2027/2028 RESIDENCY PROGRAM
the cell theatre (New York, NY)
DEADLINE: February 2, 2026 at 11:59PM ET
INFO: the cell’s artist-in-residency is a selective program that develops new works by artists from across all disciplines throughout an annual cycle. Chosen applicants receive space, funding, guidance, and other developmental resources. Depending on the project, artists will have access to production staff and technical support. For publicly ticketed presentations, marketing and box office services will be provided. Projects can range in scope from readings to developmental workshops to productions.
The length of the residency may be anywhere from 1-5 weeks and the residency stipend ranges from $1000 - $5000 depending on project requirements.
Located at 338 West 23rd Street in the heart of Chelsea, the cell is a 501 (c) not-for-profit that occupies a four-story townhouse with intimate workshop spaces, an elegant full-length gallery floor, and a dynamic performance space. Our theatre is flexible, has full audio/visual capabilities, and includes access to a backyard reception area as well as a green room for performers.
To get a better idea of the range of performance spaces at the cell, click www.thecelltheatre.org/the-space
the cell exclusively develops new work and will only consider projects that have not been professionally produced and have supporting submission materials (e.g. a finished draft of a script, footage, designs, budget, collaborators, and/or a creative portfolio.)
thecelltheatre.org/residencyapplication
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: CSP Artist Collective
Conchshell Productions
DEADLINE: February 3, 2026
INFO: Conchshell Productions is currently accepting submissions from playwrights and screenwriters of Caribbean heritage interested in joining the CSP Artist Collective—a free, supportive space for writers at all stages.
This is a free, monthly affinity space where writers:
Share pages from works in progress
Receive constructive feedback
Build community with writers across the U.S. and beyond
Develop new plays and screenplays in a safe, affirming space
MEETING SCHEDULE:
The collective meets on the first Sunday of every month, 4:30–7:30 PM (ET).
Our co-resident dramaturgs provide written feedback on pages presented during each session.
Membership is free.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7wfKmkLFz55OzC66wFTcPZe8WyGBZDy4tF6D2O_dsaX7xrw/viewform
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Call for short plays
Murmuration Theatre Company (Brooklyn, NY)
DEADLINE: February 8, 2026 at 11:59pm
INFO: Murmuration Theatre Company is seeking plays for our 2026 First Flight Showcase centered around toxic wellness culture, healthcare disparity, body image, and other health, wellness, or beauty issues. Murmuration is particularly interested in exploring how individuals with diverse perspectives navigate a wide array of health and wellness issues, including capitalism's push to make wellness product-centered, rhetoric tying health to morality, inequality in the healthcare system, and the role extreme opinions in media have in shaping these narratives & our internal monologues.
Shows must...
have had no prior full stagings in New York State
have a page count between 2-40
have a cast size between 2-10
The shows selected will be cast, staged, and directed by Murmuration's creative team. Simultaneous submissions are accepted; a new form completion is required for each piece. Playwrights selected for our upcoming production will be paid a small fee per public performance of their work.
Please submit PDF copies of scripts via the google form below, and feel free to reach out to murmurationtheatreco@gmail.com with any questions or concerns. We will not consider (and will flag writers who submit) pieces that are sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or otherwise bigoted.
*Solo Shows, Theatre for Young Audiences, and Musicals will not be considered.
*New writers as well as writers with voices that have historically been underrepresented in the theater industry (gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, ability status, etc.) are encouraged to apply.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvVDukZkxn5uDyuMCQDaDbbOjBiz43a2bojQZX2xB2qGAoXQ/viewform
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call for applications: Fall 2026 / Winter 2027 residencies
MacDowell
DEADLINE: February 10, 2026
INFO: MacDowell offers residencies at no cost to artists and provides need-based stipends to help cover expenses incurred during the residency, including rent, utilities, childcare, and lost income. Travel reimbursements are also available.
We welcome applications from artists of all backgrounds and nationalities in the following disciplines: architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts.
macdowell.org/apply/apply-for-fellowship
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season 8: rooftop reading series
Breaking & Entering Theatre Collective
DEADLINE: February 15, 2026 at 11:59pm ET
INFO: Rooftop Readings are a developmental space where new drafts of theatrical scripts meet live audiences in beautiful settings.
