over 15 years, EWG has brought artists together to create and develop their work in conversation with their peers and The Public Theater community. EWG is a cornerstone of The Public’s mission to celebrate and support new generations of storytellers.
EWG members are selected bi-annually and receive a two-year fellowship at The Public, which consists of bi-weekly meetings where cohort members share new work in progress. We also offer special sessions that connect EWG-ers to the wider theatrical community, including industry panels, "speed-dating" with directors, financial advice, master classes from professional playwrights and more. At the end of the fellowship, The Public presents the EWG Spotlight Series, a festival of professionally produced readings for members of the industry and the general public. Other program benefits include:
A $10,000 stipend
$1,000 in reimbursable funds for buying tickets to shows outside The Public
Complimentary tickets to Public Theater productions, workshops, special events and Joe's Pub performances.
Professional headshots
Opportunities to observe the rehearsal processes of Public Theater shows
17. THE NEW VOICES THEATRE FESTIVAL
DEADLINE: January 31, 2025
WEBSITE: https://newvoicesfestival.ua.edu/submission-info
The New Voices Theatre Festival of The University of Alabama Department of Theatre and Dance is seeking stories from underrepresented communities.
The New Voices Theatre Festival is accepting submissions of unpublished and unproduced full-length plays to develop during a summer residency that will culminate in a staged reading. One new work from the festival will be chosen to be mounted as a fully-produced production during the upcoming season at The University of Alabama.
During the summer residency, plays may be collaboratively developed in the rehearsal space.
*The playwright must own all rights to their script.
How to Submit a Script
To submit a play for the 2025 New Voices Theatre Festival, please fill out the play submission form.
Submissions entered after the deadline will not be considered.
Please submit scripts as PDF documents only.
Please submit scripts with no identifying information about the playwright.
With the script, include a brief plot synopsis, cast size, and character list with description.
At this time, all play submissions must be for full-length plays. Submissions may not exceed 90 minutes. Cast size is preferred to be between six to twelve characters.
Musical submissions are allowed. Please submit digital version of score.
***Musical submissions are allowed but must also include a digital version of the completed score for the entire piece.***
For any questions, please reach out to Asterilla Monteiro at amonteiro@ua.edu.
Who is Eligible to Submit
Any individual who has a unique story to share/tell that meets the submission requirements is encouraged to apply. Only one submission per individual.
All submissions will be reviewed blindly and chosen by a script selection committee.
Your selection status will be revealed no later than March 15, 2025.
18. THE HATCHERY
DEADLINE: January 31, 2025
WEBSITE: https://www.manyhatscollaboration.org/thehatchery
The Hatchery is a new play development festival celebrating and supporting new works for the stage that center music and movement. Produced by Portland, Oregon theater company
Many Hats Collaboration. The Hatchery is a short-term, paid performance residency program with a public-facing workshop performance. Our goal is to serve local and regional artists and ensembles by providing a nontraditional new works development model that provides support in the form of money, space, marketing and audience attendance. The Hatchery promotes the creation of groundbreaking, music and movement-driven new works for the contemporary theater canon, nurtured in the Pacific Northwest.
In our second year producing The Hatchery, we will select 1-2 community-sourced projects based on proposals submitted.
We provide 30 hours of in-person rehearsal time culminating in an informal workshop showing for a live audience. Paid stipends to all collaborators for projects with 5 performers or less Collaborative personnel as needed (director, composer, choreographer, castmembers, stage
manager). Marketing in support of public performance 5 hours of optional creative and structural consulting from Many Hats to support workshop design, pre-Hatchery, or "next steps" planning, post-Hatchery.
The Hatchery considers proposals for new works which have not yet been professionally presented as finished, fully mounted or touring productions. Projects may have had previous residencies or showings, but should be emerging or works in progress.
19. THEATER MASTERS TAKE TEN!
DEADLINE: January 31st, 2025
WEBSITE: chrome-extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=http://www.theatermasters.org/uploads/7/6/9/9/7699567/2025_take_ten_application_letter.docx.pdf
This year’s MFA Playwrights Festival will be back IN PERSON and in New York City. Playwrights will participate in up to 5 hours of workshop time on their play with a professional director, culminating in a live reading presentation of their 10-min plays at a New York City venue.
