Applications Now Open for The 24 Hour Plays Nationals in NY and LA

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 23, 2026 – The 24 Hour Plays Nationals, an annual professional development initiative for early-career theater artists, returns this summer for a 15th year, with cohorts in both New York and Los Angeles. The 2026 program will take place in New York City June 23-29 at Sands College for the Performing Arts on Pace University's Lower Manhattan campus, and in Los Angeles August 24-28 at Stella Adler’s Art of Acting Studios.

Applications opened Friday, February 20, and will remain open through March 13 at 24hourplays.org/nationals.

Since 2007, The 24 Hour Plays have gathered a group of promising early-career theater artists in New York City for a rigorous series of workshops, master classes, panel discussions, career development, community building, and more. In 2026, The 24 Hour Plays Nationals will program a second cohort in Los Angeles for the first time, in partnership with Stella Adler Studios. The program is free for participants and includes a stipend for each of the 66 participants. 

“The Nationals program is a life-changing experience,” said program director Serena Berman. “Artists come together to make new work with their peers and build relationships that serve them throughout their careers. The 24 Hour Plays has had the privilege of serving nearly 600 artists to date. In a time of shrinking opportunities for young artists, we’re proud to be able to continue growing, supporting the next generation of artists across the country with this new expansion in Los Angeles.”

After 25 years of productions in Los Angeles, The 24 Hour Plays recently announced its permanent expansion in Los Angeles, California, which will serve as a sibling organization to the organization’s longstanding New York home base, solidifying a permanent presence on the West Coast. This new era for The 24 Hour Plays kicks off with a celebrity fundraising event at Huron Station Playhouse on February 28.

In previous years, artists participating in workshops, panel discussions, and breakout conversations have included Annie Baker, Jocelyn Bioh, Ato Blankson-Wood, Sammi Cannold, Claire Danes, dots, Rachel Dratch, Jesse Eisenberg, Nazareth Hassan, Lucas Hnath, Marin Ireland, Michael R. Jackson, Thomas Kail, TR Knight, David Lindsay-Abaire, Martyna Majok, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Mitnick, Bruce Norris, Denis O’Hare, Austin Pendleton, Mona Pirnot, Cody Renard Richard, Christopher Shinn, Leigh Silverman, Rachel Sussman, Liesl Tommy and many others.

Alumni of the Nationals program include writers Bekah Brunstetter, Gracie Gardner, Dave Harris, Josh Koenigsberg, Laura Jacqmin, Mike Lew, Alex Lin, Mara Nelson-Greenberg, a.k. Payne, Liliana Padilla, Gethsemane Herron-Coward, Harrison David Rivers, Celine Song; actors Tessa Albertson, Pico Alexander, Alice Kremelberg, Elizabeth Lail, Naomi Lorrain, Tedra Millan, Bobby Moreno, Ebonee Noel, Ilia Paulino, Coral Peña, Zoe Perry, Brandon Scott, Satya Bhabha, Haskiri Velazquez, Natalie Walker; directors Sherri Eden Barber, Lyndsay Burch, Miranda Cornell, James Dacre, Ryan Dobrin, Michael Herwitz, Taylor Reynolds, Colette Robert, Laura Savia; producers Shariffa Ali, Abigail Jean-Baptiste, Kelcie Beene, Aislinn Frantz, Hope Chavez, Annaleise Loxton, Mona Moriya, Carly Hugo, Nora McNally, Dylan Tajshian and many others.

“Our alumni are everywhere in the entertainment industry,” said Mark Armstrong, artistic director for The 24 Hour Plays. “They perform on and off Broadway and on screens large and small. They write major motion pictures and television series and their work is seen on every major stage in the country. They produce plays on Broadway and the West End, serve in leadership at institutions across the US and abroad and — most importantly — continue to collaborate and succeed together. With this exciting expanded access to the program, we look forward to bringing together an additional extraordinary cohort on the west coast, allowing our audiences the opportunity to see the next generation of game-changing artists first.”

The 24 Hour Plays celebrates the diversity of the theatrical field and seeks to make the application process equitable for every early career artist. Artists of all races, ethnicities, creeds, classes, abilities, genders, identities, affiliations, and orientations are encouraged to apply. Applicants with accessibility concerns about the application or program can reach out to staff at nationals@24hourplays.com so they can make reasonable accommodations. More information at 24hourplays.org/nationals.