We are able to accept up to 175 script submissions - if we reach this cap we will no longer accept Playwright Submissions
GUIDELINES:
In an attempt to give each writer an equitable opportunity, we will only accept one script submission per playwright.
SEEKING:
Scripts that have NOT been produced before by early career playwrights.
Directors who are up for a fun, 1 day, whirlwind challenge of a process
Actors who are interested in working with playwrights
Volunteers - whether you have one afternoon or the whole summer to devote to this project we'd love some extra hands and an opportunity to teach you about creative, site-specific producing
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CLBS Indigenous Writer in Residence program
Cranberry Lake Biological Station
DEADLINE: February 15, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: $0
INFO: The CLBS Indigenous Writer in Residence program began in 2022. Its creation was spurred by the work of Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer who has and continues to draw inspiration from and write at Cranberry Lake Biological Station. The residency seeks to provide Indigenous writers with the space, time, and place to explore their creative endeavors.
THE RESIDENCY:
Cranberry Lake Biological Station is located in the heart of the Adirondack Park, on the ancestral lands of the Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and has been in use as a living classroom for 105 years. CLBS provides seclusion for research, teaching, contemplation, and creative endeavors.
The residency consists of three, three-week residency slots are: May 24– June 12, June 14 – July 3, July 19- August 7. Housing, a private room with shared living space, three meals a day are provided at the station dining hall, and a workspace will be provided. The resident will also have access to all facilities including canoes, classroom spaces, microscopes, and the ability to join classes if desired. Additional needs and requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
ELIGIBILITY: The residency is open to Indigenous writers over 21 years of age who write poetry, plays/screenplays, fiction/short stories, and/or nonfiction.
FUNDING: The residency is fully subsidized and provides housing, food, and workspace space at no cost. In addition, the selected artist will receive a stipend/travel allowance of $1,000.
EXPECTATIONS: It is expected that each resident will offer two evening readings/discussion during the residency, one for students at the station and one for local residents, these programs will be planned in conjunction with CLBS staff. In the fall writers are asked to participate either virtually or in person in an event on the SUNY ESF main campus in Syracuse, NY alongside the other residents. Past residents are also asked to serve on the selection committee for the next year.
SUPPORT: The residency is funded jointly by the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and Cranberry Lake Biological Station
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Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab
WP Theater
DEADLINE: February 20, 2026 at 11:59pm ET
INFO: WP Theater is looking for early to mid-career playwrights, directors, and producers, who crave an artistic home, a cohort of collaborators, professional support, and the resources to launch them into the next phase of their careers to be a part of the Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab.
The Lab provides up to fifteen artists with community, a vital professional network, entrepreneurial and leadership skills, free rehearsal space, and, most significantly, tangible opportunities for the development of bold new work for the stage.
IS THE LAB THE RIGHT FOR FOR YOU?
The Lab is for early to mid career theater professionals, who are eager to deepen their understanding of how to develop new work, using collaboration skills while also learning how to best leverage given resources.
As a director, this program is for you if you have an appetite for play, a commitment to dramaturgy in the early stages of a work’s development, and you look forward to crafting stories with a new team of artists. This program is for you, if you are looking to join a community of directors at a similar stage of their career and excited for seasoned mentors to share industry knowledge, resources, and skills.
As a producer, this program is for you if you enjoy working in teams, imagining new systems of storytelling, and are eager to build those systems with others. This program is for you if you have an appetite for creating balance between the resources a story needs in order to be told and the tangible/ financial resources of the production.
As a writer, this program is for you if you crave dramaturgical input and creative collaboration both from a director and producer, and if you’re ready to collaborate with storytellers in other mediums to deepen your work. This program is for you, if you’re looking for practical skills in how to strategically and holistically develop your work.
LAB STRUCTURE:
Meetings:
The lab consists of two monthly meetings–one full Lab meeting for all three cohorts on the first Monday evening of the month, and a separate, discipline-specific meeting, usually on the second Monday of the month. These meetings are mandatory, and attendance at all meetings is the optimum means to get the most out of your Lab experience.
