BCA PLAYWRIGHT RESIDENCY
Boston Center for the Arts
DEADLINE: December 8, 2025
INFO: Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) is accepting applications for our Playwright Residency. The BCA Playwright Residency supports rising playwrights by providing space to rehearse, perform and write a new work. Support is tailored to the selected artist, and includes mentorship, and professional development to create, produce and reach expanded audiences. This program aims to provide a container for playwrights who are invested in developing experimental work that sheds light on underrepresented stories and narratives.
We will be accepting two playwrights this year. The residency is a year-long process that will begin January 2025 and end January 2026. As part of the program, the awarded playwrights will offer a mid-year workshop, as well as a final staged reading. The playwrights will have access to a studio space located in BCA’s Artist Studios Building, located at 551 Tremont St. The studio space will be shared between both playwrights, and it is already equipped with desks, chairs and power. To learn more about the program, please visit BCA Playwright Residency page.
ELIGIBILITY:
Committed to incubating a new work
Have written a complete work (short or full length play)
Playwrights who are interested in the access to free studio and workshop space
Interested in presenting their work at a final staged reading at the end of the residency
Playwrights local to Boston and surrounding areas
CRITERIA:
Applications will be evaluated based on the artist’s demonstration of BCA’s current artistic ethos:
Experimentation: we support artistic work that displays innovation and openness to new ideas, perspectives and techniques.
Responsiveness: in the process of supporting new and innovative work, we value ideas that are relevant to contemporary interests and conversations.Community engagement: we encourage an artistic practice that engages meaningfully with the ecosystem where it exists through collaboration and exchange among artists and audiences.
Potential impact: we seek to support artists for whom our involvement has the potential to propel their practice creating a path for growth artistically and professionally.
These criteria will be applied by an external jury whose composition includes mainly theatre professionals in the Boston area, as well as diverse individuals with a broad range of lived experience and experience in the arts field.
To learn more about the program, please visit BCA Playwright Residency or reach out to Michaila Cowie, Director of Theatre Arts, at Michaila@bostonarts.org.
USEFUL DATES:
Application Closes: Monday December 8, 2025
Notification On or Around: Monday Janurary 12, 2025
Residency Start Date: Monday February 2, 2025
bostonarts.org/event/bca-playwright-residency-open-call/
_____
the ground floor SUMMER RESIDENCY LAB
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
DEADLINE: December 12, 2025 by 5:00pm PT
INFO: The Ground Floor Summer Residency Lab invites artists to apply with projects meant for the stage that would benefit from a residency at Berkeley Repertory Theatre for one to two weeks.
We accept applications from artists at any stage of their artistic journey. We do accept applications from international artists. Previous applicants may reapply. We will provide transportation and housing for out-of-town residents, rehearsal space, basic technical support, and an honorarium.
Projects may be anywhere along their development path: from an idea (without anything on paper yet) to a complete draft of a text that has had previous workshopping elsewhere. Whether you are a writer simply needing a room in which to write or an ensemble wanting intensive rehearsal time, we encourage you to apply. Artists from other disciplines interested in creating theatre pieces are also welcomed to apply. If your project is ready for a small audience, we are happy to provide that, but there is no requirement for any kind of culminating sharing event. Past participants have held events open to the public, internal readings, no final sharing at all, and everything in between.
This is a developmental residency. Within the Summer Residency Lab, there is no capacity to provide a workshop or full production. If you are applying for an adaptation, please have the underlying rights already secured. Projects with a current draft of a script are invited to include a short sample of your work (please limit to 10 pages maximum) with the initial application. A work sample is not required if not applicable to where you are in your process.
The Ground Floor's 2026 Summer Residency Lab, which will take place June 15th - July 12th.
berkeleyrep.org/how-to-apply-69nb
_____
Van Lier New Voices Fellowship
Rattlestick Theater
DEADLINE: December 18, 2025 at 11:59pm EST
INFO: This program provides substantial support to two playwrights of color under 30 annually.
Each year, two Van Lier Fellows are selected for the Fellowship from a panel of former Van Lier alumni and industry professionals. Each receives a $35,000 living stipend, a $5,000 artistic fund to support career development, mentorship with a veteran playwright, workshops and sharings of their work, and participation in Rattlestick’s artistic communities and programming. The Van Lier Fellowship is flexible, artist-led, and responsive to the unique demands of the project at hand.
WHO IS IT FOR:
The Van Lier New Voices Fellowship is open to playwrights who:
Reside in, or within 30 mile radius of, New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, or Staten Island), or Minneapolis, MN. Or, plans to relocate to NYC or Minneapolis area permanently by May 2026.
Is between the ages of 18 - 30 in May 2026
Why? The New York Community Trust, which carries out Edward and Sally Van Lier’s legacy of arts appreciation, specifically benefits arts groups and training programs to provide education, training, or other support to young artists under 30. The Van Lier New Voices Playwriting Fellowship falls under the umbrella of these predetermined age parameters and is legally obligated to fulfill this goal.
