play commissions

InterAct Theatre Company Celebrates 20 Years of Thought-Provoking Theatre
With 20 New Play Commissions

InterAct Theatre Company is pleased to announce the creation of the 20/20 Commissions, an ambitious initiative that will award twenty new play commissions over the next six seasons. Long established as one of the country’s most devoted producers of provocative, forward thinking new plays, InterAct seeks to use the commissions to explore the issues our society faces in the next twenty years through the eyes of the playwright.

About InterAct Theatre Company

InterAct Theatre Company, located in Philadelphia, PA, is a theatre for today’s world, producing new and contemporary plays that explore the social, political, and cultural issues of our time. In its first twenty seasons InterAct has introduced Philadelphia audiences to a canon of plays exploring the most important issues of the past two decades – from the fall of communism to the rise of terrorism, from religious fundamentalism to American consumerism, from shifts in the political landscape to major advancements in science, from AIDS to genocide, from race relations to war.
Since its founding in 1988, InterAct has produced 23 world-premiere plays by some of the United States, Canada, and Europe’s most provocative playwrights. Plays originating at InterAct have won numerous Barrymore Awards and nominations, and have gone on to receive productions at dozens of regional theatres across the country.

InterAct is a founding member of the National New Play Network, a nationwide organization of 21 theatre companies devoted to the development, production, and continued life of new plays.

About InterAct’s 20/20 Commissions

InterAct plans to award roughly 2-5 commissions per season over the next six seasons, for a total of twenty commissions. There are two types of awards associated with the program:
Development Awards, which may be given to works already in progress, and put toward further development with InterAct’s assistance. Plays receiving Development Awards cannot have had a professional production.
New Play Commissions, in which a new, previously (or substantially) unwritten play is commissioned and aided in the development process by InterAct.
Development Awards will be $2500, while New Play Commissions will range from $5000 - $10,000. InterAct will accept proposals on an annual basis, with application cycles in each of the next four years.

How to Apply for an InterAct Theatre Company 20/20 Commission

Round 1: 2007-2008 Season

The application consists of three parts, which must be received simultaneously by the application deadline of December 1, 2007:
Statement of Interest: The playwright is asked to provide a brief description of the proposed project, why the issues and themes of the project will be significant to society over the next twenty years, and why they wish to work with InterAct on its development. For Development Award applicants, you may additionally discuss the status of the current work and its development history. Statements of interest should not exceed 2 pages.
Up-to-Date Playwriting CV: PLEASE NOTE: for Development Award applicants, be sure to include the development history, if any, of the proposed work.
One copy of a previously completed full-length script: Submitted scripts need not have received previous productions for submission. If possible, playwrights should submit a script that fits within InterAct’s central mission. If the playwright does not feel that they have a script suitable enough for InterAct’s mission, they may send whatever script they feel best expresses their ability to balance complex themes and ideas in their playwriting. PLEASE NOTE: For Development Award applicants, a copy of a previously completed script is asked for in addition to the proposed script for development.
All parts of the application must be sent via regular mail. Submitted scripts will not be returned. Email applications will not be accepted. There is no fee for application.
For all 20/20 New Play Commissions awarded by InterAct, the company reserves the right of first production upon completion of the commission. Recipients of Development Awards are not required to give right of first production to InterAct, though they may choose to do so.

Playwrights not awarded commissions in Round 1 may apply again in future cycles, the next of which will begin in the summer of 2008.

The deadline for completed first cycle applications is December 1, 2007, and InterAct will notify all playwrights of its decision by February 1, 2008.

Applications may be sent to:
InterAct Theatre Company
New Play Commissions
2030 Sansom St
Philadelphia, PA 19103

All inquiries related to the commissions may be directed via email to Peter Bonilla, Literary Manager, via email at pbonilla@interacttheatre.org.

To learn more about InterAct Theatre Company, visit our website at www.interacttheatre.org.