About the lab

A new play lab supporting diverse voices in the American Theatre. 

Chain Theatre Play Writing Lab continues its commitment to developing new plays by diverse artists and underrepresented voices in the American Theatre. Since its inception, Chain has developed plays focusing on what unites us, links us together as well as what divides us. This is a highly collaborative process with a personal, intensive focus on the playwright, your story, and your words.

Submissions are NOW CLOSED

“The folks at the Chain Theatre are among the great  unsung heroes of cultural New York.”

Richard Price, Clockers, HBO’s The Night Of, The Wire

chain playwriting Lab Submission Requirements

Eligibility: 

• All playwrights must be NYC based artists. 

• Must be part of an under-represented community in the arts. Female identifying, a person of color, LGBTQ, or trans artists are encouraged to apply. 

• Must be full length plays. 70 pages or more with a completed draft. 

• Playwright must have all necessary rights. 

Application Process: 

Applications will be accepted until Dec 20, 2021. Free to submit and participate. Include the following with your submission:

• Resume and Bio. 

• History of where the play has been previously produced or developed.

• PDF Attachment of your play. It must be a completed draft. 

• Include a synopsis of your play.

• Must be available for a in person interview.

• Must be fully vaccinated.

SUBMIT TO: lab@chaintheatre.org

The Lab

This is an intensive, highly collaborative process. We ask that you only submit if you have the availability to participate in the Lab.

Playwrights will meet regularly with your Director and the Director of the Lab. While each play will have different needs depending on how far along in the development process your play is, a typical timeline for the Lab would be: Weeks 1-2, meet with the Director and the Director of the Lab once a week to discuss your work and structure. Following each of these meetings, you will be given time to work on the play outside of the Lab and return with any changes. Weeks 3-5, actors are brought in to read through the script and/or work on specific scenes. At a second meeting during these weeks, you will meet with the Director to discuss what was learned from the previous rehearsal and any possible changes to consider. Week 6, there will be two to three rehearsals to fine tune the intentions of the characters with the actors in preparation for the staged readings.

A Director will be chosen for you from the Chain Theatre Team, so plays that already have a director attached cannot be considered. All actors will be chosen by the Director and the Chain to ensure an opportunity to hear the text with a fresh voice.

Following the 6 weeks of development, playwrights will be given a professional virtual staged reading. Tickets to the staged reading will be FREE to all patrons. Staged Readings will take place February 2022. All plays developed are candidates for full production for the Chain Theatre.

Leadership

Chain Playwriting Lab Director is Ella Jane New. Ella is a theatre and film maker based in NYC. After receiving her MFA from University of London, Ella wrote and directed Banquet of Chestnuts at the George Wood Theatre in London, where she received the Goldsmiths New Writing Award. Other awards include: WOMEN MAKE MOVIES Fellowship and Eastman Foundation Grant and was chosen for the Creative Minds Program in association with Sundance Institute & Sundance Film Festival. Ella's work has been seen around the world at the U.N. Global Wake-Up Fest; Unspoken human rights Festival and has received distribution by BBC Worldwide, Al Jazeera and Globostat Brazil."

Ms. New will on hand, moderating the rehearsal and development process. Christina Elise Perry, Director of Outreach for the Chain Theatre, will also oversee the completion of the Lab in collaboration with the Chain Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kirk Gostkowski, Dramaturg G.D. Kimble and Literary Director, John Arthur Long.

personal testimony from past playwrights:

"The Chain Playwriting Lab took my play to the next level. The Director worked closely with me and offered specific feedback that allowed me to really develop the structure of the play and gave me new insight into the characters. The Actors were incredible; with great depth and humor, they really brought my vision to life." - Andrea Coleman, 2019 PlayLab RUN

"From my first meeting with THE CHAIN, I knew that I'd never been in a better, more supportive arena for a playwright. With them running alongside me, I found renewed love and purpose for a piece that I'd all but given up on, and I couldn't be prouder of the work we did together." - G.D. Kimble 2020 PlayLab WHAT PASSES FOR COMEDY

"As an emerging playwright, it’s an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with a director and professional actors in a developmental setting. The Chain Playwriting Lab was a space where I felt encouraged to grow as an artist." - Andrew Martini 2020 PlayLab IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER

"Playwrights, hurry, and submit! The Chain Theater is full of talented and dedicated theater-makers, the playwriting lab is an ideal creative space for a playwright who is looking to put in some unfeigned developmental work. I was fortunate enough to develop my play, LYCHEE MARTINI as part of the 2019 Playwriting Lab. I had a wonderful, challenging, and rewarding experience. The script tightened up and the storytelling became stronger, no doubt." - Ed Cardona Jr. 2012 PlayLab LYCHEE MARTINI. Following that lab, LYCHEE MARTINI was selected as a 2020 finalist for the Eugene O'Neill's National Playwrighting Conference.

2021 PLAYS

• Georgie D.

• Queen Z.

• White Knuckle

2020 PLAYS

• What Passes For Comedy

• Caught

• In the Name of the Father

2019 Plays

• Scenes From The Day My Brother Was Wed

• Lychee Martini

• Run