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The admissions window is currently closed as we review our admissions process. Please notify us at newdramatists@newdramatists.org if you wish to be informed when our new guidelines are posted.

The life source of New Dramatists is our ever-changing company of playwrights. Each year, through the annual admissions process, we consider anew the question, “What is a New Dramatist?” Selecting a new group of incoming playwrights is a cyclical process of self-reflection, renewal and redefinition. It is our belief that this contemplation keeps the organization and playwright community vibrant, and ensures that we continue to represent emerging new writers and trends in American theatre.

Each year a seven-person committee that is typically made up of three current resident playwrights, two alumni, and two outside professionals read and evaluate over 300 applications for membership in the resident playwright company. The entire panel changes each year. Because the committee’s choices will help define New Dramatists for years to come we seek to gather a diverse panel, both in terms of traditional demographic considerations such as age, ethnicity, cultural background, and gender as well as a range of artistic interests and accomplishments. The criteria we use to select the panel mirrors the values of the New Dramatists community in the hopes that each class will in turn be as varied and dynamic as possible.

Two staff members facilitate this process, but do not participate in any way in making determinations. Over the course of three meetings, the admissions committee is charged with building a class of playwrights by consensus.