Advice for theater artists on applying for Playwrights’ Center programs
Overview
We asked a group of recent McKnight Theater Artist Fellows to send us advice meant for colleagues who are preparing applications. You’ll find a lot of thoughts here: some very specific, some that can apply to many situations, and some that contradict each other. We hope you will take note of any ideas that stand out to you to help you create more and more successful applications.
1. How do you choose impactful work samples for your application?
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Think about balancing things that you love from your work, things that others have said they like, and things that connect to the story you are telling in the application. If those all connect, those are the pieces.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I chose to not only include the best of the best or the highest profile work, but a range. Demonstrating a range of work as well as organizations/entities/collaborations helps the viewer understand the impact your work has in the community. As for medium, I feel sometimes the record of the work does not do the work justice. Therefore, in some cases, I chose to cite the work in the written portion of the application and use the better records (images, etc.) in the visual portion. That said, you have to start where you are, so use what you have. Better to apply and get feedback than not to apply.
Elizabeth MacNally (stage manager, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I found it very useful to tell my story in my work samples. It’s important that work samples work with artist statements. They should reflect your themes. If you are using a cast photo or a backstage photo, how does it connect to your work? Make sure to connect the pieces.
Darrick Mosley (actor, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
My theory was to figure out what story I wanted to tell and align my work samples with the same theme as my artist statement. I feel like showcasing your work at different theaters and in different roles is helpful. It’s a way to show range. With video clips, I would ask myself how the videos connect to one another and am I at the center focus. Pictures with other actors helped with my theme of collaboration. Making sure the videos are clear, focused, and easy to view helps, because the better the quality, the more people will pay attention to it.
Sam Houkom (stage manager, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Using 10 images, I tried to show, as an ASM, the variety of ways I share information for a production with other departments: stage crew, wardrobe crew, designers, automation, etc. in order to create open and successful communication. I also used images from several different shows from different theaters to show my ability to work in a variety of venues. Combining examples of paperwork that I had created with images of what the paperwork is for helped show how the behind-the-scenes work produces what is seen onstage.
My video with my voiceover explained how I took the initiative to create an archival video of a complicated backstage shift (the tornado sequence from The Wizard of Oz) in full light to help future productions see how the shift worked. Again, this was an example of documenting a portion of the show to help visualize something that happens backstage in very little light.
What I found to be key to my application was how the visuals of images and video supported my artist statement of my goals as an Assistant Stage Manager. As one of the judges told me after I received the McKnight, my statement and my images told a comprehensive story.
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
If your work sample is video (more so than any other medium) the first 30 seconds is the key. You’ve got to grab the viewers’ attention and allow it to engage them. Slower and subtler images could be mixed later in your sample. Also, it’s your artistry you are presenting, so pick the ones that represent what you are as an artist and present the moment you want the viewer to remember of you. What you share is a gift to us.
T. Mychael Rambo (actor, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
When I think of this question, I think of really reflecting on what you want the reader of your application to experience, how you want them to get to know you as a person, and how you want them to know that your work is reflective of and an example of not only who you are as an artist, but of the person that you’re introducing them to in your application. To that end, if you want them to know how strong you are in the skillsets of creative play, directing, singing, soliloquies, or your work as a social activist—whatever the choice is for your application—you want to make sure that you choose a sample that truly reflects that type of work and that really hones in on the strengths that you possess in that area. I often find myself that, more times than not, the most important work sample is not the longest but the one that is the clearest, the most concise, and—because the panel reads so many applications—the shortest. I also think that if you’re using a range of different work samples, be very careful not only about what you select but what you show first. Make certain that the first one really engages, captures, and captivates them so much that they want to move in and view or listen to the remainder of your work sample. It’s not really the best idea to save the best for last. Put the best first.
2. How do you request a strong letter of recommendation or Statement of Working Process?
Elizabeth MacNally (stage manager, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Find two people that reflect different parts of your practice. That helps tell a whole story of who you are as an artist. Share your artist statement with them so they understand your point of view and help carry the thread of your application.