The winning playwrights will also participate in our annual Wonder Week, a series of meetings and events connecting writers to Artistic Directors, Literary Managers, Literary Agencies, and other leaders in our industry. Wonder Week 2025 will consist of both virtual and in-person meetings. Finally, Samuel French: A Concord Theatricals Company will publish the TAKE TEN plays in our 2025 TAKE TEN Anthology. Prior to the spring events, playwrights will be connected with Theater Masters’ artistic staff, and Take Ten directors to discuss feedback, casting, and festival goals. In addition, Take Ten playwrights will have the opportunity to meet with the 2025 National Adjudicator (TBA), who will offer professional mentorship and structured feedback on their 10-minute plays. (Past adjudicators have included Lauren Yee, César Alvarez, Martyna Majok, Craig Lucas, David Auburn, Kathleen Chalfant, James Anthony Tyler, and many other distinguished professionals in the field.)
Theater Masters’ TAKE TEN fills a need that no other organization addresses head-on: bridging the gap between the classroom and the professional realm. Connections fostered during our festival have brought many playwrights to great heights of success in their careers, ultimately sewing new and exciting voices into the fabric of the American Theatre.
20. ISA FASTTRACK FELLOWSHIP
DEADLINE: February 13, 2024
WEBSITE: https://www.networkisa.org/contest/view/fasttrackfellowship
Looking for representation or to connect with working directors or producers? Get on the Fast Track! For 21 seasons, the ISA Fast Track Fellowship has been the premier screenwriting fellowship for writers on the rise. Fast Track Fellows have:
*Signed with major agencies like CAA, Paradigm and ICM.
*Been introduced to and then signed with management companies.
*Had their scripts optioned, leading to development deals.
Two ISA Fast Track Fellows meet with eight top level agents, managers, producers and executives during a whirlwind week of career acceleration with guidance from an ISA Development Executive. Past seasons' executive meetings include writers, producers, directors and execs from WandaVision, Dear White People, Ted Lasso, LA LA Land, Whiplash, Harriet, Lessons in Chemistry and What Women Want among others. Fellows are then accepted onto the ISA Development Slate for a minimum of one year. Throughout the year, ISA development executives champion and pitch these writers and their projects to our industry partners actively looking for material to produce.
Seven Category Selections will receive $500 cash each, be evaluated for acceptance onto the ISA Development Slate and go on to be considered for the two Fast Track Fellowships. We are looking for the freshest, most original, and most personal writing in all of these categories:
Action/Adventure
Comedy
Drama
Historical/Biographical
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Suspense (Mystery, Crime, Horror, Thriller)
Spec Scripts ----> NOW ACCEPTING SPECS!
Please note: We define a spec script as an episode based on an existing television show. If your script is not based on existing IP, please submit to the television category.
21. MACDOWELL FELLOWSHIP
DEADLINE: February 10, 2025
WEBSITE: https://www.macdowell.org/apply/apply-for-fellowship
About 300 artists in seven disciplines are awarded Fellowships each year and the sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence. There are no residency fees, and need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available to open the residency to the broadest possible community of artists.
MacDowell encourages applications from artists of all backgrounds and all countries in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts. Any applicant whose proposed project does not fall clearly within one of these artistic disciplines should contact the admissions department for guidance.
MacDowell provides time, space, and an inspiring residential environment to artists of exceptional talent. A MacDowell Fellowship, or residency, consists of exclusive use of a studio, accommodations, and three prepared meals a day for up to six weeks. There are no residency fees, and MacDowell offers financial assistance to reimburse the costs of direct travel to and from the residency, as well as expenses that artists expect to incur while in residence, including rent, lost income, and childcare.
MacDowell Fellows are selected by our admissions panels, which are comprised of a revolving group of distinguished professionals in each artistic discipline who serve anonymously for up to three years.
For questions, please contact admissions@macdowell.org.
22. THE RELENTLESS MUSICAL AWARD
DEADLINE: February 15, 2024
WEBSITE: www.americanplaywritingfoundation.org/copy-of-2022-relentless-musical-award
The American Playwriting Foundation will begin accepting applications for the 2025 Relentless Musical Award in honor of Adam Schlesinger on January 15, 2025. The creators of the winning submission will receive $65,000, the largest prize in American theater presented in recognition of an unproduced musical.
The Relentless Awards, founded in honor of Philip Seymour Hoffman, place special emphasis on works that are fearless in their choice of subject matter, featuring audacious, honest storytelling.
The Relentless Musical Award will honor works that:
* Are challenging. * Exhibit fearlessness. * Exude passion. * Are relentlessly truthful.
Our criteria for submission cast a wide net of eligibility; we encourage submissions by both first-time composers, lyricists, and book writers, as well as musical veterans who may have a particularly challenging piece that has not yet received a production.
Our goal is to discover and promote talented, ambitious voices which may be less conventional and more daring than most mainstream musical theater, and to celebrate exceptional craft in songwriting.
