the leah playwrighting prize
The Leah Ryan Fund
APPLICATIONS OPEN: November 2, 2026
INFO: The Leah Ryan Fund began giving out its annual prize in 2010 to honor the memory of Leah Ryan, and to encourage and support the work of brilliant and unrecognized women, trans, and non-binary playwrights. It is the purpose of the prize to perpetuate the integrity, compassion, and creativity that Leah herself possessed and inspired in others.
Winners of The Leah playwriting prize receive a cash award, currently $5,000, and a public reading and summer workshop as part of the Powerhouse Theater Program at Vassar College. As hoped, the prize has been a springboard for winners who have subsequently won other competitions, have received full-staged productions of their work, and/or have gone on to successful careers in theater, TV, and film.
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Individual Artist Residencies
Trillium Arts |📍Mars Hill, NC
DEADLINE: November 4, 2026 at 11:59pm
APPLICATION FEE: $0
INFO: Trillium Arts residencies offer secluded space for rejuvenation and creating in a beautiful, remote setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We are currently accepting applications for artists to attend in either April or October 2027. Trillium's location is ideal for an individual artist to complete an existing work, or develop and incubate new material. Facilities in the spring and fall months are best suited to the disciplines of literary arts, photography, and visual arts.
Note that the use of the Red Barn Studio is seasonal and it will not be available to individual artists in 2027. However, there is ample land and outdoor space available for ideation and research. We are currently unable to accommodate groups or collaboratives on the Trillium property. Individual artist residencies are a solo adventure during their time here and your residency will not overlap with other awarded artists. If an artist would like to bring collaborators, there are a variety of AirBnB’s available for rent in the immediate area. A list of recommended AirBnB’s is available upon request.
Who is eligible? Artists of various disciplines (writers, photographers, visual artists, choreographers) at any stage of their careers are invited to apply. Applicants must be at least 21 years old.
2027 Residencies Include:
A $700 cash honorarium
Private accommodations in a one-bedroom, ground floor suite. (Trillium Arts co-founders live upstairs but resident artists have a private entrance). View the accommodations HERE
Welcome reception with your hosts
Shared use of the grounds, including firepit, hot tub and waterfall area
Use of a variety of supplies and onsite creative spaces that include a contemplation gazebo and a 380’ square foot open air, covered workspace. Learn more HERE
Basic kitchen supplies and all household goods (towels, linens, paper products, etc.)
Access to high speed fiber optic internet
Laundry facilities
Mentorship services (optional for an additional fee)
Residencies take place in the spring and fall of each year and are one week of seven consecutive nights in length.
trilliumartsnc.org/artist-residencies
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CALL FOR SCRIPTS: 2027 SheNYC, SheATL, SheLA, and SheDFW Festivals
DEADLINE: November 5, 2026 by 11:59pm PST
INFO: We accept full-length plays and musicals during our open submissions period for our Summer Theater Festivals. In order to apply, you must be a playwright or composer of a gender marginalized group (including cis women, trans people, and non-binary people), or a writing team that is made up of at least 50% people from a gender-marginalized group.
First, please read the page on each city’s festival to get an understanding of what it means to be a part of the Festival process, as it varies slightly by city:
SheLA (Los Angeles) – Festival dates TBD, in July 2027
SheNYC (New York) – Festival dates TBD, in July/August 2027
SheATL (Atlanta) – Festival dates TBD, in August 2027
SheDFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) – Festival dates TBD, in August or September 2027
You’ll apply for all the cities you’re interested in in one form — there will be an option to select which cities you’d like to be considered for.
Note that we only accept script submissions during our submission window. If you would like to be considered for our summer festivals, you must submit your work during that time period. Read on below for more details on what you’ll need to submit!
AI INFORMATION:
Our mission is to support human writers. Therefore, while using AI for background research is okay, we won’t produce anything that was written by AI. On the application, we’ll ask you to describe if and how you used AI. Examples include:
Used AI to find and organize research about the subject matter (✅ this is okay!)
Used AI to fact-check or spelling & grammar check my writing (❎ we don’t love this, but it won’t necessarily disqualify your show. Give us more details about how you used it.)
