Thank you for your interest in The Playwrights Realm and our open submissions programs! This web portal will let you apply to:
Writing Fellowship, only
Scratchpad Series, only
BOTH Writing Fellowship and Scratchpad Series, simultaneously
Native American Artist Lab
Applicants for the Writing Fellowship and/or Scratchpad Series will submit:
Online application - short-answer questionnaire (see details here)
Artistic résume (PDF format)
Complete draft of the play that you wish to develop (PDF format), with your name and the play title on the cover page.
Music samples (if applicable)
Applications for the Writing Fellowship and/or Scratchpad Series must be submitted by February 5th, 2024, at 11:59PM EST.
Applicants for the Native American Artist Lab will submit:
Online application - short-answer questionnaire (see details here)
Artistic résumé, bio, or list of history. Can be written or a video/audio recording.
A draft of the piece you wish to develop, with your name and title on the cover page. If there are multiple authors or generators, please list all names on the cover page. (PDF format)
Supplemental Materials (optional): Include up to 30 pages/15mins of different materials to give a larger sense of your artistic practice.
Applications for the Native American Artist Lab must be submitted by March 11th, 2024, at 11:59PM EST.
Please carefully read program details below, and then decide which application to fill out.
Writing Fellowship ONLY
The Writing Fellowship is at the heart of what we do: helping writers write. Four early-career playwrights receive nine months of resources, readings and feedback designed to help them reach their professional and artistic goals. The culminating event of the program is our INK’D Festival, which features public readings of each Fellows’ play. To be eligible you must:
Live within commuting distance to Midtown Manhattan, and be able to make it to regular evening writers meetings, rehearsals, and events.
Have a script that would benefit from a nine-month, intensive development process.
Scratchpad Series ONLY
Scratchpad Series jumpstarts The Realm’s relationship with early-career playwrights from around the country. Participants will spend a week in New York City for a developmental reading of their play with top-notch professional collaborators—director, cast, and The Realm’s artistic staff. If the playwright is based outside of New York, The Realm will provide travel and housing or per diem. To be eligible you must:
Have a script that would benefit from dramaturgical conversation with The Realm and 15-hour developmental reading process reading. (Plays can be anything from a rough first draft to a play that is close to production-ready.)
Be able to be present in New York City for a process of between 3-6 days, at a time agreed upon by both you and The Realm.
Apply to BOTH programs
Please be prepared to discuss how you think your script could benefit from the two different opportunities these distinct programs offer. To use this form you must:
Live within commuting distance to Midtown Manhattan, and be able to make it to regular evening writers meetings, rehearsals, and events.
Understand that you are applying to both programs with a single script. We accept just one play, per playwright, per season.
To access the application form you will either log into your Submittable account, or if you don’t have an account already, create a secure User ID and log in for Submittable. This will enable you to save drafts as you work and verify that your application has been received.
Native American Artist Lab ONLY*
The Native American Artist Lab seeks to uplift artists from Domestic Nations and projects rooted in Native practices. The program offers individualized attention to recipients and provides further support depending on the desires of participants, including but not limited to design consultations, individualized mentorship, and industry networking. A paid developmental process of up to one week culminates in a reading in New York City, with the Native Artistic Team choosing whether the reading is internal or public. To apply for the Native American Artist Lab you must:
Have a project that would benefit from dramaturgical conversation with The Realm and a 15-hour developmental reading process. (Plays can be anything from a rough first draft to a play that is close to production-ready.)
Be able to legally work in the USA.
Be able to be present in New York City, should circumstances so allow, for a reading process of between 3-6 days at a time agreed upon by both you and The Realm.
You can also review more information on the Native American Artist Lab and an FAQHERE.
To access the application form you will either log into your Submittable account, or if you don’t have an account already, create a secure User ID and log in for Submittable. This will enable you to save drafts as you work and verify that your application has been received.
*If you wish to apply for The Native American Artist Lab and also to one or both of the other open submission programs that is allowed but since the application process are different you will need to fill out two separate applications.
Thanks for posting these resources. Whenever they ask for a playwright resume I wonder how much of a shot I really have, since I have, like, one line I can put on it. But hopefully that’s just my deep-seated insecurity about being a playwright with no relevant academic background trying to break into an insanely competitive field.
Thanks for posting these resources. Whenever they ask for a playwright resume I wonder how much of a shot I really have, since I have, like, one line I can put on it. But hopefully that’s just my deep-seated insecurity about being a playwright with no relevant academic background trying to break into an insanely competitive field.