You will be given the full Lab meeting and Pipeline Festival schedule at the time of your interview, if you advance to the finalist round..
Year One:
Participants will spend the first six months of the lab engaging in cohort- building activities to allow the artists to get to know one another as individuals and artistic practitioners, including collaboration work, skills-building, and career strategy sessions. It is imperative that participants prioritize attendance in these monthly lab meetings, as multiple absences will result in participants missing key building components that would prevent them from gaining the most from the lab experience.
In the second half of the first year, we will sort the Lab into writer/director/producer pods, and devote significant time to building the bonds and collaborative skills within each pod.
Year Two/Pipeline Festival:
Each pod will spend the remainder of the lab developing a new work together that will culminate in a showing in the Pipeline Festival reading series. The goal of the festival is to give producers, directors, and playwrights the collaborative tools to successfully develop new work in the theater industry. The resulting Pipeline Festival reading series will present this new work to New York audiences and industry professionals. The producers, in partnership with directors and writers, will shape the festival based on the artistic development needs of each project, with budgetary and in-house physical resources from WP, under the AEA 29 Hour Reading Guidelines.
If you have specific questions, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org after reading the Frequently Asked Questions section below. No phone calls, or emailed applications please.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY:
Must be an artist living within 90 minutes of WP Theater via car or rail.
Must be able to attend evening meetings at WP Theater twice a month from October 2026 to May 2028, as well as other events throughout the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 seasons, such as previews, performances, retreats, and other special events at WP.
Must be available for the 2026 Pipeline Festival (March – May, 2028).
Regular attendance is mandatory and therefore applicants should view the program as a two-year-long commitment. Lab meetings will be in person.
Must not currently be in an undergraduate program.
Must be aged 21 or over.
Must be available for either an in person or virtual interview.
THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS WILL:
Receive a stipend of $4,000 on salary, for each year of Lab participation ($8,000 total).
Participate in a monthly full lab meeting led by WP Artistic Staff and Lab Liaisons.
Participate in a monthly discipline-specific meeting led by a mentor in their field.
Participate in events and conversations led by established artists and leaders in the field.
Receive complimentary tickets to WP shows, invited dress rehearsals and other special events.
Receive artistic support and professional development guidance from the artistic staff.
Participate in The Pipeline Festival, a reading series of five new plays, written, directed and produced by the WP Lab, to be presented in the spring of the second year of the residency.
Receive access to WP’s rehearsal space at no cost, when space is not in use
For further clarification of Requirements for Eligibility, please see the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:
All applicants must submit the following:
Current resume or CV
One page statement or video (5 minutes or less) that describes your artistic vision. Video (max 5 minutes) of you speaking, telling us who you are as an artist, your artistic vision, and the specific processes behind it. Help us understand who you are as a theatermaker!
One short essay answer detailing why being a part of the Lab is useful to you at this moment in your career.
One short essay answer describing how you approach new collaborations and what meaningful artistic collaboration means to you.
A list of 3 professional references, including title/affiliation, phone and email.
Playwrights:
In a separate PDF, the full length script most representative of your work.
The play must be at least 60 pages long, and must be a completed draft, though it need not be a final draft.
You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.
Directors:
Share an image or video sample of your work that represents a moment you are proud of. Please share a description of why this moment is meaningful to you.
A list of upcoming productions, workshops, readings and other projects with dates, venues, and your role.
You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.
Producers:
A list of upcoming productions, workshops, readings and other projects with dates, venues, and your role.
You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.
Production Videos/Photos – You may provide up to 3 short videos or photos of recent work. Additional materials should not exceed 3 pages and may include reviews (no excerpts) and photos with descriptions.
Hard copy applications will not be accepted.
Emailed applications will not be accepted.
All materials will be reviewed by a panel of theater professionals.
For further clarification of materials required for application, please see the Frequently Asked Questions Section below.
TO APPLY:
PLEASE VISIT OUR SUBMITTABLE SITE TO APPLY.
