National Queer Theater Opens Applications for Global Queer Playwriting Program

National Queer is now accepting applications for its free Criminal Queerness Studio playwriting program. Trans Americans, queer writers living outside of the United States, and those who have left their home countries as immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers are welcome to apply to the seven-week virtual program.

Led by Ugandan playwright Achiro P. Olwoch, Criminal Queer Studio provides a radical, supportive space to build a global queer community. The program includes seven weekly two-hour Zoom workshops in April and May 2026 with queer writers and activists from around the world, with the goal of finishing an original 10-minute play that will be performed by professional actors.

"Criminal Queerness Studio invites queer artists to write from the places they've been told to hide," said Olwoch. "It honors queerness as a site of knowledge, survival, and creative power-where making art becomes an act of refusal and care."

Workshop times will be determined according to participants' schedules and time zones. Interested applicants are welcome to participate from anywhere in the world, provided they have access to Wi-Fi and can commit to attending all sessions.

Interested playwrights may apply to Criminal Queerness Studio here.

Criminal Queerness Studio is a project of National Queer Theater. To learn more about NQT's programming in support of LGBTQ+ artists, youth, and seniors or to make a donation, please visit www.nationalqueertheater.org.