Used AI to write scenes or music (❌ this is not okay)
Used an AI program to automate vocals in the demo recordings included in this application (❌ this is not okay)
Used an AI program to automate instruments in the demo recordings included in this application (❌ this is not okay)
READING/PERFORMANCE INVITATIONS: Unfortunately, we do not have the staff capacity to see readings or performances, so do not accept invitations. However, the only way we would choose to produce your show is through the open submissions process listed above – so, send us your materials that way if you’d like to be considered for a production!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT:
1. The full script to your show, in PDF form. It must be at least 75% finished. If the rest is not finished, you need to provide a “treatment” (a detailed outline of the scenes that remain to be written, in order) along with the script. Bear in mind that you will have to send us completed script if you’re selected as a finalist.
IMPORTANT: Your script PDF must not have your name on it!
Why do we ask this?
Our model is based on giving writers an opportunity based on the quality of their writing, free from the types of bias that the entertainment industry normally considers, such as connections, having an agent, etc. Having your script anonymized to our readers ensures we can fulfill our mission of evaluating scripts without bias.
2. A completed application form with some basic information (see below for FAQs).
3. If your show is a musical, recordings of at least 3 full songs from the show, in mp3 or m4a form. The more you have, the better! A simple recording with just you and your piano is fine, though obviously you want to make your music sound the best it can. Please do not submit Finale or Sibelius files (or any other automated vocals).
* Note that we do not require that you send us a score or sheet music with your submission.
4. If your show is a solo show, a video of at least 5 minutes of your solo performer performing a cut from the show. This can be a video from a prior production or staged reading, or it can be a self-tape of your actor recording themselves at home.
Why do we ask this?
We’ve found that it’s incredibly hard to evaluate the quality of a solo show without knowing the performer who will be carrying it.
2027 SUBMISSION TIMELINE:
November 5th: Deadline for all submissions. Submit your show before 11/5 at 11:59pm PST!
February 2027: If you’re a semi-finalist, we’ll notify you in February.
March 2027: Finalists for NYC & LA are chosen. DFW & ATL finalist notifications may come a bit later.
April: All our festival participants are notified, and you’ll be given a deadline to accept your slot in the festival! We will also notify you if you are not selected. *This is SUBJECT TO CHANGE based on the Festival dates given to us by our venues.*
May: All the fun stuff starts! We’ll have a meet and greet and info sessions to make sure you feel 100% ready to produce your show in the Festival.
June/July: Start rehearsals for your show!
July/August/September: The Festivals run! Each show will get two set performances during these two weeks, as well as a tech and dress rehearsal slot. We will also leave a few empty performance slots in the schedule so that any show that sells out its first two performances can add extra performances.
Tentative dates for the festivals are:
SheLA: Early July 2027
SheNYC: Mid-July 2027
SheATL: Mid-August 2027
SheDFW: Early September 2027
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call for submissions: vol. 2 anthology
dykes day
DEADLINE: November 10, 2026
SUBMISSION FEE: $0
INFO: dykes day, celebrating lesbian literature in DC and beyond, seeks submissions and/or pitches to be considered for dykes day volume 2 anthology. all writing will be workshopped and publication process will be steady, accessible and overtime. if you want a home to transform your short stories, plays, poems, essays, erotica, and it is rooted in the politics of lesbianism and queerness; radicalization, non cisheteronormativity, transformation, collaborate on this project.
GENRES / FORMS: They seek poetry, prose, essays, longtorm, shortform, erotica, plays, vignettes, illustration, archival research and experimental or multimedia work.
THEMES: lesbianism, DC, home, food, city life, nightlife, gender, quaint life, spirituality, lineage, art, mental health/neurodivigence, monstrosity, language, archiving, ephemera, late capitalism, Al, sex, sex work, fantasy, technology, family, parenting, water, culture, friendship. whatever you've been writing!
Have something different? Send it. We're interested in work that expands literature across forms, including sound, performance, visual art, and moving image.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
email dykesday@gmail.com
Length - There's no strict word count, but we want to include several pieces per writer. Ex. 1-3 longform, 3-10 shortforms, or a combination. For reference, our last play was about 3,000 words / 17 pages, while you can also submit a handful of
form.jotform.com/dykesday/submissions-and-edit-requests
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INTENSIVE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM 2027
Latinx Playwright Circle |📍New York City
DEADLINE: November 16, 2026
INFO: The Intensive Mentorship is a blind application-based opportunity for LPC community-members to work closely with an established playwright mentor to develop a full-length play.
Each playwright receives an artist stipend, monthly work sessions, one private table reading, and a public industry reading at the end of their residency.
