Theatre Writer Opportunities for November 2025
Brooklyn and Queens want to fund YOUR new work!
Sair here! November 2025 is full of opportunities for theatre writers, especially if you produce your own original work. Whether you’re a playwright, a musical theatre writer, or another theatre artist, this month has loads of awards, residencies, and development opportunities well worth looking into. Let’s take a look at some highlights.
Funding
EST/Sloan Project – New Play Commission
A $5,000-10,000 Commission for a new full-length play or musical focused on science and technology, with the possibility of further development with Ensemble Studio Theatre.
Only projects about the “hard” sciences are considered - no sci-fi, psychology, or any other “soft” sciences.
Deadline: Nov 5th
Funding for Brooklyn-based artists, including opportunities for both individual artists and unincorporated creative groups.
Grants range from $2,000-$10,000
Deadline: Nov 7th
Funding for Queens-based artists and incorporated creative groups. There’s one for new works!
Grants range from $3,000
Deadline: Nov 18th
A community-oriented grant of $2,000-3,000, founded by two friends who are passionate about supporting emerging artists in various disciplines.
Deadline: Nov 28th
The Eric H. Weinberger Award for Emerging Librettists
$2,000 and development support through Amas Musical Theatre Lab.
One of the only librettist-specific opportunities!
Deadline: Nov 30th
Quick Tip: Applications often require reusable copy like Artist Statements and Project Synopses. Even when you have the ability to type directly into the application, like on Submittable or SlideRoom, you should save your copy to Google Drive or your document manager of choice, so you can rewrite and reuse it the next time you’re asked for identical information. Check out this resource from NYFA on writing artist statements.
Residencies
Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowships
A 6-12 month residency for mid-career artists at a LITERAL CASTLE in Germany.
~$16 to apply, if accepted you’ll be awarded $1,400/month.
Deadline: Nov 14th
Mountain AIR Program at West Virginia University
A week-long residency in Morgantown, West Virginia, that grants access to WVU’s archives.
Free to apply and attend. If accepted, you’ll receive up to $5,500 in materials, stipends, and other funding.
Work completed will also be featured at the 2026 Appalachian Festival.
Deadline: Nov 28th
A 6-week residency in Chestertown, Maryland that engages artists in community-focused projects surrounding the theme “HISTORY” (i.e. a play or musical about local history).
Free to apply and attend. If accepted, you’ll receive $10,000 in stipend, travel reimbursement, and materials.
Deadline: Nov 14th
Development
Newport NewWorks 2026 Musical Theater Festival
Unique development opportunity that combines festival and residency - a 2 week rehearsal process in Rhode Island culminating in 2 on-book presentations.
No award, but housing, transportation, most meals and a stipend are provided.
Free to submit.
Deadline: Nov 2nd
The Emerging Artists Theatre Spark Theatre Festival
28th Street Theatre hosts a festival of self-produced new works at all stages of development.
Note that writers are fully responsible for all elements of production aside from location and minimal tech. It sounds a little like Sound Bites, but for full-length readings & productions.
Writers must be located in the tri-state area and confident they can attract an audience.
Free to apply, awarded with 50% of Box Office proceeds.
Deadline: December 1st
Various prestigious labs involving intensive development support and a residency in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Options for Performance, Episodic, Audio, and interdisciplinary projects.
Free to submit.
Deadline: Dec 2nd
That’s it for this month’s highlights! Now it’s time for The List - my comprehensive compendium of all upcoming opportunities for which theatre writers are eligible. A massive THANK YOU to everyone who subscribes - every dollar of your subscription fee goes toward the production of new work. Like season 1 of The Reality Shaper: A Musical Podcast! (:
Please enjoy this expanded collection of 60+ opportunities:
The List
For your convenience, The List also includes all opportunities highlighted above. Click “get the data” at the bottom of the table to download this as a CSV file you can customize and edit.
