Cherry Lane Theatre Launches Playwrights Collective

The Cherry Lane Theatre has announced its Playwrights Collective, a nine-month developmental program under the direction of playwright Annie Baker, designed to support rising playwrights through community and a rigorous structure without the barriers of formal graduate programs.

A cohort of six selected playwrights will meet over ten Sunday evenings, every three weeks, at Cherry Lane Theatre from September 2026 through June 2027 to share work, read pages aloud, and develop brand-new plays over the course of the year.

The program culminates in a public reading series presented over six Monday nights in late May - June 2027, featuring professional actors and directors for text-focused presentations, each with one day of rehearsal. While the reading series provides a platform to hear the work with an audience, the primary mission is to create new work, and only playwrights who have shown up for the Sunday meetings will have public readings. The program will embrace Cherry Lane’s downtown history of incubating bold new writing, offering playwrights a supportive, artist-first community.

The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective will operate under Cherry Lane Development Group, a new non-profit with a mission “to foster bold, innovative voices in the theatrical arts by cultivating a dynamic space where artists can take risks, deepen their craft, and shape new worlds for the stage."

A24 will not own any work created through this program. Writers retain full ownership of their material.

The ideal applicants are emerging playwrights who crave rigorous feedback, consistency, accountability, and a collaborative environment. The program is built for writers who might have day jobs, who need structure, and who would benefit from a sustained, intimate cohort committed to taking risks and developing new full-length plays over nine months.

Eligibility

• Applications are free, open to the public. Applicants will submit a full length play and brief materials (see below). 

• Writers must be able to attend all Collective meetings in person.
  (Please note, no travel stipends or living stipends will be provided).

• Writers who have not had a Broadway or Off-Broadway production in NYC and who will not be in an undergraduate or graduate program in the 26/27 academic year are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to writers who are not in other incubator programs that meet weekly/monthly.

• Submissions portal will open February 2, 2026 at 10am ET and close March 2, 2026 at 5pm ET. Late applications will not be accepted.

What To Submit

• One Full Length Play 
  Minimum 45 pages, maximum 150 pages, as a single PDF file (please do not submit Final Draft files or links to other platforms). A play written only by you. Please note once chosen, you will work on a new play in this collective, not the one you submitted.

• A Brief Statement
  Describing why you would like to be part of this program, max one single-spaced page. You don't have to tell us why you're a great writer or what your writing is about or your personal history, unless that interests you. Just tell us some of the things you're thinking about and/or reading and/or writing and/or seeing these days and why you'd like to be part of this.

• Resume 
  Professional and/or artistic.

• References 
  Phone numbers and emails of two professional references.

• Eligibility Confirmations 
  No full- time students; no qualifying professional NYC productions; in-person availability on Sunday evenings Sept - June.

What Happens If You’re Accepted

Accepted playwrights join a small cohort of six writers who meet for ten Sundays over nine months (exact dates to be confirmed) at Cherry Lane to read new pages aloud and workshop their developing plays. Over the year, they receive structured support, accountability, and a creative home.

At the end of the cycle, each writer receives a reading on one of six consecutive Monday nights, with professional actors and directors and a single day-of rehearsal. The readings are seated, on-book presentations designed to give the public the opportunity to hear the new work.

Questions

Should you have any questions, please email questions@cherrylanetheatre.org.