RLTP Sets National & Regional Playwright Residencies

Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) has announced its new National Playwright Residency program, offering the opportunity for new play development support to playwrights across the United States. Since 2003, RLTP has developed and produced plays by writers working in Western New York; now, RLTP seeks to increase its impact on the American new play field by supporting playwrights outside of WNY.

"We are very excited to continue the evolution of our new play development strategy," said RLTP founder and Artistic Director Scott Behrend. "The National Residency is a natural continuation of our bold and unflagging commitment to playwrights and their work."

RLTP will accept applications for its 2016 National Residency through February 1st, 2016. Writers living and working outside of WNY are invited to submit early drafts of unproduced plays. RLTP will select one playwright to receive two funded trips to Buffalo, NY where they will work with RLTP's directors, actors, designers, and literary staff to develop their new play. RLTP Literary Director and co-founder Jon Elston said that "an individual plan for development will be formulated according to the specific goals of the playwright" and that remote support will be provided throughout the ten-month residency. The residency will conclude with a week-long intensive workshop in WNY, culminating in two staged readings of the play, presented to the public.

RLTP will also continue its commitment to WNY and Southern Ontario playwrights with its ongoing Regional Residency program. Playwrights in and around Buffalo are invited to apply for a year of ongoing development support of their current work-in-progress. There will be no charge to the playwright.

"In 2003, there were only a small handful of self-identified playwrights working in WNY," Behrend asserted. "RLTP created opportunities for many additional writers to hone their skills in dramatic literature and, in doing so, fostered a robust and enthusiastic community of playwrights, now approaching the triple digits." Since RLTP's inception the company has produced twenty-six full-length world premiere productions as well as a dozen world premiere productions of new short plays. Since 2005, RLTP's Emanuel Fried New Play Workshop has supported fifty-five playwrights from WNY and Southern Ontario as they developed over one hundred full-length plays; many of those plays have proceeded to full productions as RLTP and other theatre companies, both within and outside of WNY.

"As we continue to evolve our philosophies and protocols," Elston concluded, "we continue striving to improve our ability to best serve our playwrights and their work."

For detailed information about applying to RLTP's National Residency or Regional Residency program, please visit http://roadlesstraveledproductions.org/programs/new-plays-workshop/. Deadline for National Residency applications is February 1st, 2016. There is no deadline to apply for a Regional Residency.

Public readings of new plays developed in the 2015 New Play Workshop continue into January 2016. Please visit http://roadlesstraveledproductions.org/programs/emanuel-fried-new-play-workshop/ for the full schedule.

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