PROGRAM INCLUDES:
Mentorship
Artist Stipend
Artist-Residency at LPC
Classes offered by The Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts
CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSION:
Must be NYC (or tri-state) based.
Must be your Work
Must not have used AI to create the work (uploaded parts of script or whole play to AI Clients)
Must not be enrolled in Higher Education/ Another Residency
Must have attended at least two NYC Latinx Playwrights Circle Sunday Service (virtually or in person).
Must be prepared to be challenged in addressing play structure and character arcs.
Must attach goals for the submitted full length play. When submitting goals, please be clear and specific.
Must submit a full length play. The play submitted is the play that will be developed throughout this process. Please note that we do not accept one act or short plays. While we'd love to support musicals, at this time we are unable to offer the support musicals need for development.
Must be the sole author of the work (no co-writers or partners please)
This is a blind submission, please make sure any identifying information is removed from the submitted play.
Play should require no more than 6 performers (including Stage Directions, double casting is fine).
Please include a title page and character breakdown.
The biggest aspects of this program are both entering a mentor/mentee association and development of new work. If at this time you don’t feel these are things you need or could benefit from, this program may not be a right fit. We are happy to provide you continued support through our other programs.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION:
In submission form, fill out Name, Bio, snail mail address, and email below.
Blind script of the play you’d like to work on during the Intensive.
Blind ten page excerpt we will use in tandem with Artistic Statement for the submission process
Submit a blind Artist Statement page that includes the following:
Synopsis and possible themes you are exploring in the play
Previous development the play has received, (if any)
What kind of feedback is most conducive for your writing process (Liz Lerman Critical Response, prescriptive, etc...)
What are you hoping to gain from your connection with one of our mentors?
Make sure to put the title of your play at the top of the statement page.
Specific and clear goals to be addressed during the program.
Your thoughts on the structure of your play/excerpt
We have provided an Artistic Statement template for your reference. It is not required that you use this template when submitting.
QUESTIONS? If you have any questions regarding submissions, please contact us at: ocabrera@latinxplayrights.com
Please note we may not be able to assist with questions on the day of the submission deadline so please send your questions in advance of the deadline.
We will inform people of their application status by the end of February 2027.
NOTE: Blind submission includes the name on your uploaded files. Please remove any identifiers from your documents and the file name.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf0olju5u2NY9-4wN1Y5qobufZa3u2pJ1paQB14-oBQ2fuQDA/viewform?pli=1
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Latine Playwright Fellowship
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance |📍Chicago, IL
DEADLINE: November 16, 2026
INFO: Applications are officially open for Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s second Latine Playwright Fellowship!
This paid fellowship supports emerging Latine playwrights in Chicago as they develop their piece through mentorship and workshops with Dr. Rey Andújar, peer feedback, and collaboration. This four-month fellowship will culminate in a staged reading of each fellow’s new play at our Spring inicios Festival in May 2027. Three fellows will be selected, each receiving a $3,000 stipend.
PLAYWRIGHT ELIGIBILITY:
Playwrights must identify as Latino/a/e/x.
Playwrights must have resided in the greater Chicagoland area for more than 18 months.
Playwrights must not have had more than one of their plays professionally produced, or published in the past.
Playwrights must not be enrolled in a degree program in writing or playwriting during the fellowship period.
Playwrights must be at least 21 years old.
Playwrights are expected to participate in all of the workshops and events included in the fellowship.
Any previously selected playwrights are not allowed to reapply for a period of three years.
SUBMISSION ELIGIBILITY:
Projects may be written in English or Spanish, or be bilingual.
Each fellow will receive 4 actors and 1 stage reader. Submissions with more than 4 characters and 1 stage reader will require doubling of characters. Please specify which characters will be doubled in your character breakdown.
Work sample: A full-length play or draft from a work in progress (minimum 30 pages). There is no maximum page limit for submissions. However, please note that the selected plays will need to be shortened to fit the 90-minute limit for the staged reading. We are only accepting scripts, not concepts. Plays that do not meet this requirement will automatically be disqualified.
Submissions are limited to one project per playwright.
Submissions can’t be previously professionally produced or have been publicly staged.
Please note that the play you submit for consideration must be the same piece that is workshopped throughout the fellowship. Entries cannot be changed after submission.
To ensure a blind review process, playwrights must omit their names and any identifying information from submitted scripts.
APPLICATION PROCESS AND MATERIALS:
Resume.
