Through a year-long series of monthly meetings, the PlayLab serves as a developmental process for playwrights to build new plays with constructive feedback from fellow writers, directors, and the artistic staff of Pipeline. Each PlayLab playwright will develop a one-act play and a full-length play over the course of the season.
PlayLab playwrights commit to participate in the following programs:
- Monthly Meetings (July 10, July 24, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 6, December 11, January 8, February 12, March 5, April 9, May 7, June 11*) – All PlayLab playwrights and the artistic team of Pipeline will be in attendance.
- Pop-Up Office Days – Over the course of the season, Pipeline will host a series of Pop-Up Office days for PlayLabbers to all get in one room and write side-by-side.
- Kick-Off Event (August 2016) – A “get to know you” event for the PlayLab playwrights, the Pipeline staff, and the Pipeline ensemble.
- Matchstick Series (November 2016) – Each playwright will write a one-act play to be presented as part of the Matchstick Series. The group will select the theme of the Matchstick Series at their July meetings.
- Annual Retreat (May 12-15, 2017*) – Each playwright will attend the Pipeline annual retreat, during which each developed full-length play will be given its first cold reading.
- Bonfire Series (June 2017): Each playwright will write a full-length play to be presented as part of the Bonfire reading series in June.
- PlayLab playwrights are also expected to attend Pipeline events throughout our eighth season. PlayLabbers will play an active role in the 2017 Gala as champions of Pipeline, to speak to their experience to the greater Pipeline community.
*Dates subject to change.
Who Should Apply?
We’re looking for playwrights who are excited to collaborate with Pipeline and fellow playwrights throughout the season in developing new shows that fit with our vision to create imaginative new worlds for audiences. We like big dreamers, working on something brand new they haven’t quite figured out yet. Special efforts will be made to recruit a diverse group in terms of ethnicity, gender, educational and professional background, etc. Our vision: we believe that an unbridled imagination is a force of magic with the power to provoke a more courageous and compassionate world.
What to Expect
PlayLab playwrights meet once a month to review pages of their projects with one another through cold readings and dramaturgical discussion. We strive to build a strong sense of community within our PlayLab, so each month the meeting travels to a different PlayLab or Pipeline artistic team member’s home. Often the host provides food, even drinks, for the group. PlayLab playwrights should be excited to work within a collaborative group atmosphere, and enjoy providing one another with constructive feedback.
Throughout the season, Pipeline’s artistic team will work with each writer to determine ideal goals and writing deadlines to help maintain steady progress leading towards the readings. Playwrights will also collectively determine the theme they’ll be writing towards for Pipeline’s November one-act event, the Matchstick Series.
Members of the PlayLab are part of the Pipeline family for the year, and as such, are expected to attend our retreat in May, where company members and playwrights will get a chance to together read through PlayLab playwrights’ full drafts, get away from the city for some dedicated writing time, and probably play Capture the Flag (be sure to stretch first…there have been injuries).
Though the primary aim of the PlayLab is to support playwrights in turning their biggest, wildest ideas into finished plays, our secondary aim is to expand each playwrights’ artistic community. Through our Matchstick Series and Bonfire Series, we introduce our PlayLab playwrights to our large and vibrant artistic community, but we also invite each playwright to bring with them their own contacts. In this way, the PlayLab program is designed to spark new artistic collaborations between theatre artists of all stripes. PlayLab playwrights can expect to walk away from the program with an exciting new roster of directors, actors, and designers to work with for years to come.
Submit!
We are now accepting PlayLab submissions! To submit, please complete part 1 and part 2 of the application process by May 15, 2016, 11:59PM.
Part 1
Please email the following to [email protected] with the subject line: [LAST NAME] 2017 PlayLab Submission. Please combine all materials into a single PDF document and be sure to name your file in the following format [LASTNAME_Playlab2017].
- Your Resume
- Your Bio
- Major conflicts from July 2016 – June 2017
- A brief cover letter about your proposed play and why you’re excited to work with Pipeline on it. (1-2 pages is plenty!)
- A sample of your proposed play (we’ll take anything from a complete first draft, to a paragraph-long outline)
- A full-length theatrical writing sample (We wanna get to know you!)
Part 2
After you have submit your application materials to [email protected], please complete our google form: http://goo.gl/forms/23m74d3RhM. The form will ask you to provide the following:
- Your first and last name
- The title of your proposed play
- A short synopsis of your proposed play (400 words or less)
- The developmental history of your proposed play (400 words or less)
- How you heard about the PlayLab!
Some finalists can expect to be contacted late-June for follow-up interviews via phone or skype.
What past PlayLabbers Say:
“The capable artistic staff of the Pipeline PlayLab are truly passionate about new plays and the people who write them. Their feedback and support – along with the inspiring work of my amazing PlayLab colleagues – allowed my work to grow in ways I never could have anticipated. I’ll carry this experience with me forever.” – Jessica Fleitman, Class of 2014
“Pipeline’s PlayLab is a terrific incubator for new work. They provided me and my fellow playwrights with an environment where I felt safe to share raw pages, but also gave me the challenges and support I needed to craft a brand new play. Pipeline has an ear for unique voices, and brought together such an exciting group of emerging playwrights that I was always thrilled to show up to meetings and hear what was going to be read. I wish I could write everything this way.” – Scott McCarrey, Class of 2014
“Pipeline’s Playlab has provided me with the supportive, joyful, hilarious, brilliant space I need in order to create. I gain access to great minds every time I walk into our meetings. And there is laughter. And there is dedication. We are WORKING. There are pages printed if I need them and conversations over cups of coffee upon request. There are treats. TREATS! AND I have a big ol’ bucket full of new, marvelous, play-writing friends. To freak out with. And celebrate with. And get right down to the nitty-gritty with. My play has come miles; Has travelled distances it never could had I been stuck alone in my apartment hashing it out on my own. This Playlab is a treasure!” – Salty Brine, Class of 2015
“Pipeline’s Playlab is an island in the sea of melancholy that is being a New York playwright. No, I’m kidding… But seriously, Pipeline has taken care of me, listened to me, and inspired me in ways that I did not dare expect. I’ve found true friends and artistic collaborators and every meeting we had was not quite long enough. It’s incredibly exciting to get in on the ground floor of this burgeoning theater company – I can’t wait to see what they do next almost as much as I can’t wait to meet the talented members of the next Playlab.” – Claire Kiechel, Class of 2015
Questions?
Send ‘em to Colby Day. He loves emails: [email protected]
All applicants will be notified by July 1, 2016.
