PlayCo Set to Launch International Residency Exchange

PlayCo is launching a new initiative. PlayCo will, over the next two years, send nine American Playwrights to residencies with esteemed international theater companies. This momentous plan is made possible with a generous new grant from the Venturous Theatre Fund of the Tides Foundation. PlayCo will team with six partners: Center for International Theater Development in Budapest, Centre 42 in Singapore, Nalanda Arts Studio in Bangalore, Prologue Center in Taipei, Sala Beckett in Barcelona, and Švanda Theatre in Prague. As part of the exchange program, these partners will also send playwrights to the U.S. for residencies with PlayCo; details will be announced at a later date.

The residency program is an outgrowth of PlayCo's vision for advancing a more innovative and globally inclusive American theater ecosystem. Approaching 25 years since its first full production in 2001, PlayCo has developed and produced 46 plays from 15+ countries, and launched, amplified, and sustained the careers of hundreds of artists from both the U.S. and abroad. (Many have made their U.S. debuts with PlayCo.) Having brought so many perspectives from abroad to New York, the organization now also turns toward connecting American artists' voices with wider contexts. For U.S. artists, the chance to travel and experience theatre experimentation and traditions abroad firsthand is rare, as is the opportunity to experience their own work translated and performed in different cultural contexts.

Says PlayCo Founding Producer Kate Loewald, “Nothing can expand and enrich an artist's practice like the fresh perspective and inspiration of immersion in new communities. As we face increasingly harsh measures to suppress free speech and creative expression in our own country, and as the U.S. pulls back from global engagement, U.S. artists have much to gain from in-person interactions in other theatre cultures, including those with a history or current experience of authoritarian government. PlayCo is stepping up to open new channels for connection with the global artistic community.”

While the residency details will vary depending on the partner, they are all designed to support immersion in new theatre communities to spark lasting connection and learning. For each residency, the grant will cover travel, housing, per diem, professional development, translation and workshop fees for public reading presentations. Artists will be selected via an open call for applications.

The first call for applications, for a playwright residency with Sala Beckett, open today (December 1, 2025), and applications will be accepted through 11:59pm ET on January 4, 2026. More information can be found here.