Artist Statement (750 words)
A. What kind of work are you interested in making at this moment in your career, and why does it feel urgent to you now?
B. What questions, ideas, or concerns do you consistently explore in your writing?
C. How does this fellowship specifically support your artistic goals at this moment, including the community-building aspect of the program?
Work sample: A full-length play or draft from a work in progress (minimum 30 pages and maximum 80 pages for full length plays). We are only accepting scripts, not concepts. Plays that do not meet this requirement will automatically be disqualified.
Format: Submissions must be single spaced, Times New Roman or Courier, 12 pt font.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP AND inicios 2027 FESTIVAL PROCESS:
Three playwrights will be selected by a committee of Panelistas (reviewers), which will be announced on December 7, 2026.
Selected playwrights are expected to attend a 10-session workshop led by Dr. Rey Andujar. The workshop will take place on Wednesdays between January 27 and May 5, 2027.
All the sessions will be held in person unless otherwise indicated, and location will be provided beforehand.
Wednesdays sessions from 6-8pm:
January 27.
February 10 and 24.
March 10, 17* and 24.
April 7, 14* and 21.
May 5.
* Self-led session.
Fellows will read and review one another’s work and provide feedback, with a CLATA staff member present and without the mentor. One additional self-led workshop date will be selected by the Fellows on January 27.
Selected playwrights are also expected to attend special events between February and May. Dates and event details will be confirmed.
Each playwright will be assigned a Director who will lead the final stage reading of their play.
CLATA will provide a Casting Director to oversee casting needs for each play.
Final table readings and rehearsals will take place after May 5 and before May 21, 2027. Specific dates will be determined.
A final public stage reading of each play will take place as part of inicios 2027 - Chicago Latine Playwright Festival in May 21-23, 2027 at a venue to be determined.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnpPjDJIODxgf9LUqjj-TtOGX3tBYlvuvOPiTd9XBWnkGyNg/viewform
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Emerging Playwrights Fund
Audible
DEADLINE: November 18, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
INFO: The Emerging Playwrights Fund (the “Fund”) is calling theatrical visionaries who are ready to push boundaries and captivate audiences through the intimate, limitless world of audio drama.
This is storytelling without walls. Your words, world-class performers, and millions of listeners waiting to be transported.
WHO SHOULD APPLY: We're seeking early-career theatrical writers who craft immersive fictional experiences that engage, entertain, and inspire. We value diverse perspectives, innovative approaches to form, and stories that harness the unique intimacy and immediacy of audio storytelling. Whether your work explores internal worlds through sound, creates vivid landscapes through language, or experiments with narrative structure—if it pushes boundaries and demands to be heard, we want it.
For this cycle, we're particularly interested in original audio dramas in the following genres:
Action & Adventure
including Mystery, Thrillers, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Core Fiction
including Contemporary Fiction, Romance, and Literary Companion Pieces
ABOUT THE FUND:
Audible is a leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling. Since 2017, our theater initiative, which includes the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City, has been built on one mission: to radically increase access to exceptional plays and performances.
The Emerging Playwrights Fund sits at the heart of that mission. We invest in and nurture self-identifying emerging playwrights—some of the most inventive, creative, and provocative storytellers working today. Through the Fund, we connect extraordinary performers with remarkable original work, amplifying new voices and bringing them to millions of listeners. To date, Audible Theater has commissioned 50 projects through the Fund. We support the creation of original dramatic work written with audio in mind, but theatrical in spirit—stories that live and breathe in the listener's imagination.
WHAT THE FUND PROVIDES: Audible will select up to five applicants to receive a fee of $25,000 each to write and develop an original audio play. In addition to the fee, Audible may provide the selected applicants with creative and logistical resources to assist each artist and project, including but not limited to: development and production fees, casting expertise and talent budget, access to Audible’s state-of-the-art studio and production equipment.
Audible is dedicated to commissioning, developing, and producing work that reflects the diversity of our listeners and our world. We actively encourage submissions from emerging playwrights of all races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and backgrounds.
Your voice, amplified.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Submissions will be accepted from September 23, 2026 – November 18, 2026 (11:59PM EST). To be considered as an applicant for a commission, please CLICK HERE to submit the following:
Playwright Application
One full-length script for an original play (in English language only) that represents your voice ("Script”). Submitted as a pdf or word doc
A professional biography (up to 300 words)
A pitch or summary for an original audio play (Action & Adventure OR Core Fiction preferred)
Please note, by submitting an application you will be directed to a third-party website (hosted by Accubate) and you agree to the applicable Audible and Accubate privacy notice(s).