YOU MAY ONLY APPLY TO ONE DISCIPLINE PER LAB CYCLE.
Hard copy applications will not be accepted
Emailed applications will not be accepted.
If you have specific questions, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org after reading the Frequently Asked Questions section below. No phone calls, or emailed applications please.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
What kind of conflicts would make me ineligible?
We accept that every artist will miss one or two meetings, but if you know now that you will be missing more than two meetings during the lab dates, you should not apply. Applicants should view the program as a two-year-long commitment. We will only accept applicants who can take full advantage of the program.
I’m not available for an in-person interview—may I still apply?
We will be conducting in person interviews, but may be able to interview applicants virtually if needed. If you have a limited conflict in regards to attending twice monthly meetings, please make note of such conflicts in your application. We will try to accommodate such situations on a case-by-case basis.
When will the monthly meetings be held?
We will provide a schedule of meetings for finalists at the interview, so you need not worry about this question at the application stage.
If I am selected for the group and then my eligibility status changes, would I be automatically suspended from the program?
No, we will handle this situation on a case-by-case basis. Please do not let such a concern keep you from applying.
What kind of resume should I submit?
Your resume should list all readings, workshops or productions. Your resume should also include any other relevant theater experience.
If I can’t decide between two plays or have an additional writing sample that I am very proud of, may I include more than one play with my application?
No, we only read one play per applicant, so please only submit one writing sample. Submit the sample that you are the most excited to share with our readers.
May I send in music along with the book of my musical?
Please do, and give credit to the composer and lyricist.
Is there an age limit? Are you looking for young writers?
We ask that applicants be 21 and older, but beyond that, there is no age limit. We would be glad to admit a talented artist of any age into the program. The program is meant to support early and mid-career artists, but artists may begin their careers at any age.
Will you let me know that you received my application?
Yes, we will email you once we have processed your application.
May I follow-up with you about my application status?
Yes, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org.
If I have had some contact with a WP staff member, would it be better to contact them directly with my question rather than write to wplab[at]wptheater.org?
No, please write to wplab[at]wptheater.org, but feel free to mention any contact with a WP staff member in your email.
wptheater.org/lab/call-for-applications/
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Open Call for eearly career artists
The Shed (New York, NY)
DEADLINE: February 24, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
INFO: Born out of The Shed’s commitment to act as a platform for NYC-based, early-career artists working in a range of artistic disciplines, Open Call selects, fosters, and presents new work. The program showcases a wide, multiborough range of voices, lived experiences, and perspectives, demonstrating the multitude of ways in which artists are working today.
It embraces proposals for new works in disciplines including the visual arts, theater, dance, music, performance, spoken word, literary arts, film, fashion, art and technology, new media, social practice, and public art and architecture, as well as across multiple and new disciplines. As with all Shed civic programs, we center Black, POC, people with disabilities, and other communities that have been historically excluded and most impacted by structural racism and other forms of oppression.
Participants for Open Call's fifth edition will be selected in fall 2026. Projects will be reviewed in spring/summer 2026 by more than 60 independent leaders across artistic fields, including artists, cultural programmers, curators, producers, academics, and members of The Shed’s program team. The Shed will support selected projects with a commissioning fee of up to $15,000 of producing stewardship per artist or collective as well as in-kind financial, artistic, and production support managed by The Shed.
ELIGIBILITY:
Open Call accepts applications from artists who are:
Early-career artists and art collectives
18+ years old
Currently living or working in New York City
Able to provide a W9 for payment
With or without a traditional arts degree and/or training
Working in a range of artistic disciplines, including the visual arts, theater, dance, music, performance, spoken word, literary arts, film, fashion, art and technology, new media, social practice, and public art and architecture, as well as across multiple and new disciplines
FAQs
Who is considered an “early-career” artist?
For The Shed, an early-career artist is one who has not yet received major support to create new work. We define major support as a range of opportunities, from the receipt of substantial institutional funding to presenting and/or producing opportunities at large-scale cultural organizations. There is no age limitation.
Do I have to live in New York City to apply? What if I work in New York City but live somewhere else?