Identify as a BIPOC individual
Is not enrolled as a full-time or part-time student in any degree-granting program from May 2026 to May 2027.
Demonstrates exceptional talent in playwriting and theater-making, with a deep appreciation for the collaborative nature of the creative process..
Expresses why this is a particularly timely opportunity for their participation in the Van Lier New Voices Fellowship.
Note: Current Rattlestick Staff, board members, and review panelists are not eligible to apply.
Questions? Email vanlier@rattlestick.org! No phone calls please.
HOW IT WORKS:
Stipend and Artistic Fund
Each Van Lier Fellow will receive a $35,000 stipend. Additionally, each Van Lier Fellow will receive a $5,000 Artistic fund to support their artistic practice, supplement dramaturgical research, and/or expand the resources available to activate their play drafts during the Van Lier Fellowship year. Past uses of this fund have included research trips, language lessons, visual arts lessons, recording equipment, and retreats. Each recipient will collaborate with the Rattlestick Theater team to determine how best to use the fund to meet their individual needs.
Mentorship
In consultation with Rattlestick Theater, each Van Lier Fellow will be paired with a veteran playwright mentor who will read drafts, offer one-on-one feedback, provide professional development, and attend a workshop rehearsal and/or final presentation, subject to their availability. Rattlestick staff, in consultation with the fellow, will select a mentor aligned with their interests and preferences.
Sharings and Workshops
Each Van Lier Fellow will be provided with multiple opportunities throughout the year to share their work in progress with the Rattlestick Artists-in-residence cohort, which includes the Terrence McNally Fellows, Directing Fellow, and Director-in-Residence.. The form of these sharings is shaped by the playwright’s needs and can take a variety of forms..Additionally, each Van Lier Fellow is provided a week-long workshop and an invited presentation at the culmination of their fellowship.
APPLICATION PROCESS:
Applicants may only apply once per application year.
There are two rounds of review. Each application is thoughtfully reviewed by a broad reader pool of industry professionals, Van Lier Fellowship alumni, and Rattlestick staff. Each application is reviewed in the first round by at least 2 different readers. A semi-finalist pool will be identified and moved on to the second round. These applications will be reviewed by at least 2 different readers, as well. Applicants advancing to the finalist round will be notified in February/March 2026.
Finalists are selected through two rounds of consideration and are required to reconfirm their eligibility. 6 finalists are granted an interview with a selection panel, including representatives from Rattlestick Theater.
2 playwrights will be awarded the Fellowship in May 2026.
rattlestick.org/van-lier-new-voices-fellowship
_____
INCUBATE NYC
Egg & Spoon Theatre Collective
DEADLINE: December 20, 2025
INFO: Launched in 2021, INCUBATE NYC is Egg & Spoon’s borough-based new works initiative supporting playwrights of color in the early stages of developing bold, playful, and community-rooted new plays. The program brings stories to life across New York City’s outer boroughs, creating a bridge between artists and local audiences. This program is generously supported by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
Submissions to INCUBATE NYC 2026, are now open to playwrights based in or from QUEENS and THE BRONX.
Each selected playwright receives a $500 artist stipend, a weeklong developmental workshop with collaborators (director, dramaturg, actors) and rehearsal space, administrative support, and a public reading to share their work with audiences.
WHO CAN APPLY?
This submission process is open to all Black writers, Indigenous writers, and writers of color, based in or from Queens or The Bronx. These writers can be at any stage in their careers.
The INCUBATE NYC workshops are intended for full-length plays that have not had a fully-realized production. Workshop resources include actors, a director, a stage manager, and sound design.
DATES: Workshops are targeted around March and May, and culminating before June 30, 2026
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Currently accepting full-length plays
Playwrights should identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color.
Playwright must be based in or originally from the Bronx or Queens.
Strong consideration will be given to plays that can be developed using 6 or fewer actors.
Have questions? Email us: incubation@eggandspoontheatre.org
eggandspoontheatre.org/incubate-nyc
_____
DRAMA CLUB CAMP 2026
Drama Club (Mount Vernon, Maine)
DEADLINE: December 31, 2025
INFO: Drama Club Camp is a creative oasis for progressive and transgressive theater makers alike. In pursuit of our mission, we have created a modern musical theater-maker’s heaven situated just four hours from New York City. Nestled on 65 acres of lakefront beauty, Drama Club Camp is an amazing, tranquil, charming environment along the shore of Torsey Lake in rural Mount Vernon, Maine. Across multiple buildings, each space is designed to support the creation of collaborative musical work and is equipped with the tools that empower teams to create at the highest level.
