New Dramatists open for playwrights

web site

G U I D E L I N E S   F O R   R E S I D E N T   P L A Y W R I G H T   C O M P A N Y

What is New Dramatists?
New Dramatists pursues a singular mission: To identify gifted playwrights and give them the time, space, and tools to develop their craft, so that they may fulfill their potential and make lasting contributions to the theatre. We offer our playwright company an artistic home and self-guided laboratory for seven years, free of charge, in the company of their most gifted peers. Our playwright company consists of emerging and mid-career writers that collectively embodies an artistic, cultural, ethnic, and geographic diversity rarely found in the American theatre. Our services include, our Playwrights Laboratory—i.e., readings, workshops and innovative studios for new plays and musicals; Full Stage—a program that pairs New Dramatists playwrights with producing organizations thereby linking new play development and production, and Professional Support—i.e., advocacy, dynamic process design that supports individual project goals, casting, tailored career support, free copying, grants, awards, retreats and international exchanges. Our building houses all of this work and more. The playwrights can write in private writing studios, hold meetings in our classroom or library, stay in our temporary residence rooms, or create new work in our two theatre spaces. New incoming playwrights receive a free one-year membership to the Dramatists Guild. New Dramatists is a member of Fractured Atlas Open Arts Network.
_______________________________________
Who Can Apply?
~ Playwrights living in New York City and the surrounding tri-state area;
~ Playwrights outside the tri-state area who are able to demonstrate the ability to spend time in New York City, the desire to utilize New Dramatists’ services, and the readiness to participate in a dynamic artistic community.
~ If you are not a citizen of the United States, you must have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. with permanent INS work authorization in order to apply.
_______________________________________
What Do I Upload?
~ Full-length plays (a full-length play is a single play that constitutes a full evening of theatre. For example, a 90 - minute play without an intermission IS a full length play.)
~  Books to musicals (music cannot be uploaded through our paperless process, rather, files must be uploaded to   
~  SoundCloud. Simply create a free account, upload your files, and share them with New Dramatists.) Please do not  submit music in place of the book, and please note that past admissions committees have often found libretti less competitive than plays.
~ Statement of Interest: A one-page statement addressing why you want to become a resident playwright at New Dramatists. If you are applying for national residency please include how you propose to participate in New Dramatists’ community and New York City activities.
~ Bio, Resume or CV: A copy of your current Playwright/Artistic Bio, Resume or CV for the committee’s consideration.
_______________________________________
Please Do Not Submit:

~ Screenplays and/or teleplays;
~ Translations or adaptations from previously published material;
~ Short one-act plays or 10-minute plays, whether collected or alone (thematically connected short plays will no longer be accepted as a full-length play submission.).
~ Your plays in hard copy or published formats.
~ Letters of recommendation. (See below for details.)

_______________________________________
How Does the Selection Process Work?

PANEL
A seven-person panel of past and present New Dramatists writers and outside theatre professionals reads the submissions. The panel changes completely from year to year.  Special efforts are made to balance the panel in terms of aesthetic sensibilities, gender, race, age, etc., as diversity is crucial to the adjudication process.

CIRCULATION
Over the course of nine months, the panel reads submissions over a series of three rounds: in round one, applicants’ names are not attached to the plays; in rounds two (semi-final) and three (final) names are attached. The panel meets three times to discuss the work, and, by consensus, winnows down the list of applicants and determines the new incoming group. (All “A” plays are read; “B’ plays are circulated as applicants are advanced through the process.)

STATUS OF LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
We are no longer accepting letters of recommendation as part of the admissions process.  Instead, once the submission window closes, we will circulate the applicant list to the current resident company and alumni. After reviewing the list, they may choose to advocate in favor of one applicant. That advocacy will result in the automatic circulation of both the “A” play and the “B” play to two different committee members for evaluation in Round one. It will NOT change the status of the application.

APPLICANT NAMES WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED TO THE PANEL IN THE FIRST ROUND
Please note that in the first round of reading the playwrights’ names will not be disclosed to the readers. In the semi-final and final rounds, names will be attached to the plays. Thank you for your patience as we explore an amended admissions process that respects the presence of the New Dramatists community while also maintaining a pure focus on the merit of each person’s work.

NOTIFICATION
Notifications of status are sent in a rolling fashion: a round of letters goes out in February, the second round of letters goes out in April, and the final round of letters goes out in May. Writers who are accepted into New Dramatists are notified in May.
_______________________________________
What Does New Dramatists Ask of its Playwrights?
We do not charge resident playwrights dues or fees. We do ask, though, that they make full use of our programs and services and participate actively in this artistic community.
_______________________________________
When Are New Applications Accepted?

The online paperless application process will accept your materials between August 1 – September 1 until 11:59 pm. 

Once the window closes, we will be unable to process any more applications. The application begins by visiting newdramatists.org/admissions and clicking on “Begin Application.” Applicants are guided through a simple process that will collect all of their materials in six easy steps.