THEATER -- JULY 2021

BTC Fellowship Program

Black Theatre Coalition

DEADLINE: July 16, 2021

INFO: Co-founders T. Oliver Reid, Warren Adams, and Reginald "Reggie" Van Lee, along with Board Members Aaliytha Stevens and Naila McKenzie, announced today that applications are being accepted for their paid BTC Fellowship Program. Black Theatre Coalition (BTC), the organization aiming "to build a sustainable, ethical roadmap to increase employment opportunities for Black theatre professionals" has been building these programs over the past 11 months.

The application submissions will be accepted through July 16, 2021 with 12-month Fellowships in Producing, Writing, Composition, Directing, Choreography, Set Design, Lighting Design, Costume Design, Sound Design, Video Design, Wigs/Hair Design, Stage Management, Theatre Management, Musical Direction, Casting, Marketing & Advertising, Public Relations, Digital Media, Talent Agenting, and a 24-month Fellowship in General Management.

Each Fellow will receive $50,000 in salary and grant over the 12-month Fellowship.

A total of 48 Fellowships will be awarded with two in each category, except for General Management and Producing, which will both include six Fellows each.

WHAT WILL THE BTC FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE PROVIDE EACH FELLOW?

  • Immersion in their area of the Industry on a daily basis, working alongside current industry leaders at the highest levels, learning the process of theater making from the executive, creative and /or administrative areas.

  • Connecting with Industry Leader and Broadway's power players after business hours through BTC sponsored events.

  • Mentorship and guidance throughout the Fellowship Program from Black professionals currently working in the industry and from BTC Accomplices within companies/offices where fellows will be placed.

Black Theatre Coalition will produce "Pop Up Events" in which the full cohort of fellows will have the opportunity to work together to put their skills into practice.

https://blacktheatrecoalition.org/fellowship/

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2022 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative

Illinois State University

DEADLINE: August 1, 2021

ENTRY FEE: $0

INFO: The 2022 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative welcomes submissions for full-length, unproduced plays by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) playwrights in accordance with the mission statement of the Crossroads Project (see below). A diverse panel of judges including faculty, staff, students, and alumni will select one playwright as the winner.

The winning playwright will receive:

  • An invitation to Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal, IL as a guest artist in residence for a one-week new play development workshop, culminating in a public staged reading. This residency will also include class visits and an all-School colloquium.

  • Travel (within the U.S.), housing, and meals during the residency.

  • An honorarium of $500 for the residency.

To be eligible to win, the playwright must be available for a one-week residency in late March 2022 (exact dates TBD).

The deadline for submissions is August 1, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. (central daylight time). There is no entry fee. We only accept electronic submissions in PDF format. Because our staff and resources are limited, we can only consider the first 100 submissions.

Please include in your submission:

  • A representative sample from your play up to 15 pages. This does not have to be the first 15 pages of the play.

  • A synopsis of the play (max. 250 words).

  • A character list with short descriptions for each character (age, ethnicity, gender, occupation, family relationships, etc.)

  • A playwright’s statement (max. 400 words). In the statement, describe your inspiration for writing the play, address where you are in the development process, and discuss how a workshop in a university setting can facilitate that process.

Please follow these guidelines when submitting your play:

  1. Submissions must be:

    1. A full-length play.

    2. Musicals are not accepted. However, plays with limited music requirements are accepted.

    3. The primary language of the play must be English.

    4. There are no other restrictions in subject matter or style.

  2. A playwright may only submit one play per year. The work must be submitted by the playwright rather than a literary agent or other third party.

  3. Submissions must be the original work of the playwright, which may include adaptations of fictional or factual material. Translations of other playwrights’ work are not accepted.

  4. The submitting playwright must be either the owner and controller of the copyright or provide written proof that they have acquired the legal right to use copyrighted material in their work.

  5. Plays that have been produced or published professionally are ineligible for the competition. Plays that have been presented through staged readings, workshops, university productions, or community theatre productions are eligible.

  6. A playwright may submit a play that they submitted in a previous year (including finalists) if there have been substantive revisions.

  7. The Crossroads Project reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted play for any reason.

We will contact semi-finalists by the end of October 2021 and ask them to submit the full play.

The winning playwright will be notified by mid-January 2022.

Inquiries about the Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative should be directed to:

Kee-Yoon Nahm, D.F.A.
Assistant Professor in Theatre Studies
Chair, The Crossroads Project
Email: knahm@ilstu.edu

https://forms.illinoisstate.edu/forms/diversevoices

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NATIVE VOICES: CALL FOR Full-Length Plays

Autry Museum of the American West

DEADLINE: August 2, 2021

INFO: Native Voices is currently accepting submissions of full-length plays (60+ pages) by American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and First Nations playwrights addressing all themes and topics.

2022 Playwrights Retreat and 28th Festival of New Plays

The Retreat and Festival bring artists to Los Angeles to work on 3–4 plays through a rigorous directorial and dramaturgical commitment for 8–10 days in May/June. The Retreat culminates in public staged readings of the plays at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles and La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. Selected playwrights receive artistic support as well as an honorarium; out-of-town artists receive roundtrip airfare plus lodging in Southern California.

Selection Process: Full-length plays (60+ pages) received by August 2, 2021 will be read and evaluated. A select number of playwrights will be invited to submit formal proposals detailing their developmental goals should their play be chosen for the short list. Scripts will then be sent to a committee of nationally recognized theatre artists for further evaluation. With their help, Native Voices selects up to four plays for the Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays. Playwrights will be notified in February 2022.

https://theautry.org/events/signature-programs/native-voices-annual-call-for-scripts