WRITERS & ARTIST RESIDENCY
Millay Colony for the Arts
INFO: Each year Millay Colony for the Arts invites up to 62 individuals (including writers, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and visual artists) for residencies through the colony's application process.
Residency sessions are held each month from April through November, usually lasting around 3 1/2 weeks, with 2 twelve-day sessions also available in June & September. In each discipline, decisions are made by juries of artists, critics and academics.
Your work is presented anonymously to the jury and is considered solely on the merit of your artist statement and work sample. Please keep these factors in mind as you prepare your application. It is very important that you do not include your name anywhere on your artist statement or work samples as you may be disqualified if they are within the body of work shown to the jurors. Your application will instead be assigned a number by the administration.
DEADLINE: October 1, 2020
https://millaycolony.submittable.com/submit
Pocket Theatre Podcast: Season One Play Submissions
Connective Theatre Company
INFO: Connective Theatre Company is seeking submissions from BIPOC, transgender, GNC, and/or queer playwrights for Season One of our podcast, "Pocket Theatre." CTC is committed to deepening and re-affirming our relationship with BIPOC, trans, GNC, and queer playwrights and to developing their work on our platform.
Each podcast episode will feature a short play that will be fully produced with sound effects, music, and professional actors. We are seeking plays that are around 15 minutes long, contain up to four characters, and would connect with audiences in a purely audio form. We are seeking original work, but are also interested in adaptations of well-known stories reimagined for a modern audience. Plays should not have more than four characters in one single scene. There is no theme we are seeking, but it is important for your play to match our mission statement (see below). If you are a BIPOC, trans, GNC, and/or queer playwright whose play matches our specifications, please fill out the submission form at forms.gle/Jq3LSQfc4GUymWq69 to have your work considered for our podcast. Feel free to email pockettheatrectc@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.
CTC Mission Statement: Connective Theatre Company is committed to telling stories that connect reason and emotion, provoke critical consciousness, and facilitate a path to action.
STIPEND: A $50 stipend will be offered to playwrights chosen.
DEADLINE: October 14, 2020
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4EsTUq3gSQINEsOD22KIBkchaUAC1jX8wRxbyV3tIRPInzg/viewform
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Rockford New Words
The West Side Show Room
INFO: 2020 has been a year like none other with COVID-19 and BLM protests responding to the murders of George FLoyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. At the center of it all is our breath: we are breathing in a virus, we are breathing in tear gas, or we are breathing our last breath. Rockford New Words is looking for personal and passionate works that speak to where we are at in this moment in time.
Six new works will be chosen and presented in a staged performance on Jan 21, 2021. Artists/Writers can choose to perform their own works (Live or on Zoom), or have them presented by professional performers.
RULES:
New Words: written after Aug 12, 2020
Theme: We Can’t Breathe
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: 10 pages or less
Time: 10 minutes or less
Format: Any
AWARD: $200
DEADLINE: October 15, 2020
https://www.thewssr.org/rockford-new-words-2021
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 12 Days of Holidays Festival
Possibilities Theatre Company
INFO: Possibilities Theatre Company is currently seeking submissions for their inaugural 12 Days of Holidays festival, 2020! The 12 Days of Holidays festival is a 12-day theatre festival addressing all aspects of the holidays! We’re looking for plays that speak to any and all aspects of Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Winter Solstice, and general Winter/Holiday time!
We’re looking to produce plays that speak to all different aspects of the holiday season! Joyful and painful. Human and animal. Earth and extraterrestrial. Realism and absurdism. We want to produce a festival that explores the full gamut of the holiday experience-- and that it doesn’t always look the same for everybody. The possibilities are endless!
While all submissions are welcome, Possibilities is specifically interested in plays submitted by women, POC, and LGBTQ+ playwrights.
Requirements for submission:
Plays must be either a full-length or one-act play. If you have a performance art experience that would apply, but doesn’t fall into one of those categories, we’d also consider that! We are not accepting 10-minute plays at this time.
All genres and types of plays are welcome. Musicals will only be considered if they’re fairly small-scale in terms of instrumentation, or if there are tracks available.
Plays cannot have a cast size of larger than 10 people. (Doubling parts is OK)
Plays should be able to be reasonably produced over Zoom.
Playwrights may submit up to 2 plays, but need to fill out the form once for each.
Plays that have had professional productions in the Chicagoland area will not be considered.
Each play will be paired up with a director, who will cast the show from a pool of Possibilities Theatre Company associated artists, as well as a round of general auditions. Playwrights will receive 15% of the ticket sales their play makes.
For questions, comments, or concerns, please email possibilitiestheatrecompany@gmail.com-- we look forward to reading your play!