Eligibility/Criteria for Submission:
Only full-length works of musical theater are eligible for the 2025 Relentless Musical Award.
The work must be unproduced (ie., eligible for world premiere status) and may not have a current production commitment. If the project is a commission, the commissioning entity must either have declined to offer the work a production, or let its option expire.
Applications are limited to shows by writers with United States citizenship, or who are authorized to work in the United States.
Musicals that utilize extant music not written by the applicant(s) (e.g. “jukebox musicals” or musicals with parody lyrics) are ineligible.
All creators must be at least 21 years old at the time of submission.
Creators who have authored (book, music, and/or lyrics of) a musical that has been produced on Broadway are ineligible.
Works may be based on underlying material, in which case proof of authorization or right to adapt the underlying material must be uploaded with the application (if it is not in the public domain.)
We welcome musicals that include non-English languages, but request that an English translation be included for any non-English text.
Musicals considered to be “Theater for a Young Audience” are ineligible.
Musicals that have previously been submitted to the Relentless award *are* eligible for resubmission. However, each member of the creative team (book writer, lyricist, or composer) may only submit one work per cycle. Additionally, if a previously submitted work has been publicly cited (as an honorable mention, semi-finalist, or finalist), it is not eligible for consideration in future cycles.
As all work will be evaluated anonymously; writer/composer names and personal information must be removed from all documents and file names.
Submission materials required:
1) A musical demo of the score. This should contain no fewer than 12 and no more than 35 minutes of representative material from the musical.
Note: All rough and raw demos are welcome. No preference or advantage will be given based on the production value of any recordings--we do not require anything professional, finished, or elaborate. Please do not let concerns about the quality or sophistication of your recordings discourage you from applying.
All score materials should be uploaded in the form of music/audio files or zipped folder containing music/audio files. PDFs of sheet music cannot be accepted.
2) A 1-2 page synopsis and/or outline of the story/concept/beats/characters.
3) All the songs that have been written/recorded, representing at least 50% of the planned score.
4) A full script, without any author information (or, if a full script is not yet complete, as much of it as you have). Please include song lyrics in the body of the script.
All materials must be uploaded electronically along with the application form information. We cannot accept hard copies.
*Please note: the Relentless Award uses a blind submissions process (the names and identifying details about the authors are hidden from all judges.) It is imperative that all submitting writers create a draft of their submission with all identifying information (name, contact information, representation information if applicable, development history, dedications or acknowledgements) redacted. Failure to do so may disqualify your materials and render them ineligible for consideration.
23. WOODWARD/NEWMAN AWARD
DEADLINE: ROLLING
WEBSITE: https://seeconstellation.org/get-involved/submit-play/
The Woodward/Newman Award is an exclusive honor offered by Constellation Stage & Screen, started through the support of Joanne Woodward, Newman’s Own Foundation, and the Newman family, celebrating Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward’s tremendous history of work on stage and screen. It presents the best unpublished play of the year with a cash prize of $3,000 and a full production as part of Constellation’s Mainstage season.
We are currently accepting submissions for the 2025-26 Woodward/Newman Award. The award recipient will be announced by May 15, 2025. The winner will be awarded $3,000 and a full production.
“Full-length” plays should have a complete running time of between 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes) to 2 hours 15 minutes (135 minutes). TYA shows should have a complete running time of over 40 minutes.
Plays submitted must be unpublished at the time of submission (independently published is acceptable). Each play should be individually submitted at the following link: CONSTELLATION STAGE & SCREEN PLAY SUBMISSION. You will be asked to submit your play as an attachment and all other information (bio, history, synopsis, character breakdown) will be entered into a form. Musical submissions may upload demos as an attachment or include a link to a shared folder.
Limit of 2 play submissions per year.
$3,000 cash prize is in lieu of royalties for the full production. Housing & transportation will also be provided.
Any unpublished play submitted to Constellation regardless of method (e.g. online form, agent submission, direct contact) may be considered for the Woodward/Newman Award.
Please note that we are moving away from a “finalists” model in lieu of keeping all plays under consideration for extended periods (2yrs). In 2025-26 we will no longer announce finalists and only announce a winner.
24. NES ARTIST RESIDENCY (IN SKAGASTRÖND, ICELAND)
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: https://neslist.is/apply/
As one of the largest residencies in Iceland, NES currently hosts between 90–120 artists per year. NES provides artists with a workspace and living quarters within Skagaströnd, and the freedom to create as they wish. Artists receive a $175 stipend/week, with housing accommodations.
