Huntington Playwriting Fellows Now Accepting Applications

The Huntington is now accepting applications for the 2019-2021 Huntington Playwriting Fellow Cohort. To be eligible, writers must live at least nine months of each calendar year in the Greater Boston area. Applications can be submitted online and all materials must be submitted via email to submissions@huntingtontheatre.org no later than 11:59PM on Thursday, December 13, 2018. Early submissions are encouraged, and submissions are read roughly in the order they are received.

"This year marks the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program; and this cycle marks the eighth time we have invited applications for it," says Director of New Work Charles Haugland. "As in years past, we are looking forward to reading the work of writers who are new to the theatre, and to finding out about new sides to writers whose work we know well. We value the relationships that the theatre has built through this program over the past decade and a half, and we continue to be inspired by the work that we encounter in our local community."

Through the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program, the Huntington fosters the talents of local playwrights at all stages of their careers, from emerging talents to established experts. The first two years of the fellowship are a formalized relationship-building period that is supported by a modest grant to the writer. During that time, writers participate in a scheduled series of meetings with literary staff and other writers in their cohort; have the opportunity to hold informal, closed-door readings with local actors; are invited to participate in peer-led classes and meet-ups organized with alumni of the program; and otherwise benefit from access to the artistic staff and to the resources of the Huntington.

The Huntington Playwriting Fellows program is supported by the Stanford Calderwood Fund for New American Plays and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON PLAYWRITING FELLOWS PROGRAM AND NEW PLAY INITIATIVES

The Huntington Playwriting Fellows (HPF) program creates relationships between a local community of writers and a nationally prominent producing theatre, forges those bonds through authentic conversation and artistic collaboration, and encourages dialogue between local artists. Huntington productions of plays by Fellows include The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess; Sonia Flew, Becoming Cuba, Mala, and Yerma by Melinda Lopez; Milk Like Sugar and Luck of the Irish by Kirsten Greenidge; Stick Fly and Smart People by Lydia R. Diamond; The Atheist, Brendan, and The Second Girl by Ronan Noone; Ryan Landry's "M" and Psyched by Ryan Landry; Before I Leave You by Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro; The Cry of the Reed by Sinan Ünel; and Shakespeare's Actresses in America by Rebekah Maggor.

The HPF program was founded in 2003, and now counts 35 writers as alumni to the program. The primary focus of the program is creating relationships with writers at all stages of their careers, from emerging talent to established professionals. The program provides a framework for an in-depth, two-year artistic conversation and a long-term professional relationship. The Summer Workshop, which began in 2012, was developed through conversations with Fellows past and present to solicit ideas about how to improve and expand the program. Since 2009, the Huntington has instituted an open application process with submissions from any writer primarily based within commuting distance of Boston; applications are currently solicited every two years.

In addition to the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program and Summer Workshop, the Huntington Theatre Company presents the Breaking Ground festival of new work, has Melinda Lopez on staff as playwright-in-residence, and is a leader in the development of new plays, producing more than 120 world, American, or New England premieres since 1982.

ABOUT THE Huntington Theatre Company

The Huntington Theatre Company is Boston's leading professional theatre and one of the region's premier cultural assets since its founding in 1982. Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Huntington brings together superb local and national talent and produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current to create award-winning productions. The Huntington runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington has long been an anchor cultural institution of Huntington Avenue, the Avenue of the Arts, and will remain so on a permanent basis with plans to convert the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a first-rate, modern venue with expanded services to audiences, artists, and the community. Under the direction of Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art form. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

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