The Ingram New Works Project
Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been gifted with the funds to support the creation of new work for the theatre, and with this mission Tennessee Rep has created the Ingram New Works Project, a program which includes the New Works Lab. Tennessee Rep seeks committed playwrights for residency in the 2010-2011 New Works Lab.
The Ingram New Works Lab
Tennessee Rep will serve and support selected regional playwrights as they work in residence to create new work for the theatre. Tennessee Rep will provide the playwrights-in-residence:
- A season-long playwright-run script lab that meets once a month.
- Access to professional actors, providing a choice of collaborators amongst theatre artists in Nashville.
- Workshop sessions involving professional directors, designers, and dramaturgs.
- Access to professional marketing and audience development resources.
- A symposium with the Ingram New Works Fellow, a playwright with a national reputation.
- Participation in the New Works Festival, giving the playwrights the opportunity to work with a professional director and actors in rehearsal and hear their script read in front of a live audience.
- A supportive environment to foster and support the playwright’s process.
Monthly script lab
The New Works Lab will meet once a month to provide playwrights-in-residence with a supportive but disciplined environment to workshop their scripts. By definition a laboratory is a testing ground inasmuch as it offers opportunities for observation, practice and experimentation. Every playwright will have the opportunity to hear multiple drafts of their script read aloud by actors and receive feedback from their fellow playwrights. The lab will provide the opportunity for playwrights to shape, mold, and develop as many drafts as they feel necessary before festival rehearsals begin.
Lab Meeting dates (5:30 pm–9:30 pm):
2010: Sept 13; Oct 4; Oct 25; Nov. 22; Dec 13;
2011: Jan 10; Feb 7; Mar 7; Apr 4; April 25; May 9Collaboration opportunities
Tennessee Rep will facilitate for playwrights-in-residence opportunities to work with their choice of collaborators from amongst top theatre artists in Nashville. Playwrights-in-residence will have access to Tennessee Rep’s professional staff throughout the season, and will have ongoing opportunities to meet with a director, costume designer, set designer and dramaturg to explore what it would take to get their script from page to stage. Each playwright will also have the opportunity to consult with marketing and audience development staff to gather ideas about resources available to best promote their new work.
Lab symposium with New Works Fellow
Playwrights-in-residence will participate in a week-long New Works Lab symposium with the recipient of the Ingram New Works Fellowship, a nationally recognized playwright (symposium dates TBA, subject to the Fellow’s availability). The symposium will take advantage of the New Works Fellow’s experience and skill, focusing on a wide variety of issues related to working as a playwright: everything from how an emerging playwright gets a script produced to how to manage the pitfalls of the development process to specific guidance on the art of playwriting. The New Works Fellow will serve as a mentor to the playwrights-in-residence throughout the season via electronic communication. Lab participants should be prepared to clear their schedule for the entirety of the week-long symposium.
Participation in New Works Festival
Work in the Lab will be focused on goals established by the playwrights-in-residence. However, each playwright will be expected to work toward the creation of a new play that will be presented in a staged reading at the New Works Festival, whether completed or as a work in progress. Please note the following criteria for New Works festival plays being developed in the lab:
- Full-length plays (prefer 80-120 mins. running time)
- Plays that utilize no more than 10 actors.
- Plays that have not previously been produced by any professional company.
The Ingram New Works Lab is intended to be an artistic home for playwrights to share work, hone craft, receive direction, and springboard themselves into the next phase of their writing career, providing a fertile environment for the emergence of great new plays.
Application Guidelines for the Ingram New Works Lab
Tennessee Rep will award up to eight residencies in the New Works Lab to regional playwrights. Each playwright who accepts the residency will commit to participating in the monthly Lab meeting, the New Works symposium, rehearsals for the New Works Festival, and assisting with the New Works Festival in June 2011 as auxiliary artistic staff. Playwrights-in-residence will also be invited to participate in Tennessee Rep staff and outreach events. All playwrights who accept a residency must commit to be available for all lab, symposium, rehearsal and festival dates. Should a playwright-in-residence miss multiple commitments, they may be asked to forgo their place in the New Works Lab. Tennessee Rep does not provide monetary compensation or housing for playwrights-in-residence and encourages regional playwrights to consider travel commitments before applying.
Applications must be submitted by July 15, 2010 to be considered for the 2010-2011 Ingram New Works Lab. Playwrights-in-residence will be identified by August 15, 2010.
All applications should include the following material:
- A letter stating your objectives for working on a new play in the Ingram New Works Lab at Tennessee Rep.
- Bio w/ history as playwright.
- A play that best represents your writing skill. Full-length is preferred, but a substantial one-act play (min. 1 hr running time) will be acceptable for this application. Your script should be collated, paginated, and bound with either binder clips or brads. Please do not use three-brad portfolio covers or report covers, etc. To save trees and shipping costs, we encourage applicants to submit double-sided copies. Author and contact information must appear on the title page. Please do not submit musicals, screenplays, TV scripts, or children’s theatre.
- A brief synopsis of the application play.
- A character breakdown of the application play
Application materials should be addressed to:
Lauren Shouse
Artistic Associate
Re: New Works Lab
Tennessee Repertory Theatre
161 Rains Ave.
Nashville, TN 37203