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Any applicant over the age of 18, resident in US or UK may submit an application. 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., including any of its affiliates (collectively, “Audible”), or any entity involved in any aspect of the administration of the 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.
TIMELINE: Submissions are only accepted in the time period stated above. Due to the number of Scripts that Audible receives, Audible will only consider one submission at a time from each applicant and will not consider resubmissions, including those that have been significantly revised. Audible does not provide feedback on submissions that are not selected. Applicants will be notified regarding the status of their submissions via email, typically within three months of the date it was submitted. Thank you in advance for your patience while we process your submission.
TERMS + CONDITIONS (“Terms”): All submissions must be wholly original and unpublished creations of the applicants. Applications cannot be edited post submission. By submitting a Script, each applicant: (a) represents and warrants that the submitted work is his/her 100% original creation, 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 all materials and elements comprising the submitted work are exclusively owned or controlled by the applicant, (b) agrees to be bound by these Terms and the decisions of Audible Inc. (and its affiliates)in connection with the administration and operation of the Fund, and (c) meets all of the eligibility criteria. 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 Terms, are not satisfied to Audible’s satisfaction.
Applicants who are selected for the Fund, may, if all these Terms are met, enter into Audible’s standard commission agreement (or similar agreement) for development of their selected submission, as well as potential distribution of the developed submission on the Audible service. Development, production, and/or distribution of the selected submission is contingent upon execution of this agreement. Applicant acknowledges and agrees that the commission agreement provides for, among other things: (i) an exclusive option for Audible to produce and/or present one or more live stage productions of the work, (ii) exclusive, worldwide audio rights for Audible to produce, distribute and sell audio-only versions of the work in all audio formats and all languages, in perpetuity, (iii) Audible's participation in proceeds from any disposition of subsidiary rights, and (iv) the right for Audible to shop any ancillary production based on the work. In the event any of the selected applicants do not agree with the above stated requirements, Audible may reject the selected submission and select an alternative selected submission (provided the rest of the eligibility conditions are met).
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.
Applications for the Fund are voluntary and imply full and unrestricted acceptance of all the conditions in these Terms and related policies. Submissions that do not meet the requirements and conditions of the Fund set out in these Terms will not be valid.
These Terms are made in and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of law principles, and the courts of New York located in New York, New York shall have exclusive jurisdiction with respect to disputes arising under these Terms.
audible.com/blog/emerging-playwrights-fund-application
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Theater of Change
Broadway Advocacy Coalition
DEADLINE: November 23, 2026 at 11:59pm
INFO: The Theater of Change is a pioneering initiative developed by Broadway Advocacy Coalition and the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School. This innovative methodology unites theater artists, law and policy students, advocates, and directly impacted community leaders to co-create powerful narratives that drive systemic change.
A UNIQUE APPROACH TO SOCIAL CHANGE:
ToC fosters collaboration across disciplines, empowering participants to:
Blend Artistry, Law, and Advocacy: Using storytelling and performance to highlight systemic injustices.
Center Lived Experiences: Ensuring directly impacted individuals shape the narratives and policy discourse.
Advance Key Policy Issues: Focusing on mass incarceration, educational equity, and political participation.
Create Artivism: Developing narrative-based artistic pieces designed with an activism strategy to influence legal and policy change.
The next Theater of Change Workshop is happening in January 2027.
bwayadvocacycoalition.org/theater-of-change
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artist Residencies in Taiwan & Singapore
PlayCo
DEADLINE: November 29, 2026
INFO: PlayCo is excited to announce that applications are open for two unique and exciting playwright residencies: a six-week residency with Prologue Center in Taipei, Taiwan (May 31-July 11, 2027); and a hybrid, extended, two phase residency with Centre 42 in Singapore, culminating in a two-week in person residency.
These residencies are open to U.S.-based playwrights with a strong interest in international engagement and exchange.
CENTRE 42 × PLAYCO PLAYWRIGHTS COLLABORATIVE RESIDENCY:
Centre 42, Singapore and PlayCo, New York are coming together for a planned three-year international residency exchange, bringing together six mid-career playwrights from Singapore and the United States (3 from Singapore and 3 U.S.-based).
