Deadline: December 4, 2026 at 11:59pm EST
OR when 500 applications have been received.
SUBMISSION FORM
As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the initiative is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions.
You can read more about what the Terrence McNally Incubator provides for each fellow here. It is an express goal of this fellowship to provide multiple forms of mentorship during the process. To that end, fellows will be paired with mentors, directors, and actors at the discretion of Rattlestick Theater after meaningful consultation with each fellow. While we will always meet identity-based artistic needs, we encourage our fellows to expand their practice by working with new people beyond their usual circles. Mentors, directors, and actors who participate in the incubation process are carefully chosen to provide the structure and guidance each playwright needs to grow in a professional setting. To put it plainly, if you already have a director or specific actors attached to your play, we cannot guarantee they will be included in this workshop. If a workshop that doesn’t include your personal collaborators doesn’t appeal to you or your play’s process, this is probably not the right opportunity for this play.
For each application cycle, applicants may only apply once, with one play. Applicants who apply multiple times for one cycle will have all of their applications completely disqualified.
The selection process is open to artists of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, races, ethnicities, and national origins.
Each application is thoughtfully reviewed by a broad reader pool of industry professionals. Semi-finalists and finalists are selected through two rounds of consideration. If awarded the fellowship, playwrights must commit to working on only their submitted play during the fellowship and will forfeit the fellowship if they request to work on a different play during the fellowship that was not scored by the panel.
Approximately 80 semi-finalists will be notified of their status and asked to reconfirm demographic information (see eligibility below). Applicants will be notified of their semi-finalist status in January 2027.
Approximately 9 finalists are granted an interview with a selection panel, including representatives from Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions. If applicable, applicants will be notified of their finalist status in March 2027.
In consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Council, three playwrights will be awarded the Fellowship in May 2027. The fellowship incubation and workshops will take place during the months of August and September 2027.
Eligibility
The Incubator is designed for early-career playwrights, which is a term that can apply to a person of any age and with any background, lived experience, or professional history; there is no one path to becoming a playwright. The following eligibility criteria are based on the organizations’ desire to provide the fullest, deepest new play development process and professional opportunity as possible. If your application does not meet these criteria, you will be automatically disqualified. If you have any questions about if you meet these requirements, please contact tmincubator@rattlestick.org.
An eligible Terrence McNally Incubator Fellow:
Is the sole author of their submitted play. Co-created and co-authored material is not accepted, and will be disqualified.
Is not a full time or part time student in any college, university, or degree granting program as of May/June 2027 and during the year of 2027/2028.
Is committed to actively participating in the New York City playwriting and theater ecosystem.
This is a competitive opportunity that is designed to further playwrights’ networks specifically in the New York City theater industry. To that end, all Terrence McNally Incubator Fellows must live in New York City for the full duration of the fellowship (August 2027 - September 2027), and ideally during the full scope of the 2027 - 2028 Rattlestick Theater season for events and fellowship gatherings. If you are currently located outside of the New York City area, you must be prepared to be a New York City local for the full duration of the fellowship year, and, ideally, strive to put down roots as a New York-based artist after the fellowship has concluded. Housing and transportation are not provided.
Why? The Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Fellowship is funded by the Terrence McNally Foundation, with the explicit goal of supporting emerging writers working in the New York City theater ecosystem, as Terrence was himself. Is available to commit to significant, full time development of your play for a 4-week period sometime during August/September of 2027 in New York City.
Specific dates will be determined in consultation with selected fellows. All 29-hour workshop rehearsals and presentations will take place during regular weekday daytime hours and some weekend daytime hours.
Is actively pursuing a career in theater in NYC, as evidenced by past productions at regional theaters, past productions off-off-Broadway, a history of self-producing, and/or graduate studies.
Must not have had more than one significant Broadway or off-Broadway premiere as a playwright, book writer, or author of a piece of theater.
What defines Broadway?
Broadway theater consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
What defines off-Broadway?
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. Here is a list that includes, but is not limited to, off-Broadway venues in New York City.
What defines a significant premiere? A premiere is the debut (first public presentation) of a fully produced work. Readings and workshops do not qualify as premieres.
An eligible Terrence McNally Incubator Fellow play:
As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the initiative is designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions.
You can read more about what the Terrence McNally Incubator provides for each fellow here. It is an express goal of this fellowship to provide multiple forms of mentorship during the process. To that end, fellows will be paired with mentors, directors, and actors at the discretion of Rattlestick Theater after meaningful consultation with each fellow. While we will always meet identity-based artistic needs, we encourage our fellows to expand their practice by working with new people beyond their usual circles. Mentors, directors, and actors who participate in the incubation process are carefully chosen to provide the structure and guidance each playwright needs to grow in a professional setting. To put it plainly, if you already have a director or specific actors attached to your play, we cannot guarantee they will be included in this workshop. If a workshop that doesn’t include your personal collaborators doesn’t appeal to you or your play’s process, this is probably not the right opportunity for this play.
