COHESION THEATRE COMPANY
IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
THE 2019 PLAYWRIGHTS FELLOWSHIP
Overview:
Cohesion Theatre Company is committed to local playwrights and their work and presents the Playwrights Fellowship program to support the development of new full-length plays by local playwrights for local audiences. The Fellowship is made up of two playwrights, a dramaturg, and two directors connected with each playwright for the duration of the Fellowship. The process begins with open applications, then continues with monthly meetings of the playwright, director, and dramaturg, quarterly meetings of the entire Fellowship Cohort and Cohesion staff, Midway table read workshops with actors in the spring of 2019, and finally Staged Readings in the fall of 2019. From start to finish, the process is planned for and can flex toward the needs of the playwrights as their scripts develop over the year. Directors will assemble casts for readings and the Fellowship Coordinator schedules meetings and manages communications.
Fellowship Schedule:
September 5-October 5 2018: Applications open. Applicants will be contacted by the end of November, 2018.
December 5, 2018: Fellowship members announced.
Early January 2019: Meetings begin
June 2019: Midway Workshops (2 days)
September 2019: Final Staged Readings
The specific dates of readings can be determined by the playwright, director, and dramaturg. This course sets manageable deadlines for the playwright so that multiple drafts can be developed throughout the year.
Midway Workshops will be closed to the public and take place over the course of two days.
Staged Readings will have two performances and are preceded by one week of rehearsals in the performance space with the director, actors, and any technical elements. They will be accompanied by an audience conversation.
Past Fellowship Projects and Members:
2017/18
Infertile Ground by Aladrian Crowder Wetzel, directed by Katie Hileman
Safe Space by R. Eric Thomas, directed by Ben Kleymeyer
2016/17
Porn: A Love Story by Jen Diamond, directed by Caitlin Carbone
Here Be Dragons by Utkarsh Rajawat, directed by Terrance Fleming
"Working with Cohesion has been an incredibly fulfilling thing," said Jen Diamond in an interview with DC Metro Theatre Arts. "Having the opportunity to work with these wonderful artists and build relationships within the theatre community of Baltimore is really important to me."
In his interview, Utkarsh Rajawat remarked, "There’s so many things I’m going to be adding and cutting that I figured out solely because of Cohesion’s production of it.
To Apply:
Playwrights, please send all materials in one PDF file to Abigail Cady at [email protected] no later than October 5, 2018:
1) A description document for your proposed play. The Fellowship is designed to take a play from an idea to a finished script. Completed scripts will not be considered.
2) A Cover Letter describing:
Your background (First-time playwrights welcome!)
How you work in a collaborative environment
How the Fellowship would fulfill your goals
3) Resume
4) Writing Sample. Give us a taste of your writing style. 10 minutes of a theatrical script (short play or excerpted from a longer work) or, 5 pages of other writing (poetry, fiction, etc.)
Applicants may be contacted for additional in-person or phone interviews before members are announced.
Interested directors should follow the submission guidelines for directors outlined on Cohesion Theatre Company’s website: www.cohesiontheatre.org/auditions