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Let them write you a love letter to your working process. Not just how much they adore you, but what makes you the one to work with. Make sure to give them plenty of time to write—they are as busy as you are, and please thank them for their effort. And ask the ones you have a genuine working relationship with over time.
Sam Houkom (stage manager, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I picked two people who I worked closely with, who understood my strengths, and who recognized where I was trying to improve. I think some applicants may think that they need “a name” to write their recommendation. I think it is more important for someone who can speak of you in an honest and informed way. It’s not who they are but what they say. I don’t believe I gave them any kind of prompt or information. I merely trusted them.
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
For me it was about people who I have collaborated really well with. Who are your favorite collaborators? Who gets you and you get them when you are working together. And of those, I chose at least one who could speak to me as a person in community as well as a professional collaborator.
Darrick Mosley (actor, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I tried to choose people who could speak honestly about my work and working with me. Finding people who I worked with in different capacities. Having a range of people that can speak to my work from a different point of view. I also found it helpful for the people writing my recommendation letter to read my artist statement. With doing this, it kept the focus of my theme clear and specific.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Again, the best of the best or the highest profile person is not always the most appropriate for all applications. I chose people who could speak to range. Although it is helpful to send the application to the person writing the letter, I find it important to make it as easy as possible for them. We are all busy. In the ask, I paraphrase the application and the provide areas of focus for the writer to include that align with my application to make the whole application cohesive, e.g. ask them to talk about specific projects you are including in the application in their letter.
T. Mychael Rambo (actor, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
As a person who’s been at the University of Minnesota as an adjunct for twenty-three years, I’ve written my fair share of letters of recommendation. When asking another person to write a letter, ensure that you give them everything they need to know in order to best serve your application. So often, a person is eager to write the letter, but then you discover later that it had nothing to do with your application and seems to have been a wasted use of that person’s resource. This both makes it challenging to go to them in the future and makes the letter one that really won’t serve you on the application. So have a real nice chat with that person. Say, “Hey, I want all the support I can get from you, and I really hope that you have the time to read a short list of bullet points that I brought up in my application that I’d love for you to zoom in on and focus on.” If you have more than one letter of recommendation and you have multiple bullet points of information that you think are vital to the letters, know that one person may not be able to include them all. So send the first person bullet points 1-3 and then the next person numbers 4-7 and then the next person 8-10, so that way it’s equally distributed. Then you can make certain that one person doesn’t feel overwhelmed trying to include far too much information. Even if the person doesn’t have the highest credentials, the best thing is to find the person who has the highest regard for you and the clearest, most genuine and authentic relationship with you. Because a person—your neighbor, the postman, the guy at the bodega down the street—that really, really knows you, what they write is gonna shine lightyears above the person who you think will impress the panel with their accolades and letters behind their name. What’s impressive is that the person who writes your letter knows you and wants you to receive what you’re applying for.
3. How do you create an impactful artist statement?
Tyler Michaels King (actor, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
There are two main things I focus on. The first is the “why” of my work. Why do I make art? What is the driving force behind my artistry? Second, is the “impact” that my art making has, both with my collaborators and with the community. What does my art provide to others? How does my art benefit the world around me?
Darrick Mosley (actor, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
One challenge I had to overcome was being vulnerable. I would say don’t be afraid to speak about your work and journey on a personal level. Invite the reader to really get a glimpse into your life and the reason you do this work.
Sam Houkom (stage manager, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
The first time I applied, I tried to make my statement “sound artsy.” It was a bit too flowery and didn’t have a true goal or path the reader could follow. I still used a lot of that statement my second time around, but I took out the metaphors and ideas that didn’t progress my story. I tried to write my statement with an overall thesis supported by how my experience over the years evolved to help me achieve a goal. Then the images and video visually supported what I had written. I also think it is important to explain your strengths AND be honest with something you continue to work on. No one is perfect, and I believe saying how you continue to grow and learn is helpful.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I included personal information to help the panel understand my choices in projects, like working with choreographers because it is important to me to elevate and showcase dance as a storytelling medium. I also included personal elements that demonstrate my contribution and/or artistic filter that marks my work as mine. For example, movement plays a role in evoking an emotional response in live performance. In my application, I demonstrated specifics about collaboration with the performer and designer to enhance—or in some cases inhibit—movement that would elevate the performance.