In the first phase, a digital intensive lasting 6 months, April - October of 2027, the playwrights will share work and practices, and explore what it means to write and collaborate for a world beyond one's immediate geographical and cultural context - through conversations, research, exchange and sustained engagement with peers and practitioners from different backgrounds.
What does the international field for playwriting look like? How do plays travel between cultures and contexts? What opportunities does international exchange create for playwrights — and what are its challenges and pitfalls? Rather than prescribing answers, the digital intensive will create a space for the writers themselves to investigate these questions, and others, together.
In the second phase, each of the U.S.- based writers participating in the digital intensive will travel to Singapore for an individual, 2-week in-person residency at Centre 42 in Singapore.
Eligibility:
PlayCo is looking for mid-career playwrights based in the United States who are interested in expanding their practice and thinking about their work in an international context.
The residency is particularly suited to writers who:
Have an established playwriting practice and body of work
Have had at least 2 professional productions in the U.S., as well as other commissions, workshops, readings and/or other work with professional theatres, but have not had opportunities to present or share their work overseas
Are curious about how their work might exist beyond their immediate cultural or geographical context
Want to consider or pursue international engagement
Want to expand their practice by plugging into a global community of theatremakers and building new networks
Are interested in engaging practically and critically with questions of international theatre-making
Are excited by dialogue and exchange with writers from another country
PLEASE NOTE: Selected artists are solely responsible for ensuring that they meet all applicable travel and immigration requirements for the duration of the residency. This includes obtaining and maintaining all travel documents, permissions, and authorizations necessary to enter, stay in, and depart from Singapore and any countries through which they may transit, including but not limited to, valid passports, visas, and any required entry or immigration permits, as applicable.
Applicants must also possess valid authorization to work in the United States that will remain active through the active phases of the residency, 2027 - 2030.
PLAYWRIGHT RESIDENCY WITH PROLOGUE CENTER IN TAIWAN:
PlayCo will send 1 U.S.-based playwright to a 6-week residency with Prologue Center, located in Taipei, Taiwan, May 31-July 11, 2027. The residency is timed to coincide with the 2027 Taiwan International Play Reading Festival, co-organized by Prologue Center and Taipei
Performing Arts Center (TPAC), which will focus on writers and plays from South East Asia. Visit the offcial website of this year’s TIPRF, and here’s a recap video clip for your reference. The residency is designed to provide time to attend the 2-week festival and potentially participate as a panelist, and also to collaborate on Prologue Center's public reading of the writer's own work translated into Mandarin, discuss their work in a public forum, and learn about the Taiwanese theatre scene by meeting members of the local artistic community and visiting important venues and sites. The residency will also include travel to other important theatres and cultural institutions outside Taipei.
Eligibility:
This opportunity is open to U.S.- based playwrights with a strong interest in international engagement and exchange, who have experience including at least 1 professionally produced play at an established institutional theatre, as well as other commissions, workshops, readings and/or other work with professional theatres.
The selected artist is solely responsible for ensuring that they meet all applicable travel and immigration requirements for the duration of the residency. This includes obtaining and maintaining all travel documents, permissions, and authorizations necessary to enter, stay in, and depart from Taiwan and any countries through which they may transit, including but not limited to, valid passports, visas, and any required entry or immigration permits, as applicable.
In addition, applicants must have legal authorization to work in the U.S. that will remain valid through at least August 31, 2027.
playco.org/event/applications-open-for-taiwan-singapore-residencies
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Many Voices Fellowships
Playwrights’ Center |📍St. Paul, MN
DEADLINE: December 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT
INFO: The Many Voices Fellowships are intended to support early career Black playwrights, playwrights of color, and/or Indigenous playwrights (what’s this?) who demonstrate extraordinary potential, artistic vision, and a commitment to a two-year professional development residency in Minnesota.
Within each two-year cycle, Many Voices Fellows are classified as part-time employees of Playwrights’ Center, with a salary of $25,000/year (paid bi-weekly), and are eligible for all employee benefits, including employer-sponsored health insurance. This classification includes expectations of work in support of Playwrights’ Center. Each fellow will satisfy 15 hours of work activities during each year of the fellowship. This may include but is not limited to reading scripts, working front of house for public events, or serving as a teaching assistant for a class.
Fellows commit to spending the two-year fellowship period (July 1, 2027-June 30, 2029) in Minnesota and actively participating in the Center’s programs. Fellows may spend no more than 10 weeks per year (20 weeks over two years) out of town during their residency. Housing in and travel to Minnesota are not provided.
