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NEW
PLAYS ON CAMPUS

Connecting your college or university to new plays and playwrights

Playwrights’ Center builds bridges between campus playwrights and the professional theater community, offering access to a vibrant network of people and a deep well of resources. Student or faculty members, connect laterally to your peers at other schools, or to seasoned pros who can help you on your journey.

Benefits

Schools pay for a cluster of individual memberships, so that students can receive all of our Tier 1 benefits for free—including submission opportunities, class discounts, script feedback, and full access to our learning library. Plus exclusive seminars and events just for New Plays on Campus members.

01
Core Apprentice Program

Students of New Plays on Campus schools can apply to be Core Apprentices, who are granted fully-funded play development workshops at Playwrights’ Center and a season-long mentorship with a professional playwright.

02
Script Matchmaking

We’ll connect your school with the perfect new script. Looking for a show with a specific tone or cast size? Tell us what you need, and we’ll connect you with the best options.

03
Class Visits

Host a visit from our membership team, or from a professional playwright. They’ll come to you, in person or online, to share invaluable tips, tricks, and experience with your student groups that will help prepare them for playwriting careers.

04
Exclusive New Plays on Campus Events

Plus exclusive free seminars and events only for New Plays on Campus students, including:

  • Guidance on applications and submissions
  • Community-building opportunities designed to help students network with each other and professionals in the field
  • Personal feedback and help with readings, at any stage of a student’s script

Who should enroll?

College and university theaters can enroll students and faculty.

What’s the membership fee?

New Plays on Campus memberships are a great value at $300 annually.

Want to bring New Plays on Campus to your school?

Contact us!

For more information about the New Plays on Campus program, please contact Emma Busch, Professional Resources and Education Associate, at emmab@pwcenter.org.

Start here
Arizona
Arizona State University

School of Film, Dance and Theatre

Arkansas
University of Arkansas

Department of Theater

California
UCLA

School of Theater, Film, and Television

San Diego State University

School of Theater Television and Film

District of Columbia
Florida
Stetson University

Theatre Arts

Idaho
Boise State University

Theatre, Film and Creative Writing

Illinois
Indiana
University of Notre Dame
Iowa
University of Iowa

Department of Theatre Arts

Iowa State University

Department of Music and Theatre

Kentucky
Spalding University

Creative Writing

Maine
Bowdoin College

Department of Theater and Dance

Maryland
Washington College

Department of Drama

Massachusetts
Boston University

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

Smith College

Department of Theatre

Minnesota
Augsburg University

Creative Writing, Theater

Macalester College

Theatre and Dance Department

University of Minnesota

Department of Theatre Arts & Dance

Carleton College
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Dartmouth College

Department of Theater

New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Brown University

Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies

Tennessee
Sewanee: The University of the South

English and Creative Writing

Texas
University of Texas – Austin

Department of Theatre and Dance

Texas State University
Utah
Brigham Young University

Theatre and Media Arts

Vermont
Bennington College

Theatre + Dance

Virginia
Hollins University

The Playwrights’ Lab, Playwriting MFA

New plays on campus University courses
24
states
and counting

Playwrights’ Center is rapidly expanding its presence at universities across the US, and soon around the world. Explore our interactive map of New Plays on Campus schools to dive in further.

Looking to add your campus?

Start here

Praise for New Plays on Campus

The NPOC workshop was a wonderful first taste of what life as a working playwright could be like. When I saw the Playwrights’ Center for the first time I was stunned, in awe that a national center for playwriting was housed inside a church—it was beautiful, and empowering.

This play engaged our students’ imaginations more than any other project I’ve seen in a while.

It is one of the first times that I can honestly say that such a bridge between the professional world and college theater makes us connect in a way that is creative, important, and useful for all parties involved.

Asked if New Plays On Campus could “change American theater,” Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Artistic Director Gregg Henry chuckles. “I think it is possible…I don’t mean to be Pollyanna about it, but everybody’s going to benefit from this.”

The Core Apprenticeship provided me with a fantastic mentor and a full week of new play development; it gave me tremendous and vital support as I left grad school.

Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig

MFA playwriting student at University of Texas-Austin, about the workshop of her play The Other Side of the Closet

David Johnson

Associate Professor of Theater at Virginia Tech, about NPOC and their production of TALLGRASS GOTHIC by Melanie Marnich

Karen Peterson Wilson

Theater Department Chair at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, about NPOC and their production of PERPETUA by Vincent Delaney

From a Variety magazine article by Mark Blankenship

Basil Kreimendahl

MFA playwriting student at Iowa Writers’ Workshop, 2012-13 Core Apprentice, 2013-14 Jerome Fellow, 2014-15 McKnight Fellow