If you do not live in one of the five boroughs of New York City, but you work predominantly in New York City, your application will be considered. You will be asked to provide a New York City working address in your application.
If work has been shown elsewhere, can it be considered a new commission?
Some projects may have been shown in the past, for example in school, a work-in-progress showing, or included in a public program like a reading or workshop. In the Submittable application, you will be prompted to explain how your project would transform in The Shed’s presentation and how your proposed work or any its components have been shared in the past in any form.
We are looking for new work but understand that each artist has different development processes, with moments of public showing and feedback as part of them.
theshed.org/program/485-open-call-applications
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Call FOR EARLY-CAREER PLAYWRIGHTS: YOUNGBLOOD
Ensemble Studio Theatre (New York, NY)
DEADLINE: February 27, 2026 at 11;59pm EST
INFO: Youngblood is Ensemble Studio Theatre’s OBIE-winning collective of emerging early-career playwrights. Founded in 1993, Youngblood serves as a creative home for the next generation of theater artists. Youngblood provides artistic guidance, peer support, regular feedback and a fertile production environment which allows our member playwrights to hone their skills and explore their craft. We also provide exposure to the public and the press, professional outreach to the industry, and opportunities for production and publication.
Applications are open to anyone who self-defines as an early-career playwright and is a New York City metro area resident. There are many possible definitions of "early-career" (new to the field, recently graduated from grad school, recently shifted artistic priorities, etc.). Please let us know why you consider yourself an early-career playwright in your letter. Accepted applicants are eligible for Youngblood membership for a minimum of three years.
Membership includes attendance at all weekly meetings, monthly (or more frequent) performances, readings, and retreats. If you have any questions, please contact youngblood@estnyc.org.
GUIDELINES: Combine the below items, in this order (sample, letter, resume, full-length), into a single PDF file.
The file name should be your last name and first initial - i.e., TOLAN_R.pdf.
Upload the PDF file using the Upload link below.
Please complete the form below and include the following materials:
WRITING SAMPLE - up to 25 pages. This can be part of a longer piece or a one-act. Send whatever you think best represents where you are as a playwright right now.
LETTER - The "why Youngblood" letter. Tell us about yourself and why you are interested in membership in the group, and include a statement of why you define yourself as an early-career writer.
RESUME - Your current playwriting resume.
FULL-LENGTH PLAY - A completed full-length play in its entirety. Note: this can be the full play from which the initial 25 pages was excerpted, or an entirely different piece. In most cases, this additional material will only be read if you are selected as a finalist.
ensemblestudiotheatre.org/youngblood
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The de Groot Visiting Fellowship
American Library in Paris
DEADLINE: March 1, 2026
APPLICATION FEE: €30 (approx USD$35)
INFO: The de Groot Visiting Fellowship Program at the American Library in Paris supports writers, thinkers, and scholars across disciplines who advance dialogue, creativity, and cross-cultural understanding.
Established in 2013, the Fellowship extends the Library’s long tradition of fostering transatlantic exchange and creative expression. Each year, two Visiting Fellows and three Scholars of Note pursue their projects in Paris while contributing to the Library’s cultural life through public talks and workshops. Over the past decade, Fellows have enriched the Library’s century-old legacy and, in turn, joined the generations of writers who have found a home in Paris.
In addition to working on their own project, Fellows present a public program during their residency that engages our audience and members around the central theme of Letters Home.
For more than a decade, the de Groot family and the American Library in Paris have supported forty-four writers through a residency in the heart of literary Paris. Fellows include journalists, novelists, poets, and librarians whose work and influence have only grown since their time with us. Many describe their residency as a turning point in their creative lives and careers.
THEME: The theme for 2026-2027 is Letters Home. This theme explores the love language of letters and the many voices who write about home from far away, whether home is a place, a person, or a time. Letters Home encourages Fellows to explore different perspectives—nostalgic, questioning, tender, critical—in the return through ink and imagination to places left behind. Programs could be around topics such as the changing meaning of “home,” literary letters and the creative force of nostalgia, exile and the epistolary voice, or the politics of correspondence.
