Are you interested in writing a play about the American Jewish experience?
Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) and Brooklyn Jews, in association with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, are looking to co-commission an emerging playwright to write a new play that addresses, illuminates and wrestles with some aspect of the American Jewish experience. This commission seeks to create a new piece of theater that will ignite dialogue and spur community-building around the complexity of being Jewish in America.
The playwright will receive $7500 for this commission (payable on a schedule to be determined), along with two guaranteed readings – currently intended to be presented by CBE and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
Who Should Apply
While all are welcome to apply, this opportunity is intended for early-career artists who might significantly benefit from the financial support and artistic guidance but are pursuing a full time career as a dramatic writer. No level of fluency in Hebrew, religious text, denomination or observance is required.
Application and Timeline
Application Deadline: February 15, 2019
Please email your resume, writing sample (20 pages of a recent script), and answers to the following questions to artistic@rattlestick.org by February 15:
- Describe the play you intend to write.
- Artistic Statement: Why are you interested in writing a play about the American Jewish experience? How does this project speak to your particular artistic vision and perspective?
- Describe any commitments over the next year which may impact your ability to write and develop a new play.
The playwright will be selected by a panel of theater professionals It is intended that the selected playwright will be notified by early April, with a completion deadline of Spring 2020.
Commissioning Organizations
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s mission is to present diverse, challenging and provocative plays that might not otherwise be produced and to foster the future voices of the American theater. We produce theater to inspire empathy and provoke conversations in response to the complexities of our culture. It is essential that Rattlestick’s artists, audience, and core team reflect the diversity of New York City, and that a wide array of perspectives are represented on the Rattlestick stage.
Congregation Beth Elohim
Congregation Beth Elohim (CBE) is a Reform synagogue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We offer authentic, meaningful and outside the box Jewish experiences for those in our Brooklyn community and beyond. We are deeply committed to education for all ages, community-building, spiritual life, and social justice. Our congregation welcomes seekers from all Jewish movements, from other faiths, and at all levels of Jewish experience, including those who are new to our traditions and those who are questioning.
Brooklyn Jews
Brooklyn Jews is a community of young Brooklynites looking to enter the Jewish conversation through art, text, politics, food, and ritual. As an experimental community embedded within a brick and mortar synagogue, Congregation Beth Elohim, we push the limits of Jewish communal life. We affirm the values of progressive, egalitarian Judaism alongside secular culture, fostering Jewish involvement that reflects a Brooklyn lifestyle. Our community offers ritual and learning opportunities to everyone regardless of formal membership.