The Apothetae and The Lark have opened submissions for the second round of its joint national fellowship awarded to a Deaf or Disabled writer. The inaugural award was presented in 2018 to Tim J. Lord, whose fellowship culminated in a workshop production of his play, On Every Link a Heart Does Dangle; or Owed, at The Lark last May.

The Apothetae and Lark Playwriting Fellowship provides a two-year residency, a cash award of $40,000, a $5,000 Opportunity Fund for project-related expenses, and control over a $10,000 Production Enhancement Fund, to be allocated to a producing theatre in support of a full production of one of the Fellow’s plays.

Submissions are now open through June 14. Click here for more information and to apply.

“Plays can start a conversation, create opportunity, generate community, and be a catalyst for progress,” said Gregg Mozgala, Cost of Living actor and the founder and artistic director of The Apothetae, a theatre company committed to challenging perceptions of the Disabled Experience. “This is why developing writers from within the Disability community is so important. We need more voices, and we need to practice using them.”

“One of the things I was not prepared for was, because of the exposure that came with the fellowship, were all the people from the community who reached out to me in various ways,” shares playwright Lord. “There’s a real excitement that this helped generate. The fellowship has been a way to help create that community that maybe some of us have felt is lacking.”

The two-year fellowship is made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, and Jeffrey Steinman and Jody Falco.