Sair here! If you’re a theatre writer, October 2025 is packed with awards, residencies, and development opportunities you won’t want to miss. I’ve compiled these highlights for playwrights, musical theatre writers, and other theatre artists.
Funding
Provides production funds for a non-profit theatre to put on your show.
NOTE: Every project can only be submitted once, even after major rewrites, so make sure your show is in the best possible shape before clicking submit!
Deadline: Oct 31st
Year-round grants of $1,000 for awesome projects. I’ve linked the NYC chapter here, but they also operate internationally.
Deadline: Oct 31st (rolling, the last day of each month)
Dramatists Guild Foundation Emergency & Bridge Grants
DGF provides writers with grants of $500 or more in case of crisis or emergency.
Deadline: Open
Looking Ahead: the Brooklyn Arts Council and the Queens Arts Fund both have major deadlines coming up in mid-November. If you live in Brooklyn or Queens and have a project eligible for public funding, these opportunities are not-to-be-missed and require a pretty intense application. You should probably start thinking about them now!
Residencies
The William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center (The Barn)
This month-long residency in Montauk provides a simple, communal environment for a cohort of 4 creatives.
Free to apply, $2,500 stipend upon completion if accepted.
Aimed toward individuals, not collaborative teams.
Deadline: Oct 13th
A residency in Ménerbes, France, providing private lodging and studio. Focus is on a specific project, and residency lasts 1-2 months.
$25 to apply, $1,500 stipend if accepted.
Deadline: Oct 15th
Art Omi: Music/Writers Residency
A Hudson-Valley-based residency lasting 2-4 weeks that emphasizes community and collaboration. Choose either “Writers” or “Music” depending on which better fits the nature of your craft!
Free to apply, no stipend but food and lodging provided.
Deadline: Oct 15th
Development
Lumos Players Script Reading Series
Zoom-based readings of selected scripts by prepared actors. Plus a 10–15 minute group discussion to support development.
Musicals welcome!
Deadline: Oct 3rd
Theatre 33: 2026 Summer Play Submissions
Apply for either a 3×33 workshop production - 70 total hours of rehearsal, four performances with feedback - or a Pop-Up concert reading -16 total rehearsal hours, three performances.
Exclusive to writers with a connection to the Pacific Northwest. (Are you from California? Oregon? Washington?)
Free to submit.
Deadline: Oct 10th
A national new-play festival (July 17–19, 2026) featuring staged readings with professional adjudication and cash awards. The winner receives potentially a full production.
Exclusive to plays.
$20 submission fee, $10 for Dramatist Guild members. (This fee goes up on Oct 14th, so submit early to save!)
$500 honorarium to finalists + more if you advance.
Deadline: Oct 31st
That’s it for this month’s highlights! Incredibly, a few folks have already signed up to receive The List - my comprehensive compendium of all upcoming opportunities for which theatre writers are eligible. A massive THANK YOU to everyone who has subscribed - every dollar of your subscription fee goes toward the production of new work. Like season 1 of The Reality Shaper: A Musical Podcast! Right now, your $5/month is helping us hire a dialogue editor. (:
Please enjoy this expanded collection of 50+ 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.
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