Playwriting Opps in Boston and New England

The Boston area playwright has access to surprisingly few local playwriting opportunities. As a public service, we've compiled this list of ongoing, regularly occurring local opps. If you know of any others that should be added to this list, please contact us. Thank you!

Boston Area

Annual Calls

• Fresh Ink Theatre - Every January they will issue a call for submissions. ONLY THE FIRST 75 SUBMISSIONS ARE CONSIDERED.

• Boston Theatre Marathon - Calls for submission in the fall with a November 15 deadline. Mounts a one day 50 play festival every spring.

• Company One PlayLab - A yearly development program with paths to readings and possible production. Calls for submission in November/December

• SpeakEasy Stage Boston Project - Commissions two or three playwrights a year to write plays specifically set in Boston. Also accepts unsolicited plays.

• New Repertory Theatre Next Voices - Takes four playwrights a year and works with them to develop new work

• Huntington Theatre Playwriting Fellows - Two year residencies to develop new plays.

• Theatre@First - Somerville theatre has various calls for plays.

• Boston Children's Theatre - Deadline seems to be in January.

• Slam! Boston - Short play night by Open Theatre Project.

• Greater Boston Stage Co. - Annual call for queries, March 1-November 1.

• Massasoit Theatre Company - Annual call for short plays in Brockton.

Ongoing Involvement

• Playwright's Platform - An ongoing playwright group that discusses work and mounts shows annually.

• Write On - An ongoing playwright group that is affiliated with CentaStage

• TCSquared - An ongoing playwright group based in Somerville

• Boston Podcast Players - A podcast which features local Boston playwrights through interviews and readings of play excerpts.

• Bob Jolly Charitable Trust - Microgrants for local theatre enterprises

• Open Theatre Project - Project Proposals for full productions

New England

Annual Calls

• Barrington Stage Company (Pittsfield, MA) - Annual 10x10 short play festival and just started an annual New Play prize

• Cape Cod Theatre Project (Falmouth, MA) - Submission window from September 1 - October 15.

• O'Neill National Playwriting Conference - Deadline in the fall. I list it as it's technically in New England, but The O'Neill is a national playwriting event.

• NETC Gassner Award - Deadline April 15

• Yale Drama Series - Like the O'Neill, a national event in scope, but in New England.

• Portland Stage Co. - Short play and full length play contests.

• Actors Studio of Newburyport - Short play festival and play reading series.

• Acme Theatre (Maynard, MA) - Annual New Works Winter Festival of 10 minute plays

• The Firehouse Theatre New Works Festival (Newburyport, MA) - Deadlines seem to vary

• The Player's Ring (Portsmouth, NH)

• New World Theatre - Masterclass Fellowship

• River’s Edge Arts Alliance (Hudson, MA) - Pop-Up Play Festival in October

Ongoing Involvement

• New World Theatre (NH) - A playwrights' collective that is trying different ways to produce new work.

• The Wilbury Theatre Group (Providence, RI) - You can query this theatre about new work

• The Depot (Hampton, CT) - A new play reading and discussion group that invites local playwrights.

• The New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative (NOMTI) (Danvers, MA) - Writer's Lab for writers looking to develop musical stage works.

• Hatbox Theatre - Concord, NH. Self-production Opportunities

• Mass Cultural Council Fellowship - Supporting working artists across Massachusetts