New Dramatists is now accepting applications for the 2016-2018 round of the Van Lier Playwriting Fellowship Program. The two-year program was established to help young, economically disadvantaged playwrights of color living in New York City develop their talent and become involved in the professional theatre community.
The Van Lier program at New Dramatists is a way for playwrights who are 30-years old or younger who are not enrolled in college or graduate school to become immersed in the professional world.
Central tenets of the New Dramatists Van Lier Fellowship include:
• Cash grant of $10,000 per Fellow, per year for two years, ($20,000 per Fellow for the cycle) .
• Two-year residency (July 2016-June 2018) at New Dramatists, which includes access to the Playwrights Lab programs; each year of the Fellowship, the Fellow will be paired with a different individual mentor (selected from the resident company of New Dramatists playwrights based on the interests and goals of each Fellow).
• Van Lier Fellow Soiree introducing their work to field colleagues in the first year of their fellowships, and a “festivalized” presentation of their work within the second-year.
• Fellows’ will have their individual profiles featured on the New Dramatists website, including synopses of the plays that are available to be read in the New Dramatists library.
As voiced by both residents and former Van Lier Fellows, the most significant benefit of the Van Lier Fellowship is inclusion in the community of fifty professional playwrights. Community is cherished and fostered at New Dramatists, and each Fellow will have many opportunities—including attending our bi-annual All-Writers Meetings and participation in our Writer Driven Projects—to interact with the resident playwrights, get to know their work, and form their own personal artistic community.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE:
Eligible playwrights include U.S. citizens who are Asian-American, African-American, Arab-American, Native American or Latino. If you are not a citizen of the United States, you must be lawfully admitted to the U.S. with permanent INS work authorization. The fellowship period is from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018. Past Van Lier Fellows have included, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Robert O’Hara, Carmen Rivera, and Steven Sapp; New Dramatists alumni Diana Son, Lynn Nottage, and Eisa Davis; and current New Dramatists residents Christina Anderson, Kristoffer Diaz, Qui Nguyen and Betty Shamieh.
NEW DRAMATISTS INC.
gifted peers, to create work, realize their artistic potential, and make lasting contributions to the theatre. Michaela O’Harra, along with a committee of prominent theatre professionals, including Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, Moss Hart, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, founded the organization in 1949 and served as mentors to young playwrights admitted to the group. New Dramatists members and alumni have won Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, Obie Awards, Susan Smith Blackburn Awards, Drama Desk Awards, and MacArthur Awards. New Dramatists resident playwrights have included, James Baldwin, Mac Wellman, Joe Masteroff, Emily Mann, August Wilson, Maria Irene Fornes, John Patrick Shanley, Suzan-Lori Parks, Paula Vogel, Ed Bullins, Lanford Wilson, David Lindsay-Abaire, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Ruhl, Quiara Alegría Hudes and John Guare.
HOW TO APPLY:
Applicants are required to submit:
· APPLICATION FORM
· BIO/RESUME – LIMIT TO ONE PAGE
· 1 FULL LENGTH PLAY
· A STATEMENT OF INTENT
The application form, resume, statement of intent and work sample must be received by New Dramatists by 6pm on March 16, 2016. Start your application here.
