Deadline: November 18, 2021
The Many Voices Fellowship is intended to support early career Black playwrights, playwrights of color, and/or Indigenous playwrights who demonstrate extraordinary potential, artistic vision, and a commitment to spending a year in residence in Minnesota developing their work with the Playwrights' Center in community with other fellows. The fellowship is additionally supported by a professional theater artist mentor. Past mentors include Martine Kei Green-Rogers, Christina Ham, Daniel Alexander Jones, and Mark Valdez.
Many Voices Fellows will receive a $20,000 stipend and $3,000 in development support. Fellows spend a year-long residency in Minnesota (July 1, 20-June 30, 2023), working in an individualized and hands-on way with the Playwrights' Center artistic staff—some of the most experienced and connected theater professionals in the country. Beyond the financial stipend, the fellowship includes year-long support through workshops with professional directors, dramaturgs, and actors and through the connections the Center makes between playwrights and producers of new work. This holistic and customized combination of financial support, connections with other artists, and professional connections is career-changing for most playwrights.
Applicants must reside in, and have the legal right to work in, the U.S. during the fellowship term. Applicants may not have had more than one play fully produced by professional theaters at the time of the application. Productions that open after November 18, 2021 do not count. (Note for 2020, 2021, and 2022: any programmed/announced productions cancelled due to COVID-19 don't need to count towards your production limit. Please be sure to mark cancellations or postponements clearly on your resume) Fellows commit to spending the fellowship period in Minnesota and actively participating in the Center's programs. Housing and travel are not provided. Playwrights may not receive more than two Many Voices Fellowships. A previous Many Voices Fellow applying for a second fellowship must submit a different play than the play that accompanied the previous successful application. Recipients may not receive other Playwrights' Center fellowships during the year.
Each application will contain the following pieces:
-Application Form
(including contact details, eligibility, and demographic information)
-Playwriting Resume
Please mark clearly which productions (if any) meet the criteria for being "fully produced by a professional theater." Professional productions are defined as productions for which the author and primary artists (actors, directors, and creative collaborators) were reasonably compensated and that received at least ten public performances each. Ten-minute or one-act plays and university, college, secondary school, amateur, and Equity showcase/waiver productions are not considered full professional productions. Productions that open after November 18, 2021 do not count. (Note for 2020, 2021, and 2022: any programmed/announced productions cancelled due to COVID-19 don't need to count towards your production limit. Please be sure to mark cancellations or postponements clearly on your resume.)
-1 page Artistic Statement and Goals
This is a one-page artistic statement and description of your goals for the fellowship year. While contextualizing your current artistic life, please describe your artistic goals for the fellowship year. The fellowship offers time to write and develop work with professional collaborators—and the opportunity to utilize the many and varied resources of the Playwrights' Center, including career support, connections with artistic leaders, and teaching and community engagement. In what specific ways would this fellowship impact your artistic growth? How prepared are you to fully take advantage of this opportunity? This statement, along with your script, should help provide insight into your vision as a theater maker.
-Full-length play script
A full-length play generally runs at least 45 minutes. If you are hoping to submit a script that is shorter than 45 minutes in length, please contact Julia at juliab@pwcenter.org to discuss. All script submissions must be written only by the applicant—no co-written submissions will be accepted. Scripts for musicals may be submitted by the book writer only. The submitted script must be a complete draft that represents your best playwriting.
-Two letters of recommendation
Please request two letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with your work as a playwright. Letters must be received by the application deadline: November 18, 2021. You will be sending a request through the application portal below.
Questions may be addressed to Artistic Programs Manager Julia Brown at juliab@pwcenter.org.