Artists reside in our century-old lodge, Drama Clubhouse, which has 14 bedrooms, a communal dining room, camper and commerical kitchens, a great room with a Steinway baby grand, three fireplaces, and numerous gathering areas.
Bedrooms are single or double-occupancy with queen beds and desks or electric pianos (weighted, midi-ready). Inexplicably, most bedrooms have sinks. The Clubhouse has four bathrooms shared by all guests.
The Campus also has a rehearsal space (the Rec Hall), a recording studio, a writing cabin (the Woodshed), wicked-fast Wi-Fi, printers, instruments, music stands, and more. Tour the campus by clicking through the gallery below.
For inspiration, look no further than our miles of hiking trails, hidden glens, Frog and Toad Pond, the firepit, Woodshed, or relax on our pristine lakefront as you listen to the loons inspire your next rhyme.
Will you wander and discover a secret art installation? A private collaboration station? A relaxing oasis? All of Camp is designed to bring out your creative genius.
REQUIREMENTS TO ATTEND CAMP:
You must be working on a specific musical, which can be at any stage of development
The entire writing team must come to Camp
Only one person per musical should apply
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:
The name of your musical
Your name & contact info
Your collaborator’s names, emails, and roles on your musical
A 25-500-word description of your musical
A brief statement of why your musical is important
A brief statement of what you want to accomplish at Camp
A PDF of a scene with a song in it*
MP3s of two song demos (these do not need to be ‘produced’ - we just want to get a sense of your writing ability)*
Dates your team can not come to Camp
* If the musical you want to work on at Camp does not yet have a scene or song demos, just provide a scene and demos from other work of the writers.
WRITER RESIDENCY WEEKS 2026:
June 7 - 14
June 21 - 27
July 12 - 18
July 26 - August 1
August 16 - 22
_____
Call for Submissions: The Rebel’s Zeitgeist
Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice
Deadline: January 15, 2026
INFO: Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice is excited to announce a call for submissions for our quarterly digital publication, The Rebel’s Zeitgeist.
We invite Black writers from around the world to submit their original poetry, short fiction, essays, book reviews, short plays, and music reviews for consideration for our Spring 2026 issue. Our journal is dedicated to amplifying voices that explore themes of social justice, radical resistance, and the revolutionary liminal spaces that shape identity.The Rebel’s Zeitgeist seeks to publish work that challenges the status quo, offers new perspectives on systemic injustices, and celebrates the rich diversity of the Black experience. The Spring 2026 issue's theme is, "Beyond the Bearing of Witness." Contributors will be those who have work that speaks to the nature of resistance and the fight for liberation. We will be accepting poems, essays, and short stories.
We welcome writers Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton and Khari Dawson as guest editors of this issue. Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton is an award-winning poet, educator, and publisher. Lofton is the author of more than 35 collections of poetry and more than 177 spoken word albums. His poems have appeared in Clock House Journal, Revenge, UpStreet, Experience Reality Magazine, Quay, Dissident Voice, The Skinny Poetry Journal, Mid-Atlantic Review, and Blue-Collar Review. In 2024, his poem “To Honor Her Bold Walk” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Khari Dawson is a multi-genre writer and musician based in Maryland. Published in multiple publications, including the 2025 Jan/Feb issue of POETRY magazine, she has enjoyed support for her work through grants and fellowship opportunities with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Art Under a Minute program, the Martha’s Vineyard Creative Writing Institute, and the Smithsonian exhibit project, “Gen Z Speaks: A Right to the City.” She is a 2024 Watering Hole Poetry fellow.
We are particularly interested in pieces that:
Poetry: Captures the essence of resistance and resilience through evocative and powerful verse.
Short Fiction: Tells compelling stories that highlight struggles and triumphs in the fight for justice and equality.
Essays: Provides insightful analysis and commentary on contemporary social issues and historical events impacting Black communities.
Book Reviews: Critically examines works by Black authors, focusing on themes of social justice and transformative change.
Short Plays: Presents dramatic works that engage with revolutionary ideas and the complexities of identity.
Music Reviews: Analyzes and discusses music and artists that push through conventions with sonic innovation and creativity.
We welcome submissions from both emerging and established writers who are passionate about using their craft to promote peace and social justice. Each piece should reflect a commitment to these ideals and contribute to the ongoing dialogue around equity and liberation.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Format: Submissions must be in digital format (Word or PDF).
Length:
Poetry: Up to 3 poems, not exceeding 100 lines in total.
Short Fiction: Up to 5,000 words.
Essays: Up to 3,000 words.
Book Reviews: Up to 1,500 words.
Short Plays: Up to 20 pages.
Music Reviews: Up to 1,500 words.
HOW TO SUBMIT: Send your submission to submissions [at] blackwritersforpeace.org with the subject line “Submission: [Category] – [Your Name]”.
Guest editors will be announced in 2026.