Theatrical development company The Playwrights Realm has announced the launch of Native American Artists Lab, a new program designed to support emerging, tribally affiliated Native American artists.
In its first installment, the Native American Artists Lab will foster two projects and provide professional development support to the involved artists, culminating in a reading of the works in New York City. Finalists will be chosen by a panel of Native American artists, including Madeline Sayet, Vickie Ramirez, and Rhiana Yazzie. Individual artists or teams can apply February 22–March 13.
"While open submissions open the door to creating a more equitable and diverse theatre field, by itself they are not enough, especially for the most underrepresented communities," says Founding Artistic Director Katherine Kovner. "The Realm has been grappling with our status on unceded Native American land, and while this problem is immense, we are taking action by focusing on how we can be helpful. I'm thrilled to be introducing the Native American Artist Lab, which will offer concrete support to the Native American artistic community by centering their voices.”
In addition to the new Lab, The Playwrights Realm will continue this season with its two long-standing programs for early-career playwrights: the Writing Fellowship Program and Scratchpad Series. The Fellowship awards four playwrights with nine months of resources to develop a single new play, to be presented in the INK'd Festival at the end of the season. The Scratchpad Series offers several writers 15-hour development reading workshops in New York City. Submissions for both programs are open now through February 13.
Finally, to help applicants understand the Realm's open submissions process, the company is holding an online session, "Cracking the Open Submissions Code," January 25 at 4 PM ET. Moderated by Realm Artistic Programs Manager Chelsea Fryer, the panel will outline the programs and offer advice on creating a stand-out application. To register, click here.
For more information, visit PlaywrightsRealm.org.