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
What are my lineages, obsessions, curiosities, and the practices/themes keep coming back to me as an artist?
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Lean into you and your story. Have someone who doesn’t know what you do read it to help with clarity.
Elizabeth MacNally (stage manager, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Let us understand you as an artist and how you develop your practice. Show us who you are as an artist. Let us understand your journey.
T. Mychael Rambo (actor, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I feel that a successful artistic statement is one that you have given a lot more time to than the other parts of the application. The artist statement needs what I call “walk around time.” A lot of time to clean your house and go grocery shopping and just mull it over. My granny used to call it “cogitation time.” Figure out what you want to say that best reflects how you do what you do and what makes what you do important. Why is it something that only you can do or that is done in a way that only you do it? What makes it authentic, specific, and particularly special for you? That’s what I think makes for a really successful artist statement. Sometimes we get lofty and poetic, and then when we give it to a friend to read, they say, “That was really pretty, it was colorful. But what do you mean? What are you talking about?”
Be very clear that you really read the application instructions, because sometimes the limit is in words, but sometimes it’s in characters. You don’t want to misread it and then have to cut half your artist statement.
I really feel like it’s helpful to do a “vomit draft.” Just stream of consciousness, whatever’s in your mind, whatever comes out, so that you can regurgitate and let go of all the stuff that clouds up the ability to speak clearly, concisely, and credibly. One of the tasks of the panel is to determine if you can actually accomplish what you’re seeking, so you need to write clearly. Prove that you are the artist that truly has the skillsets that can be fully used with acuity, with agility, with clarity, and with confidence, and that can really do the task you say you’re gonna do. I also give myself prompts based on quotations. For example: “I came into this world to live out loud.”
I don’t put too much focus on the minutiae of my personal and professional activities, because that goes on the resume. The statement is a chance to see you outside of what we know you have done on stages or in galleries.
4. How do you make sure your application is specific to the opportunity you are applying for, and how do you contextualize your work for someone who may not work in the same discipline or medium that you do?
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
It is important to me to apply for programs that align with my work and its impact. Force fitting or retro fitting has not worked for me.
Providing context is an art, a nuanced balance between “man-splaining” and talking over the heads of your audience. I enrolled folx with different levels of experience to review my application and give feedback before submitting.
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Why now and why you? Make a case in your language. Geek out, as you are passionate about how you approach what you do.
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Have someone who doesn’t know what you do read it to help with clarity.
Elizabeth MacNally (stage manager, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Have a clear story in mind. Focus your thoughts so the pieces connect. You might have other disciplines you practice, but stay focused on your main practice.
Sam Houkom (stage manager, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
It was my understanding that the judges were familiar with what a stage manager does, so I didn’t work too hard to explain my job. My hope was that the explanations that went along with each image and the voiceover I made to accompany the video were clear, concise, and easy for anyone in the theater and outside the theater to understand.
5. What kinds of questions do you ask the administrators of the program as you prepare your application?
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Any of the information, workshops, and thoughts from the administrators are useful. Ingest all you can! They are very helpful 🙂
After reading through the documentation, if you have any questions at all, ask them.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I chose not to ask much, because I did not want to be a bother. Later, I learned that is a big part of the program administrator’s role, to support applicants. I encourage folx to ask the questions they have and ask for the support they need.
Tyler Michaels King (actor, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
If you’ve applied before, always ask for feedback. It can be hard in the face of rejection, but learning about how your statements and materials resonate others—especially those who don’t know you—will help you to refine your voice and will inform how you communicate your passions in future applications. (Trust me, I applied 9 times!)
6. How do you handle rejection and feedback on your application?
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Rejection is part of the process. Do we ever get things right the first time we do them? Regarding notes, take the ones that can help to bring clarity to your application’s story. A new panel will see things differently, but an outside eye is really useful in this also.
