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Deadline: October 16, 2020
Deadline: October 16, 2020
Pay-what-you-can application fees. If you’d like to request a Fee Waiver, please email literary@playwrightsfoundation.org Thank you!
Our organization’s maximum capacity for reading is 750 plays. We may close the application process before the October 16th, 2020 deadline if we reach that number, so please apply early. The link to apply will go live on September 4th, 2020, please check back then.
New for this year: Due to the economic hardship impacting our industry from shutdowns because of Covid-19, application fees are Pay What You Can. After uploading your application and script, you will be prompted to a separate form for an application fee. Suggested range ($5-30). If you’d like to request a Fee Waiver, please email literary@playwrightsfoundation.org Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in applying to be a part of Playwrights Foundation’s programming. Playwrights Foundation supports and champions contemporary playwrights in the creation of new works to sustain theater as a vital, dynamic art form.
Every season, we assess a high volume of plays, and we strive to create a process which is equitable and fair to all who apply. Every script will be read fully twice by readers on our National Committee, which are composed of professionals who are advocates and allies of new work. Before any decisions are made regarding our Semi-Finalists round, multiple staff members will evaluate each writer’s individual development goals and resumes.
As one of the leading play development centers in the U.S. with a long history, Playwrights Foundation fosters the creative process of playmaking by sustaining a commitment to the playwright, whom we regard as the creative wellspring of the theater. The organization has a deep familiarity with the work of a large range of playwrights, and work to connect those writers with creative producers interested in new play production. Special attention is given to Bay Area writers, emerging writers of any age, BIPOC and other historically marginalized writers.
You may have questions about applying, including if this opportunity is the right one for you. Our staff welcomes these questions and we are in contact with the Dramatists Guild and LMDA regarding best practices for our organization. We hope you have a good experience engaging with us, as you entrust us with reading and evaluating your latest new play. We welcome writers of all ages, backgrounds and identities, and celebrate both national and local writers.
We invite playwrights to apply for the 44th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, where ultimately, four to five plays will be chosen for development. The reading process spans several months and everyone who applies will receive notification of their status before we announce BAPF’s 2021 summer festival.
Applications for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival are open to any playwrights living in North America and writing primarily in English (multilingual plays are accepted) who consider themselves either an emerging writer (of any age) or mid-career playwright.
‘Unproduced scripts’ we follow the Dramatists Guild’s definition as “a script that has not been “professionally” produced. Readings, staged readings, AEA workshops, development productions, amateur productions, concert versions, etc.” are not professional productions.
‘Full-length’— We ask that your scripts are a minimum of 60 pages in length, but if it is shorter and you know that it does take more than an hour of stage time, simply email our literary team to ask if it is eligible. We are not a 10-Minute play nor One-Act play contest, but looking for more substantial dramaturgy of interest to producing theatre seasons.
Playwrights chosen for the festival will be paired with an artistic team composed of a professional dramaturg, director, and actors, and other artists as needed. The lead artistic team members will go on a 3-day retreat the weekend prior to the festival, and will subsequently receive two staged readings over two weeks, each one separated by five to six days for rehearsals and rewrites. Local and national producers, theater artists and the general public are invited to the festival to see the staged readings and meet the playwrights.
We want to emphasize that the public staged readings are not intended as a showcase for a finished play, and the readings are advertised to our audiences as rehearsals rather than performances; our festival actively fosters the creative process of playmaking, and not “finishing” the work before the public reading. We equally value the creative work in the room and the public readings as opportunities to advance each individual playwright’s developmental goals. Our organization also values connecting playwrights to creative partners and producers.
Checklist before applying:
Our organization’s maximum capacity for reading is 750 plays. We may close the application process before the October 16th, 2020 deadline if we reach that number, so please apply early. The link to apply will go live on September 4th, 2020, please check back then.
New for this year: Due to the economic hardship impacting our industry from shutdowns because of Covid-19, application fees are Pay What You Can. After uploading your application and script, you will be prompted to a separate form for an application fee. Suggested range ($5-30). If you’d like to request a Fee Waiver, please email literary@playwrightsfoundation.org Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in applying to be a part of Playwrights Foundation’s programming. Playwrights Foundation supports and champions contemporary playwrights in the creation of new works to sustain theater as a vital, dynamic art form.
Every season, we assess a high volume of plays, and we strive to create a process which is equitable and fair to all who apply. Every script will be read fully twice by readers on our National Committee, which are composed of professionals who are advocates and allies of new work. Before any decisions are made regarding our Semi-Finalists round, multiple staff members will evaluate each writer’s individual development goals and resumes.
As one of the leading play development centers in the U.S. with a long history, Playwrights Foundation fosters the creative process of playmaking by sustaining a commitment to the playwright, whom we regard as the creative wellspring of the theater. The organization has a deep familiarity with the work of a large range of playwrights, and work to connect those writers with creative producers interested in new play production. Special attention is given to Bay Area writers, emerging writers of any age, BIPOC and other historically marginalized writers.