Please note that the average cost of living for a single adult in the Twin Cities is $48,000-52,000 according to theEconomic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator.
Fellows also have access to $3,000/year to support customized play development through workshops with professional teams, consultations with experienced artists, and other resources tailored to each specific writer.
Beyond the financial support, the fellowship provides an opportunity to work both in cohort and individually with Playwrights’ Center artistic staff—some of the most experienced theater professionals in the country—to develop plays and connect playwrights to producers of new work. This holistic and customized combination of financial support, play development support, and professional connection is career-changing for most playwrights. At the end of the fellowship term, all fellows will become Affiliated Writers of Playwrights’ Center.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be over the age of 18 and must have the legal right to work in the United States during the fellowship term. Applicants may not have had more than two different plays fully produced by a professional theater at the time of the application. Productions that open after the application deadline (December 3, 2026) do not count, and co-written or ensemble-created works do not count.
Playwrights who have not received a Many Voices Fellowship in the past are eligible.
Playwrights who have received one one-year Many Voices Fellowship in the past are eligible.
Playwrights who have received two Many Voices Fellowships of any length OR one two-year Many Voices Fellowship in the past are not eligible.
(In other words, playwrights may not be a Many Voices Fellow for more than two total years.)
Previous Many Voices Fellowship recipients must apply with a different play than the one that accompanied their previous successful application. Playwrights who have received other Playwrights’ Center fellowships may apply, provided they still meet the Many Voices Fellowship eligibility guidelines. Recipients may not receive any other Playwrights’ Center fellowships during the two-year cycle.
pwcenter.org/programs/many-voices-program/
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Many Voices Mentorship
Playwrights’ Center |📍St. Paul, MN
DEADLINE: December 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT
INFO: The Many Voices Mentorship is intended to support Minnesota-based Black artists, artists of color, and/or Indigenous artists (what’s this?) who are new to playwriting but demonstrate artistic potential and an interest in learning more about the craft, and who will be able to take advantage of the resources that Playwrights’ Center provides.
The mentorship provides a $2,000 stipend, $850 in funds to develop work, and free access to over $1,000 in services designed to introduce beginning playwrights to the craft of playwriting. These services can include a staged reading with professional actors, multi-week classes taught by leading playwriting professionals, an array of one-night seminars, and a two-year Playwrights’ Center membership. At the end of the mentorship term, the mentee will become an Affiliated Writer of Playwrights’ Center.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be over the age of 18 and must be residents of Minnesota at the time of application. Recipients must maintain residency in Minnesota, within 75 miles of the Twin Cities, during the mentorship year (July 1, 2027-June 30, 2028) and have the legal right to work in the United States during the mentorship term. (Applicants based farther away in the state of Minnesota may apply, but if selected they are responsible for all transportation and housing related to program participation.) Applicants must not have had any plays fully produced by a professional theater by the time of the application. Productions which open after December 3, 2026, do not count, and co-written or ensemble-created works do not count. Current or past Playwrights’ Center Core Writers or recipients of other Playwrights’ Center playwriting fellowships are not eligible to apply. Previous McKnight Theater Artist Fellows may apply, as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements. Playwrights may not receive more than two Many Voices Mentorships. Previous Many Voices Mentees applying for an additional term must submit a different writing sample from the one included in their previous successful application. Staff and board members of the Jerome Foundation and Playwrights’ Center and their immediate family members are not eligible. Students who will be in K-12 education programs during the mentorship year are not eligible. Students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs are eligible.
Mentees are encouraged to participate in at least two multi-week classes over the course of the year.
pwcenter.org/programs/many-voices-mentorship/
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Terrence McNally New Works Incubator (CYCLE 5)
Rattlestick
DEADLINE: December 4, 2026 at 11:59pm EST (or when 500 applications have been received)
INFO: As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.
McNally fellows are selected by a panel of renowned American playwrights. Past panelists include Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Chen, Halley Feiffer, Madeleine George, David Henry Hwang, Mike Lew, Donja R. Love, Rehana Mirza, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel.
ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM:
Stipend - Each McNally fellow will receive a one-time stipend of $10,000 to be used as the playwright sees fit to best further their goals.
Mentorship - 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 Incubation - After 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.
29-Hour Workshop - The second part of the incubator will take the form of a developmental workshop culminating in a 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.