Deadline: July 6, 2026
PlayList Project Application Form - 2026
We are pleased to announce the fourth annual cycle of PlayList, a short play development series. Each participating playwright will write a new 10-minute play, ready for submission to festivals and other opportunities, supported by the new play dramaturgy community of the CRY HAVOC Company. The project will culminate in a public presentation of the play collection. Applications close end of day Monday, July 6th.
PlayList is for writers of any background, identity, education or experience level who are interested in honing their work on a short script with a room full of artists experienced in new play development.
Applicants need to be local to the NYC area to participate and CRY HAVOC is especially seeking artists from underrepresented communities for this project. No fee to apply or participate; writers are paid a stipend for the use of their work in the public presentation.
The CRY HAVOC Company believes that writing a script doesn’t have to be a solitary experience. Feedback at key points in the writing process can bring you closer to your goals. Our approach to script development places your writing goals at the center of the workshop discussion, ensuring that collaborators are offering feedback in service of the play you are trying to write.
If you are interested in seeing how our structured feedback process can support your work, apply to be one of our PlayList writers!
PlayList participants will write new 10-minute scripts inspired by creative prompts linked by a theme. The 2026 theme is PlayList: Road Trip. Each writer will draw inspiration for a two-character play from a road trip song and an American roadside attraction.
What’s the Process?
SELECT
Playwrights apply to the project, sharing a writing sample and a song and landmark to serve as inspiration for a ten-minute play.
SHUFFLE
The songs and landmarks are reassigned randomly among the five selected playwrights.
CREATE
Each PlayList writer drafts a ten-minute, two-character play inspired by another playwright’s prompts.
COLLAB
Writers develop their drafts over several feedback sessions in the CRY HAVOC Workshop.
PLAY
Actors and directors join the process to present the PlayList collection as a public Equity 29-Hour Reading of the plays.
How does the collaboration work?
The CRY HAVOC Company believes that writing a script doesn’t have to be a solitary experience. Feedback at key points in the writing process can bring you closer to your goals. Our approach to script development places your writing goals at the center of the workshop discussion, ensuring that collaborators are offering feedback in service of the play you are trying to write.
If you are interested in seeing how our structured feedback process can support your work, apply to be one of our PlayList writers!
PlayList participants will write new 10-minute scripts inspired by creative prompts linked by a theme. The 2026 theme is PlayList: Road Trip. Each writer will draw inspiration for a two-character play from a road trip song and an American roadside attraction.
What’s the Process?
SELECT
Playwrights apply to the project, sharing a writing sample and a song and landmark to serve as inspiration for a ten-minute play.
SHUFFLE
The songs and landmarks are reassigned randomly among the five selected playwrights.
CREATE
Each PlayList writer drafts a ten-minute, two-character play inspired by another playwright’s prompts.
COLLAB
Writers develop their drafts over several feedback sessions in the CRY HAVOC Workshop.
PLAY
Actors and directors join the process to present the PlayList collection as a public Equity 29-Hour Reading of the plays.
How does the collaboration work?
Each writer works with a facilitator—a CRY HAVOC artist to confer with before/after each feedback session. Facilitators moderate each session in support of the playwright and their goals. The feedback sessions will include our roster of artists with years of new play dramaturgy experience, the other PlayList writers, and invited guests and colleagues.
What's the schedule?
PlayList applicants are asked to commit to participation in a preliminary welcome meeting, six in-person workshop sessions in NYC, two final Zoom workshop sessions, and the public reading in NYC.
See schedule below (all sessions will be in the evening):
- Mon. Aug. 31st: Welcome meeting
- Mon. Sept. 14th and Wed. Sept. 16th: In-person workshops, 1st drafts
- Tue. Sept. 22nd and Wed. Sept. 23rd: In-person workshops, 2nd drafts
- Mon. Sept. 28th and Wed. Sept. 30th: In-person workshops, 3rd drafts
- Mon. Oct. 5th and Wed. Oct. 7th: Zoom workshops, 4th drafts
- Mon Oct 26th: Public presentation
- This program is for writers of ANY background, especially if you are:
- looking for tools to support the development of new work
- searching for a community to serve as a “home base” for creative feedback and support
- not sure what you are going to write next
- an artist at any stage of your career, from emerging to established, who is looking for new collaborators
What are we looking for?
- CRY HAVOC is looking for artists who are interested in:
- discussing their work and their goals
- supporting the work of others
- exploring a system for structured feedback
When will I hear back about my application?
- All applicants will get a confirmation that their submission has been received
- Semi-finalists will be notified in early August
- Finalists will be notified in mid-August
- Selections will be finalized in late August