Call for Experimental Theatre Playwrights: CUT / EDGE

NYC, 2023

Playwrights, Application Deadline December 1, 2022

Final decisions by December 15

Please send a writing sample (10 pages), artist statement and resume to 

Cut Edge Collective <cutedgecollective@gmail.com>

Join us in 2023 in NYC for our fourth season.

We meet twice monthly, on the second and third Tuesdays of each month (except July and August). 

On the second Tuesday of each month, we will hear the work of a single writer out loud (read by professional actors) and discuss this writer’s work. 

On the third Tuesday of each month, we will engage in a moderated philosophical discussion about where we’re at in terms of style, form, the direction of theatre/art today etc. Each accepted writer will have the chance to suggest a topic for the monthly salon, and lead the discussion.  (Past discussions have included what makes a theatrical production experimental; from what/where do we draw our inspiration; censorship in theater; mysticism in theater; differences in ideas of catharsis between East and West; gender issues in written theatre roles; when is spectacle essential to theatre; repetition and play in storytelling, etc.)

PLEASE NOTE: ALL SESSIONS WILL BE IN PERSON, WITH NO ZOOM OPTION, TAKING PLACE IN THE PENN NEIGHBORHOOD (NEAR 36TH STREET AND 8TH AVENUE).

PLAYWRIGHTS MAY ONLY MISS FOUR SESSIONS TOTAL (TWO EACH FROM THE WORKSHOP AND SALON).  AFTER THAT, THEY WILL NOT BE ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WRITERS RETREAT OR 10-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL.

The Dirt

Upon invitation, the rate is $125 for the year. This covers space to meet for an entire year and a modest stipend for the actors who’ll read our words during the workshop meetings.  Additionally, it will help defer costs for our annual 10-minute play Festival, available to  all accepted writers (Cut Edge provides TD, SM, free rehearsal space options and all marketing).  Lastly, the fee helps underwrite our 5 day, western Maine writers retreat, taking place in September -- exact dates TBD in conjunction with the 2023 writers. 

(Our 2022 cohort will be presenting their 10-minute plays this February 2023 at the Tank, 312 W. 36th Street, on Feb 9 & 10 at 7pm and Feb 11th, at 3pm).

The Breakdown

• To participate, you must be an experimental theatre writer. What do we mean by this? You must write for live performance and you must be in the process of creating something that isn’t “conventional.” This departure from normative theatre can include dialogue, structure, staging, character and/or character development, format, passage of time or any other manner of pushing at theatrical boundaries. Teach us something.
• The Cut Edge Collective currently has only a few available slots.  Playwrights will be selected based upon the quality of the work submitted and experimental nature of the work.
• If you’re in New York City and able to commit to two events monthly in Midtown, and write experimental work for theatre, please send a sample, segment or example and tell us why you want to be a part of the collective.

And So Who Is This For

• Experimental Theatre Writers
• Able to Commit to Twice Monthly Meetings in Midtown Manhattan, through 2023 
• With Compelling Samples
• $125 for Space, Actors and Ten Minute Play Festival (early 2023).  The writers workshop will occasion another $20/day fee ($100 total), which will include transportation, room and board (but not alcohol, coffee and meals out, local t-shirts and other swag, etc.)

Please reach out if you have any questions to: Cut Edge Collective: cutedgecollective@gmail.com