American Woman playwriting fellowship

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Deadline: August 7, 2021

Submissions for our playwriting fellowship, American Woman, are now open!

American Woman is an on-going theatre development and presentation project comprised of solo shows by and about women in the United States. It has two primary components:

1. Lab – solo pieces conceived and developed from proposal to performance draft.
2. Public Presentation – presentation with production elements for a paying public.

This project speaks to the broad and varying definitions of those two words: American Woman – regardless of whether or not these words are used individually or in tandem. The project aims to examine American women through varying lenses, be it historical, cultural, racial, or political. It’s an exploration that’s especially relevant now since we’re arrived at a moment in our country’s history when there is a clear legislative push to narrow or limit the definition of both the word “American” and the word “woman.” American Woman will include solo shows and plays by women of different races, places of birth, religions, cultures, gender identifications, ages, physical challenges, and classes. Our project will resist narrow definitions, encourage inclusivity, and contribute to positive discourse.

The development phase of American Woman is executed through a monthly four-hour workshop facilitated by the project leader and project dramaturg. Brainstorming leads to text that receives review and critique before graduating to table reads of early drafts. At each session, writers are given dramaturgical notes and encouraged to revise their work for the next session. Emphasis is put on expressing characters through action, dramatic structure, and story theory.

By resourcing playwrights of color and women playwrights from the early developmental phase all the way through to a full production, the DQT realizes its mission to produce work written by playwrights from these underrepresented groups. Additionally, by donating blocks of free tickets to educational enrichment programs including Girls Write Now, Urban Art Beat, TEAK, and Harlem RBI, we continue to encourage diversity in our base audience, which is an equally vital component of our mission.

The application deadline is August 7th, 2021. Interviews will be conducted throughout August, and selected candidates will be notified August 31st. Due to the high volume of applications, only selected candidates will be notified of their acceptance. But on behalf of all of us here at DQT, thank you for sharing your work with us!