UPDATE: We are no longer accepting applications, as the cap of 350 applications has been reached.
Please reach out to our Awards Administrator, Connie Hall, at @email with questions or concerns.
Playwriting Award Fellowship Guidelines
We encourage playwrights to apply at the beginning of their careers so that through the New Dramatists Fellowship, they can explore their work on their own creative terms and benefit from being a part of a unique, diverse, dynamic community of professional playwrights. An applicant’s status as an early-career playwright is evaluated during the adjudication process.
One playwright will be selected to receive:
• A grant in the amount of $15,000
• A one-season (September – June) artistic residency at New Dramatists, Inc.
• Inclusion of the winning script in New Dramatists’ library
• Advocacy for the recipient and their script for the duration of the fellowship, and opportunities to gather with the Princess Grace community, New Dramatists writers, and other theatre professionals
• Opportunity for winning play to be licensed and published by Concord Theatricals.
Submission requirements:
• The Princess Grace Award in Playwriting is open to all U.S. based artists currently living and working in the United States. Applicants who are not U.S. citizens must have work authorization from USCIS. The Princess Grace Award in Playwriting is an unrestricted cash grant paid directly to the artist. Recipients are required to fill out a 1099 and for more guidance should consult a tax advisor. Non U.S. citizens or permanent residents may be required to file a non-residential return and should consult a tax advisor.
• Eligible playwrights must not have had more than 3 professional productions of their full-length plays. Developmental readings and workshops, university productions, and self-productions are admissible. Any public performances mounted by a producing theater, including Equity showcases, are considered professional.
• You must submit one unpublished, original full-length play (A full-length play is a single play that constitutes a full evening of theater. For example, a 90-minute intermissionless play is a full-length play.)
- There is no restriction on subject matter
- The play submission must be by a single author (co-written or devised work are ineligible)
- No adaptations of previously published material
The Foundation is looking to identify and support original, authentic, unheard voices in the theater. The panel will consider the submitted play in terms of the originality of the storytelling, quality, and offering of new perspectives.
Application Step-by-Step
To begin your application, click on the “Begin Application” button below. You will be asked to create a username and enter your email address. Once you have clicked “Submit,” you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in. From this point forward, you will be guided through a simple process collecting all of your submission materials in seven easy steps:
1. Log in. You will be asked to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S., and to certify that you are an early-career artist. "I have read the guidelines. I am an early-career playwright who has had no more than 3 full productions of my work and who has not yet received significant recognition. I am seeking access to New Dramatists’ company of professional playwrights, and I understand that this is not a production opportunity but a developmental, community residency."
2. Fill in your full name, address, and phone number.
3. Upload your playwriting resume. Please include short, one-act and full-length plays written including reading, workshop and production history with performance venues and dates.
4. Upload one unpublished full-length play or book of a musical. (The following files may be used: txt, pdf, doc, docx, rtf).
5. Upload your personal statement. Please describe, in your own words, your views and expectations of your role as a theater artist now and in the future. Please elaborate on your “early-career status” and how you plan to utilize this fellowship.
6. Enter the name and email of a reference, preferably from a theater professional, who can speak to your promise as an early-career playwright. If you are selected to advance to the final round, we will email your reference directly with a few simple questions.
7. Review your application, and click “Submit Your Application” to complete the process. You will receive an email confirming your application has been received.
You may save your application at any point and return to it before submitting. Once the cutoff of 350 applications is reached, the application window will close and you may not alter your application in any way.