FELLOWSHIP DETAILS:
Residency Period: One month, between September and June. Fellowships are not available in July or August due to the Library’s programming hiatus.
Stipend: $5,000 USD paid prior to the Fellowship period to cover travel and expenses in Paris.
Accommodation: Whenever possible, the fellowship provides accommodation for the duration of the Fellowship in a one-bedroom apartment located a 10-minute walk from the Library. Otherwise, Fellows may use their stipend to cover alternative accommodation.
Eligibility: Open to writers, researchers, journalists, poets, screenwriters, playwrights, directors, and documentary filmmakers. International applicants are welcome.
Please note, applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (including doctoral candidates) during the residency season for which they are applying.
THE FELLOWSHIP INCLUDES:
An orientation day that includes meeting Library staff, a guided tour of the collections and archives, and lunch.
A Library membership with full access to the Library’s collections, archives, and e-resources.
A commitment to spend at least three half-days per week in the Library during the residency working on your personal creative project.
Dedicated time and space to work independently on a self-guided creative project.
The opportunity to develop and deliver a one-hour public program tied to the Library’s programming theme. This program could be a talk, workshop, panel, performance, or other creative format.
Opportunities to attend fundraising dinners, cocktail gatherings, or exclusive events as a representative of the Fellowship.
Participation in filming promotional material for the Library and your Fellowship experience.
A final exit interview to share feedback and insights about the Fellowship experience.
An expectation to acknowledge the Library and Fellowshipin any publications or media resulting from the project.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applications for The de Groot Visiting Fellowship require:
A single PDF file (maximum 5 pages) containing:
A one-page cover letter addressing your work, your reasons for applying to the de Groot Visiting Fellowship at the American Library in Paris specifically, and why this moment in your career is the right one.
A one-page narrative description of your personal creative project, including its timeline, current stage, what you hope to achieve, and how the Fellowship at the Library will contribute to its success.
A CV of no more than two pages.
Three brief proposals (maximum 50 words each) for a public program tied to Letters Home.
Two professional references (names and contact information).
A €30 non-refundable application fee.
degrootfoundation.org/de-groot-visiting-fellowship-american-library-in-paris/
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Sewanee Writers’ Conference
Sewanee Writers’ Conference (Sewanee, TN)
DEADLINE: March 1, 2026
INFO: For twelve summer days, writers gather on one of the most beautiful campuses in the country for readings and workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and playwriting. Not to mention all of the morning hikes, lake swims, receptions, readings, and late night festivities.
WHILE HERE, YOU'LL FIND:
A talented community of writers where the friendships and connections we make last much longer than the twelve days we are together
Feedback from a highly competitive, warm, and inclusive workshop led by two renowned faculty members
The opportunity to help other promising writers
An hour-long individual conference with a faculty member
Two visitor meetings with editors, publishers, or theatre professionals
Two special topics courses
Three meals a day and a furnished, individual dorm room
All the readings, hikes, ghost walks, karaoke, receptions, and dancing you can handle — at your own pace, of course!
2026 CONFERENCE: JULY 14-26
COST: Tuition, room, and board will now be $3,000 for all participants, who will have the same reading time, status, and opportunities. $3,000 is 40% of the actual cost to attend, so every writer will receive 60% support to participate.
2026 FACULTY:
FICTION - Chris Bachelder • Sarah Shun-lien Bynum • Lydi Conklin • Amitava Kumar • Margot Livesey • Jill McCorkle • Claire Messud • Chinelo Okparanta • Maurice Carlos Ruffin • Stephanie Powell Watts
POETRY - Marianne Chan • Eduardo C. Corral • Danielle Cadena Deulen • Ananda Lima • Carl Phillips • Caki Wilkinson
NONFICTION - Jaquira Díaz • Amy Leach • Alex Marzano-Lesnevich • Elena Passarello
PLAYWRITING - David Adjmi • Nathan Alan Davis • Dan O'Brien • Lauren Yee
All participants are expected to attend the Conference for its entire 12-day duration.
