​

Stage Left Theatre, an ensemble-driven company, is thrilled to announce a call for play submissions for our year-long playwriting residency. 

 

About Stage Left

 

Founded in 1982, Stage Left’s mission is to create engaging and relevant theatre for an inclusive industry by highlighting unheard voices, stories, and perspectives. Stage Left aims to do this through the cultivation of new work by new artists, partnership with like-minded organizations and the surrounding Chicago community, and active engagement in the creation of inclusive opportunities. 

 

About the Residency

 

The playwriting residency is one such opportunity. A cornerstone of Stage Left’s mission of finding and elevating new voices, the program aims to discover a small cohort of Chicagoland writers who will spend a year working on a project with the guidance of Stage Left’s literary committee. Selected playwrights will receive in-depth dramaturgical feedback throughout the writing and revision process, as well as a staged reading of their projects as a part of the Offstage Left reading series at the midpoint of the program. At the conclusion of the residency, the projects will receive workshop productions as a part of the company’s annual LeapFest of new plays. Program participants will also receive preference on submissions for Stage Left’s mainstage seasons in the future. 

 

Application Instructions

 

The residency is open to playwrights of all levels; no prior experience is required. To apply, please submit a theatrical resume if available, a ten-page dramatic writing sample, a brief (250-500 word) description of the play project you’d like to work on during the residency and how you feel it aligns with Stage Left’s mission, and two references who can speak to your writing ability to scripts@stagelefttheatre.com. Submissions are due by June 15, 2022 and all applicants will be contacted with a decision within six weeks.