DEADLINE: October 23rd at 5pm
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzcuw9Wwt1sE_92Veyo6EsIzCRhc8mX7Q-an-I5CqWmXcNZA/viewform
MELANATED MONDAYS
Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop
INFO: Each month, Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop curates a selection of new works by the hottest up-and-coming Black writers around a new theme. On the 3rd Monday of each month, BRTW’s ensemble brings these pieces to life and facilitates a conversation with the audience about the underlying societal issues highlighted in the pieces and potential solutions to those challenges. We partner with organizers, educators, and organizations to share key avenues of civic engagement we all can undertake to make our communities more just and equitable.
October's theme is "A More Perfect Union," and we're looking for original works that address politics and civic engagement.
BRTW will select 3 to 5 original works of 10 to 30 minutes each. Submissions can be excerpts of pre-existing works, complete short works, and works in development.
In addition to showcasing plays, we've also shared original screenplays, poetry, essays, short stories, and more. Participating writers receive $25; actors receive $20/hr.
You can also apply to have your work considered for other upcoming months, the themes of which are:
"Looking Forward" (Envisioning a post-Covid 2020 Black future with speculative fiction)
"Isolation" (Mental health, isolation, self care, community care)
"Black History" (We're especially looking for period pieces)
"Policing"
"Weed" (All about marijuana)
DEADLINE: N/A
https://www.blackrevolutionarytheatreworkshop.org/melanated-mondays
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION PLAYWRIGHTS GROUP
The Road Theatre Company
INFO: The Road is proud to begin its second year of Under Construction, a playwright’s group that develops socially and politically relevant voices and thoughts to the American stage. Under Construction will be meeting virtually in 2021, and is open to playwrights on a national level. We will be selecting 10 playwrights to join the 2021 cohort.
Beginning in January, this group will meet twice a month on Wednesday evenings. Each playwright must enter this group with the beginnings of a new play, and we will work collaboratively for 1 year on the development of each play. This program is modeled for playwrights who would benefit from a structured space to receive feedback from peers, all in the supportive environment of The Road.
The goal of Under Construction is simple: to leave with a deeper knowledge of playwriting through collaborating and sharing with one’s peers, and for each participant to create a new piece that is workshop ready. Initial drafts will be read by fellow playwrights, but participants in this program will also have access to The Road’s ensemble of theatre artists for private readings, as well as support from the Artistic Team at The Road.
Please let us know if you would like to apply for Under Construction at The Road, by giving us a 25 page sample of your work and a pitch for the next play you’d like to work on. Please send submissions to underconstruction@roadtheatre.org We look forward to hearing from you!
DEADLINE: N/A
https://roadtheatre.org/event/under-construction-playwrights-group-final/
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Theatre [Untitled]
INFO: We are seeking original plays or musicals that celebrate stories not yet told on stage and uplift underrepresented people. Women, BIPOC, and LQBTQ+ strongly encouraged to submit. We are always looking for new pieces to produce. We are committed to exposing up and coming playwrights and their works.
If you would like to submit your play to us, please email theatreuntitled@theatreuntitled.com with the subject line "New Play Submission" with:
Your play as a PDF and
Tell us a little about yourself and your artistic viewpoint in the body of the email.
DEADLINE: Ongoing
http://www.theatreuntitled.com
EMERGING PLAYWRIGHTS FUND
Audible
INFO: 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 the creation of original dramatic work, written with audio in mind, but theatrical in spirit. If you are looking to submit an idea for an audio project that is not a play, please visit www.audible.com/pitch.
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.
GUIDELINES:
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).
ELIGIBILITY: Any applicant over the age of 18 may submit a Script. Employees or independent contractors, or immediate family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and grandchildren) or those living in the same household of employees or independent contractors of Audible Inc., Amazon or any entity involved in any aspect of the Theater Fund may not submit a Script for consideration, unless it is determined by Audible in its sole discretion in accordance with Audible’s then current policies and procedures that no conflict of interest exists in connection with accepting the relevant submission for consideration.
CONDITIONS: All submissions must be the original creations of the applicants. By submitting a Script, each applicant represents and warrants that: (a) the submitted work is his/her 100% original creation, (b) the submitted work will not violate or infringe the rights (including copyrights and rights of privacy and publicity) of any other person or party, and (c) all materials and elements comprising the submitted work are exclusively owned or controlled by the applicant. Audible may determine, in its sole discretion, that an applicant is ineligible to submit a work for consideration if these requirements, and others described in these Guidelines, are not satisfied to Audible’s satisfaction.
Applicants understand and acknowledge that (i) Audible is in the business of developing and distributing content, (ii) Audible receives numerous submissions (both from outside and from within Audible) of content ideas and creative materials, (iii) Audible is continually developing ideas, formats, shows, stories, concepts, artwork, music, and the like, and (iv) content developed or distributed by Audible may resemble, be similar to, or contain identical material or elements found in works submitted to Audible for consideration. By submitting a project via this program, each applicant understands and agrees that Audible is not prohibited or restricted from developing or distributing content that may contain elements similar or identical to an applicant’s submission, and Audible will not be obligated to any applicant in any manner if such similar or identical elements were developed or obtained by Audible either independently or from sources other than the applicant’s submitted work.
DEADLINE: 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.