NJ Theatre Alliance Career Accelerator Program Opens Applications

New Jersey Theatre Alliance has announced that applications are now open for its Career Accelerator Program, a six-month paid professional development initiative designed to provide emerging theatre professionals with meaningful, hands-on experience in theatre administration and management.

The Career Accelerator Program is specifically designed to help accelerate the careers of emerging theatre professionals from underrepresented communities in New Jersey's arts sector, with the goal of helping build a theatre workforce that more fully reflects the diverse communities it serves.

Three Career Accelerator Fellows will be selected for the program, which will run from January 2027 through June 2027. Each fellow will participate in three consecutive two-month placements—two with professional New Jersey theatres and one with New Jersey Theatre Alliance—providing participants with the opportunity to experience different organizational cultures, departments, and approaches to theatre management.

“The future of New Jersey theatre depends not only on the artists we put on our stages, but also on the people who will lead, manage, develop, market, educate, engage, and advocate for our organizations,” said John McEwen, Executive Director of New Jersey Theatre Alliance. “The Career Accelerator Program is about creating genuine pathways into our field. By combining paid, hands-on experience with mentorship and meaningful professional relationships, we are giving emerging leaders an opportunity to build both the skills and the network they need to establish lasting careers in New Jersey's theatre community.”

During each placement, fellows will work 16 hours per week at a rate of $20 per hour, paid by New Jersey Theatre Alliance. In addition, each fellow will receive a $500 travel stipend as well as an additional $500 stipend to help support life needs that make participation possible, including health care, child care, tuition costs, or debt repayment.

Fellows will work directly with their host theatres on specific responsibilities, projects, and learning goals while also participating in professional development seminars, mentoring meetings, and regular check-ins with New Jersey Theatre Alliance staff. Professional development sessions are included as part of the fellows' paid program hours.

“What makes the Career Accelerator Program so valuable is that fellows are not simply observing the work—they become part of it,” said Daria M. Sullivan, Manager of Programs & Services for New Jersey Theatre Alliance. “Over six months, they have the chance to contribute to real projects, learn from professionals working throughout the field, ask questions, explore different areas of theatre administration, and discover where their own interests and talents might lead them. Just as importantly, we want every fellow to leave the program knowing that they have colleagues, mentors, and a professional community here in New Jersey that is invested in their success.”

Applicants should identify as emerging theatre professionals and be based in New Jersey. Special consideration may be made for New Jersey residents attending school out of state who are able to participate remotely when agreeable to participating theatres.

The program welcomes applicants who are currently enrolled in college, college graduates, individuals who have completed high school but are not attending college, and adults who are entering the theatre field through a career change. Currently enrolled high school students are not eligible.

The Career Accelerator Program is particularly intended to expand opportunities for individuals who have historically been underrepresented in the arts sector. Applicants from historically underrepresented backgrounds—including Indigenous, transgender, non-binary, disabled, and/or people of color—are strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants may have an interest in one or more areas of theatre administration, including marketing, arts management, literary management and dramaturgy, artistic direction, casting, development and fundraising, community engagement, theatre education, program development, and accessibility. Previous professional theatre experience is not required to have an interest in these areas.

Participating member theatres are selected based on their capacity to supervise and mentor a fellow, their commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression practices, and their ability to provide a structured learning experience with meaningful responsibilities, projects, and opportunities for professional growth.

Applications for the Career Accelerator Program open Wednesday, September 9, 2026 and must be submitted by Wednesday, October 7, 2026. First-round and finalist interviews will take place October and November 2026, with selected fellows notified November 2026.

Applicants will be asked to submit basic contact and demographic information, a resume, and responses to several short-answer questions about their interest in the program, career goals, areas of theatre they would like to explore, and their commitment to helping create an arts workforce that is equitable, just, and representative of New Jersey's diverse communities.

For complete eligibility requirements, application information, and deadlines, visit njtheatrealliance.org/career-accelerator/.