Tyler Michaels King (actor, 2024-2025 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
There is an important balance here: you have to learn how to take hard-to-hear criticism to let it inform your path forward… but you also need to learn how to laugh off the people who just don’t get you. The trick is building up a sense of keen self-awareness to know which is which. All art is subjective; that subjectivity can hurt, especially when our identities are so tied to our work. But there is good hurt and meritless hurt. Sometimes we really need to hear the thing that stings a bit to push us towards what we are actually trying to do with our art. And sometimes we have to shake that sideways comment off and keep forging your own unique path forward.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
The application process is huge. The self-reflection needed can be self-judging, emotional, and debilitating. I was not always successful, but I tried to focus on process as opposed to outcome. I applied the feedback I received and reapplied. On one hand, applications are a numbers game. The more you have out there, the higher your odds for receiving an opportunity. The other thing to remember: the panel is different every cycle. Therefore, the specific focus or alchemy, if you will, of the group differs, which affects the outcome of each cycle.
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Hang your rejection letters somewhere you can see, and know that you have applied again. Keep applying as long as you are creating, staying curious, and having fun. Your time will come one day, and reflect on what you have done!
7. What other practices, habits, or activities help you in the application process?
Masanari Kawahara (puppeteer/puppet designer, 2010-2011 & 2018-2019 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Keep refining what you write (every year). Revise your work samples to reflect on where you are as an artist (and feel proud about what you have done). Live your life as an artist fully. What you create is a huge gift to the audience and your work. Cherish while you are able to work, and reflect where you are, and what you have done. Share your work, and keep creating while you can.
Peter Morrow (sound designer, 2025-2026 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
Outside eye(s). Someone who knows what you do deeply, and someone who doesn’t. Talking to those who have received the fellowship before is useful. If you get the chance to sit on a panel, take it. It’s a useful insight into the process.
DJ Gramann II (costume artisan, 2023-2024 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
The second year, I created a support team of three: one within my discipline, one within the field, and one complete outsider. We scheduled three rounds of review/revision with enough time left to finalize the application and submit. Your application will evolve over time, particularly if you are new to applying. I cannot stress enough for folx to apply, keep applying, and keep investigating other programs for which to apply.
T. Mychael Rambo (actor, 2021-2022 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow):
I use this phrase from a TV show back in the ‘80s called A Different World. It was about an HBCU, Hillman College, and Debbie Allen was one of the instructors there, and she would say “Relax, relate, release” to the dancers. “You gotta relax, relate, release.” And I think that’s a real good thing to do. Relax, because what’s for you sure ain’t gon miss you, as the old folks would say. And it’ll be all right in the end, as my granny would say. “And if it ain’t all right, it ain’t the end.” Find whatever it is that takes you into the space of being relaxed enough to access what you need. For me, what I will do is only write for certain lengths of time. I put a timer on and then get up and walk around the house. And once I feel relaxed, I want to relate. I want to relate to the panel reviewer, who is a person that I may not ever meet and do not know, in such a way that they experience me as being believable, authentic, and also capable and competent.
Talking through the application with someone, for me, has always been very helpful. Make sure it’s someone who you trust enough to be able to hear their feedback as something being offered from a place of love, consideration, thoughtfulness, and a desire for you to accomplish your goal. Find someone who will say, “I don’t know what the hell you just said” or “That makes sense, keep it like that.” And keep it simple. When it’s time to write, keep it simple.
The other thing I often do is I record it on a recorder, and listen to it, and then I just let it go and walk away for a while and listen back.
Here’s the biggest thing: try your best not to wait until the eleventh hour. I know for me and for so many of us we kind of believe that, “Oh, I do my best work under pressure.” Doing it earlier releases the stress and gives you a chance to reflect on what you said and go back and edit and omit and condense and distill.
Relate, and then release. Put it out there, write it down, and once you’ve gotten it finished, give yourself permission to release it, to turn it in and let go. When it’s finished, it’s finished. When it’s done it’s done, and perfection does not exist on the page. We have to believe that we’ve done the best that we can do, and if we feel like we’ve given ourselves ample time and done all that we can do, then it is perfection and it is the best job we can do.