Applicants must be 21 years of age by the time of the Conference. Past that criteria, age is not a factor in admissions. We welcome a wide range of ages to the Conference.
Applicants accepted to the Conference will have the opportunity to submit a separate manuscript for workshop as well as their top choices for a faculty reader.
All applicants will be notified of decisions via email April 15.
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Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective
Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY)
DEADLINE: March 2, 2026 at 5pm ET
INFO: The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective is a nine-month developmental program under the direction of playwright Annie Baker, designed to support rising playwrights through community and a rigorous structure without the barriers of formal graduate programs. A cohort of six selected playwrights will meet over ten Sunday evenings, every three weeks, at Cherry Lane Theatre from September 2026 through June 2027 to share work, read pages aloud, and develop brand-new plays over the course of the year.
The program culminates in a public reading series presented over six Monday nights in late May - June 2027, featuring professional actors and directors for text-focused presentations, each with one day of rehearsal. While the reading series provides a platform to hear the work with an audience, the primary mission is to create new work, and only playwrights who have shown up for the Sunday meetings will have public readings. The program will embrace Cherry Lane’s downtown history of incubating bold new writing, offering playwrights a supportive, artist-first community.
The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective will operate under Cherry Lane Development Group, a new non-profit with a mission “to foster bold, innovative voices in the theatrical arts by cultivating a dynamic space where artists can take risks, deepen their craft, and shape new worlds for the stage."
A24 will not own any work created through this program. Writers retain full ownership of their material.
The ideal applicants are emerging playwrights who crave rigorous feedback, consistency, accountability, and a collaborative environment. The program is built for writers who might have day jobs, who need structure, and who would benefit from a sustained, intimate cohort committed to taking risks and developing new full-length plays over nine months.
ELIGIBILITY:
Applications are free, open to the public. Applicants will submit a full length play and brief materials (see below).
Writers must be able to attend all Collective meetings in person. (Please note, no travel stipends or living stipends will be provided).
Writers who have not had a Broadway or Off-Broadway production in NYC and who will not be in an undergraduate, graduate, or conservatory program in the 26/27 academic year are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to writers who are not in other incubator programs that meet weekly/monthly.
Submissions portal will open February 2, 2026 at 10am ET and close March 2, 2026 at 5pm ET. Late applications will not be accepted.
What To Submit
One Full Length Play - Minimum 45 pages, maximum 150 pages, as a single PDF file (please do not submit Final Draft files or links to other platforms). A play written only by you. Please note once chosen, you will work on a new play in this collective, not the one you submitted.
A Brief Statement - Describing why you would like to be part of this program, max one single-spaced page. You don't have to tell us why you're a great writer or what your writing is about or your personal history, unless that interests you. Just tell us some of the things you're thinking about and/or reading and/or writing and/or seeing these days and why you'd like to be part of this.
Resume - Professional and/or artistic.
References - Phone numbers and emails of two professional references.
Eligibility Confirmations - No full- time students; no qualifying professional NYC productions; in-person availability on Sunday evenings Sept - June.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU’RE ACCEPTED:
Accepted playwrights join a small cohort of six writers who meet for ten Sundays over nine months (exact dates to be confirmed) at Cherry Lane to read new pages aloud and workshop their developing plays. Over the year, they receive structured support, accountability, and a creative home.
At the end of the cycle, each writer receives a reading on one of six consecutive Monday nights, with professional actors and directors and a single day-of rehearsal. The readings are seated, on-book presentations designed to give the public the opportunity to hear the new work.
TIMELINE:
June 1, 2026 - Finalists Notified
July 1, 2026 - Final Decisions
September 13, 2026 - Program Begins
TERMS + CONDITIONS:
Submission and Selection Process
Submissions are only accepted through electronic submission via the Program website.
Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays in English, solely authored by you.
The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective reserves the sole and absolute discretion to select program participants, as well as the right to disqualify any applicant or submission that does not comply with submission guidelines.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERSHIP: Applicants will retain all rights, title, and interest in their submitted plays and any new works developed during the program
QUESTIONS: Should you have any questions, please email questions@cherrylanetheatre.org and we will respond in a timely manner.