You may have questions about applying, including if this opportunity is the right one for you. Our staff welcomes these questions and we are in contact with the Dramatists Guild and LMDA regarding best practices for our organization. We hope you have a good experience engaging with us, as you entrust us with reading and evaluating your latest new play. We welcome writers of all ages, backgrounds and identities, and celebrate both national and local writers.
We invite playwrights to apply for the 44th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, where ultimately, four to five plays will be chosen for development. The reading process spans several months and everyone who applies will receive notification of their status before we announce BAPF’s 2021 summer festival.
Applications for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival are open to any playwrights living in North America and writing primarily in English (multilingual plays are accepted) who consider themselves either an emerging writer (of any age) or mid-career playwright.
Playwrights Foundation is strongly committed to developing the work of emerging and mid-career writers, and we offer other opportunities for more established playwrights and long-time alums to continue sharing work with us.
Applications must be full-length, unproduced and original plays in PDF form. We do accept adaptations, but not translations. Plays that have previously received a workshop or university production are considered unproduced.
Only one application is allowed per playwright. If you were selected for the 2020 Bay Area Playwrights Festival we ask you observe a one-year hiatus from applying for the festival. Playwrights can submit a new draft of a play they previously submitted during one additional submission cycle. We will not accept new drafts of plays that have been submitted in at least two previous submission cycles. We do not accept musicals at this time.
We define those terms as follows:
‘Emerging’ refers to playwrights who are relatively early in their careers – student, recent playwriting program graduate (up to 3 years), and older dramatists who have had 0-3 professional (paid) productions of their work. You can be emerging at any age and we celebrate that.
‘Mid-career’ as playwrights who have received more than 3 professional productions, and who are generally working professional playwrights, but not yet fully established with multiple regional LORT productions. We are looking for a mix of career experiences to create a cohort, so all writers are welcome.
Applications must be full-length, unproduced and original plays in PDF form. We do accept adaptations, but not translations. Plays that have previously received a workshop or university production are considered unproduced.
Only one application is allowed per playwright. If you were selected for the 2020 Bay Area Playwrights Festival we ask you observe a one-year hiatus from applying for the festival. Playwrights can submit a new draft of a play they previously submitted during one additional submission cycle. We will not accept new drafts of plays that have been submitted in at least two previous submission cycles. We do not accept musicals at this time.
We define those terms as follows:
‘Emerging’ refers to playwrights who are relatively early in their careers – student, recent playwriting program graduate (up to 3 years), and older dramatists who have had 0-3 professional (paid) productions of their work. You can be emerging at any age and we celebrate that.
‘Mid-career’ as playwrights who have received more than 3 professional productions, and who are generally working professional playwrights, but not yet fully established with multiple regional LORT productions. We are looking for a mix of career experiences to create a cohort, so all writers are welcome.
‘Unproduced scripts’ we follow the Dramatists Guild’s definition as “a script that has not been “professionally” produced. Readings, staged readings, AEA workshops, development productions, amateur productions, concert versions, etc.” are not professional productions.
‘Full-length’— We ask that your scripts are a minimum of 60 pages in length, but if it is shorter and you know that it does take more than an hour of stage time, simply email our literary team to ask if it is eligible. We are not a 10-Minute play nor One-Act play contest, but looking for more substantial dramaturgy of interest to producing theatre seasons.
Playwrights chosen for the festival will be paired with an artistic team composed of a professional dramaturg, director, and actors, and other artists as needed. The lead artistic team members will go on a 3-day retreat the weekend prior to the festival, and will subsequently receive two staged readings over two weeks, each one separated by five to six days for rehearsals and rewrites. Local and national producers, theater artists and the general public are invited to the festival to see the staged readings and meet the playwrights.
We want to emphasize that the public staged readings are not intended as a showcase for a finished play, and the readings are advertised to our audiences as rehearsals rather than performances; our festival actively fosters the creative process of playmaking, and not “finishing” the work before the public reading. We equally value the creative work in the room and the public readings as opportunities to advance each individual playwright’s developmental goals. Our organization also values connecting playwrights to creative partners and producers.
Checklist before applying:
- A full-length Script in PDF form, titled LastNameFirstName_PlayTitle_DraftDate
- Resume in PDF form, titled LastNameFIrstName_Resume
- A list of three Development Goals (500 words max)
- A 1-2 sentence synopsis of your play
- You are a playwright living in North America writing primarily in English (Multilingual plays accepted).
- You have read our website and acknowledge the defined terms.
- Application fees will be prompted at the end, and are Pay What You Can. If you would like to request a Fee Waiver, please contact literary@playwrightsfoundation.org