For each application cycle, applicants may only apply once, with one play. Applicants who apply multiple times for one cycle will have all of their applications completely disqualified.
The selection process is open to artists of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, races, ethnicities, and national origins.
Each application is thoughtfully reviewed by a broad reader pool of industry professionals. Semi-finalists and finalists are selected through two rounds of consideration. If awarded the fellowship, playwrights must commit to working on only their submitted play during the fellowship and will forfeit the fellowship if they request to work on a different play during the fellowship that was not scored by the panel.
Approximately 80 semi-finalists will be notified of their status and asked to reconfirm demographic information (see eligibility below). Applicants will be notified of their semi-finalist status in January 2027.
Approximately 9 finalists are granted an interview with a selection panel, including representatives from Rattlestick Theater and Tom Kirdahy Productions. If applicable, applicants will be notified of their finalist status in March 2027.
In consultation with the Playwrights Advisory Council, three playwrights will be awarded the Fellowship in May 2027. The fellowship incubation and workshops will take place during the months of August and September 2027.
Eligibility
The Incubator is designed for early-career playwrights, which is a term that can apply to a person of any age and with any background, lived experience, or professional history; there is no one path to becoming a playwright. The following eligibility criteria are based on the organizations’ desire to provide the fullest, deepest new play development process and professional opportunity as possible. If your application does not meet these criteria, you will be automatically disqualified. If you have any questions about if you meet these requirements, please contact tmincubator@rattlestick.org.
An eligible Terrence McNally Incubator Fellow:
Is the sole author of their submitted play. Co-created and co-authored material is not accepted, and will be disqualified.
Is not a full time or part time student in any college, university, or degree granting program as of May/June 2027 and during the year of 2027/2028.
Is committed to actively participating in the New York City playwriting and theater ecosystem.
This is a competitive opportunity that is designed to further playwrights’ networks specifically in the New York City theater industry. To that end, all Terrence McNally Incubator Fellows must live in New York City for the full duration of the fellowship (August 2027 - September 2027), and ideally during the full scope of the 2027 - 2028 Rattlestick Theater season for events and fellowship gatherings. If you are currently located outside of the New York City area, you must be prepared to be a New York City local for the full duration of the fellowship year, and, ideally, strive to put down roots as a New York-based artist after the fellowship has concluded. Housing and transportation are not provided.
Why? The Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Fellowship is funded by the Terrence McNally Foundation, with the explicit goal of supporting emerging writers working in the New York City theater ecosystem, as Terrence was himself. Is available to commit to significant, full time development of your play for a 4-week period sometime during August/September of 2027 in New York City.
Specific dates will be determined in consultation with selected fellows. All 29-hour workshop rehearsals and presentations will take place during regular weekday daytime hours and some weekend daytime hours.
Is actively pursuing a career in theater in NYC, as evidenced by past productions at regional theaters, past productions off-off-Broadway, a history of self-producing, and/or graduate studies.
Must not have had more than one significant Broadway or off-Broadway premiere as a playwright, book writer, or author of a piece of theater.
What defines Broadway?
Broadway theater consists of the theatrical performances presented in 41 professional theaters, each with 500 or more seats, in the Theater District and Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
What defines off-Broadway?
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. Here is a list that includes, but is not limited to, off-Broadway venues in New York City.
What defines a significant premiere? A premiere is the debut (first public presentation) of a fully produced work. Readings and workshops do not qualify as premieres.
An eligible Terrence McNally Incubator Fellow play:
- Is complete
- We are looking for plays that are complete and would benefit from a development process involving professional-level actors and a director. The play does not need to be production-ready, but must be in a further stage than a first draft.
- Is a full-length play
- A full-length play generally runs at least 45 minutes or 70 pages. Solo plays qualify as long as they are full-length.
- Is not a musical, opera, or play with more than 40% original musical composition.
- While Terrence McNally was a lover of music and music played a large role in his work, this specific opportunity is about playwriting. While music is one form of theatrical language that you may wish to use, we look forward to hearing the music of your dialogue. If you are planning to apply with a play that includes some music, please be aware that only text submissions are allowed. We do not accept or consider any audio files, videos, or links to external websites. Currently the Incubator workshops do not have the resources to support musicians, music directors, or any music development.
- Has not been previously produced for an audience and/or is not optioned to be fully produced by any other producer, theater, university, student group, or commercial entity. Workshops and readings do not qualify.