Thank you for your interest in The Playwrights Realm and our open submissions programs! This web portal will let you apply to:
- Writing Fellowship, only
- Scratchpad Series, only
- BOTH Writing Fellowship and Scratchpad Series, simultaneously
Applicants for the Writing Fellowship and/or Scratchpad Series will submit:
- Online application - short-answer questionnaire (see details here)
- Artistic résume (PDF format)
- Complete draft of the play that you wish to develop (PDF format), with your name and the play title on the cover page.
- Music samples (if applicable)
Applications for the Writing Fellowship and/or Scratchpad Series must be submitted by February 10th, 2025, at 11:59PM EST.
Please carefully read program details below, and then decide which application to fill out.
Writing Fellowship ONLY
The Writing Fellowship is at the heart of what we do: helping writers write. Four early-career playwrights receive nine months of resources, readings and feedback designed to help them reach their professional and artistic goals. The culminating event of the program is our INK’D Festival, which features public readings of each Fellows’ play. To be eligible you must:
- Live within commuting distance to Midtown Manhattan, and be able to make it to regular evening writers meetings, rehearsals, and events.
- Have a script that would benefit from a nine-month, intensive development process.
Please note: short plays, solo plays, plays with multiple authors, and musicals are not eligible for the Writing Fellowship.
Scratchpad Series ONLY
Scratchpad Series jumpstarts The Realm’s relationship with early-career playwrights from around the country. Participants will spend a week in New York City for a developmental reading of their play with top-notch professional collaborators—director, cast, and The Realm’s artistic staff. If the playwright is based outside of New York, The Realm will provide travel and housing or per diem. To be eligible you must:
- Have a script that would benefit from dramaturgical conversation with The Realm and 15-hour developmental reading process reading. (Plays can be anything from a rough first draft to a play that is close to production-ready.)
- Be able to be present in New York City for a process of between 3-6 days, at a time agreed upon by both you and The Realm.
Please note: short plays and solo plays not eligible for the Scratchpad Series.
Apply to BOTH programs
Please be prepared to discuss how you think your script could benefit from the two different opportunities these distinct programs offer. To use this form you must:
- Live within commuting distance to Midtown Manhattan, and be able to make it to regular evening writers meetings, rehearsals, and events.
- Understand that you are applying to both programs with a single script. We accept just one play, per playwright, per season.
Please note: Short plays and solo plays not eligible for either program.
To access the application form you will either log into your Submittable account, or if you don’t have an account already, create a secure User ID and log in for Submittable. This will enable you to save drafts as you work and verify that your application has been received.
Use this form if you want to apply ONLY for the Writing Fellowship. Please remember that The Playwrights Realm accepts only one application form, and one script, per writer each year. You should not submit any other form.
The Writing Fellowship is at the heart of what The Playwrights Realm does: helping writers write. Four early-career playwrights receive nine months of resources, workshops and feedback designed to help them reach their professional and artistic goals. Over the course of the season, Fellows develop a single new play. Monthly group meetings provide a collaborative, energizing setting for writers to share and refine their work. Individual meetings with The Realm’s artistic staff support each writer’s specific artistic process. Fellows work with a director, design dramaturg, and actors over the course of two workshops to see their work come to life. Professional development resources are also an integral part of the program and are tailored to the individual group of Writing Fellows. Mentor opportunities, meet-and-greets, and professional workshops shed light on the often opaque business of theatre, and empower the Fellows to be active, informed participants in their own careers.
*Indicates required question
Use this form if you are a playwright and want to apply ONLY for the Scratchpad Series. Please remember that The Playwrights Realm accepts only one application form, and one script, per writer each year.
Scratchpad Series opens The Realm’s doors to early-career playwrights from around the country, deepening our ability to do what we do best: listening to what playwrights need, and giving it to them. Whether it’s a place to hear a rough draft aloud for the first time, space to fine tune a more mature work, or time to focus in on a particular aspect of a piece, The Realm aims to provide playwrights with what they need to thrive. Scratchpad is a chance for The Realm to engage with an entirely new group of playwrights each year, erasing limitations of geography or access by identifying and inviting playwrights from across the country to participate. Scratchpad participants will receive dramaturgical support and a developmental workshop of up to one week during the 2025-2026 season, working with top-notch professional collaborators—director, cast, and The Realm’s artistic staff.
If the playwright is based outside of New York, The Realm will also provide support for the Playwright's travel and housing.
Preference will be given to projects that can’t be otherwise served by the Realm’s Writing Fellowship (ie playwrights who do not live in the greater NYC area, musical projects, etc).
*Indicates required question
Use this form if you want to submit your play to BOTH The Writing Fellowship and Scratchpad Series.
Please remember that The Playwrights Realm accepts only one application form, and one script, per writer each year. You should not submit any other form.
With regards to the Scratchpad Series, preference will be given to projects that can’t be otherwise served by the Realm’s Writing Fellowship (ie playwrights who do not live in the greater NYC area, musical projects, etc).
*Indicates required question.