25. DRAMATISTS GUILD FOUNDATION EMERGENCY GRANTS
DEADLINE: Ongoing
WEBSITE: https://dgf.org/grants/
2025 applications will open on January 6th, 2025
The Dramatists Guild Foundation’s Bridge Grants are need-based awards of up to $500, now available to support dramatists with non-emergency and essential daily life expenses. Crisis Relief Grants support writers in times of need so that they can get back to doing what they do best. DGF provides emergency financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness.
Applications will be processed based on severity of need. Please be advised: DGF cannot process grant requests for funds toward artistic projects through this application process. Funds are most often used for necessary life expenses like groceries, utility bills and medical expenses. If you have previously received a DGF Emergency Grant since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic or hold a minimum of $15,000 in your combined bank accounts, we kindly ask that you refrain from re-applying at this time.
26. NATIVE VOICES PRODUCTION SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE: Rolling
WEBSITE: theautry.org/events/signature-programs/native-voices-annual-call-for-scripts
Native Voices is devoted to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and First Nations playwrights.
2025 OPEN Submission for Production Consideration
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 2025 General Production Consideration.
How to Submit
Checklist for All Submission Types
❏ 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(s) linked below
Where to Send Submissions
We only accept electronic submissions (preferably PDF format).
To submit, make sure you have everything on the checklist above, click on the link below to fill out the form and upload your materials:
- Short Plays: coming soon!
- Full Length Plays: https://bit.ly/2024NVScriptCall
- General Production Consideration: https://bit.ly/2024NVScriptCallGP
A Note About the Native Voices Distance Dramaturgy Process
Months prior to residencies, selected playwrights participate in dramaturgical conversations with an assigned director and dramaturg. Workshops with these creative teams and a cast of professional actors commence once the playwright arrives on-site. It is important to note that these conversations and workshops are playwright driven, allowing the writer to shape their own developmental path. Selected playwrights should be prepared to dedicate adequate time to this process prior to arriving on-site. For More Information or Questions: nvliteraryassociate@gmail.com
MISSION:
To support creative freedom for engineers and scientists outside of traditional institutional frameworks
To thoughtfully enable the creative ventures, inquiries, and expressions that will shape our technology-driven future
To build an interdisciplinary community of artists, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs to collaborate in meaningful and unpredictable ways
Since we opened our doors in 2014, Stochastic Labs has helped pioneer exceptional 20th/21st-century creative ventures including Lynn Hershman Leeson and NASA scientist Josiah Zayner’s epic transmedia artwork The Infinity Engine; JD Beltran and Scott Minneman’s Cinema Snowglobe; Alexander Reben’s film-making robot BlabDroid; Graham Plumb and Karen Marcelo’s volumetric Open Cube; street artist KATSU’s AI Criminals; and Lauren Lee Mccarthy’s interactive performance piece Follower, among others.
27. THE FOUNDATION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS – EMERGENCY GRANTS
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. Each month FCA receives an average of 100 Emergency Grant applications and makes approximately 12-21 grants. Grants range in amount from $500 to $3,000, and the average grant is now $1,900. We recommend that artists review all of our eligibility guidelines and FAQs before applying.
28. 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 submit your work to get the conversation going to partner with us.
JOB OPPS:
Full-Time Faculty Position in Playwriting at Bennington College
Review of applications will begin on January 15, 2025
Bennington College invites applications for a full-time faculty position in playwriting to join its nationally recognized undergraduate program in Drama starting Fall 2025. Responsibilities include teaching 5 courses per year, academic advising, working with colleagues to mentor students, and service. The successful candidate will be a teacher/practitioner with a strong record of accomplishment in playwriting and who is well-versed in inclusive teaching practices. The position entails teaching playwriting courses with a wide scope and conceptual variety to students with a range of interests and skill levels. Candidates who are comfortable with multiple styles and genres (which might include writing for musical theater and devising), and who can nourish voices and styles different from their own will be particularly competitive for the position. Candidates who meet the above requirements and who also have experience in directing and/or screenwriting will be given preference in the search. Thanks to Sherry Kramer for sharing this opportunity.
Assistant or Associate Professor of Theatre Arts (Performance) SUNY New Paltz
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; priority given to applications received by January 15, 2025.
The Department of Theatre Arts at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant or Associate Professor of Theatre Arts (Performance) beginning in the Fall Semester of 2025. The position is a ten-month contract which carries a 3/3 load.
Duties of the role include but are not limited to: Teaching courses in beginning, intermediate, and advanced Levels of acting. A diversity of approaches is encouraged; awareness of leading 20th and 21st Century performance teachers and their pedagogy is important. Opportunities to teach courses in affiliated performance areas exist.
