Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Now Accepting Applications For Cycle Four

Rattlestick Theater, the Terrence McNally Foundation, and Tom Kirdahy Productions have announced the opening of submissions for Cycle 4 of the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator.

As a continuation of Terrence McNally’s singular legacy of mentorship, and his commitment to fostering bold new voices in the American theater, the New Works Incubator is a multi-pronged program designed to support ambitious early-career playwrights by giving them time and space to develop their work, professional mentorship with veteran playwrights, and access to the community of artists and work being developed at Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.

Since 2023, fellowships have been awarded to Avery Deutsch, Celeste Jennings, Eliana Theologides Rodriguez, Haygen-Brice Walker, HyoJeong Choi, Jesse Jae Hoon, Milo Cramer, Molly Herron Bicks, and Sam Mueller.

As part of our growing commitment to connect our fellows with world-class artistic collaborators, each McNally Fellow will also receive a developmental workshop that culminates in a public reading featuring industry-leading professionals. Recent mentors have included David Henry Hwang, Emma Horwitz, Halley Feiffer, Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, Jaclyn Bachaus, MJ Kaufman, Mfoniso Udofia, Sarah DeLappe, and Sheila Callaghan. Recent directors have included Anne Kauffman, Arin Arbus, Caitlin Sullivan, Carson Jonek, Dustin Wills, Goldie E. Patrick, Portia/">Portia-Krieger/">Portia/">Portia Krieger, and Tea Alagić.

“We could not be prouder of how the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator has grown to become an integral part of New York City’s playwriting ecosystem,” says Santino DeAngelo, Executive Director of the Terrence McNally Foundation. “Under the brilliant guidance of Rattlestick Artistic Director Will Davis, we nurture bold voices and groundbreaking stories with the same passion and integrity that defined Terrence’s legacy. It is a space where creativity thrives, craft is honed, and the future of the American theater is shaped.”

“Every step of the process - finding a director and a mentor, how to use my three-week incubation time, what we prioritized in the 29-hour workshop - was driven by what the play (and I!) needed at that moment in time. My time in the Incubator Program was spent feeling centered in myself and supported by every single person around me,” says Terrence McNally Incubator Cycle 2 playwright, Sam Mueller.

Applications for the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator will open on September 26th, 2025 at 10:00am EST and will close on November 21st, 2025 at 11:59pm EST, or when 500 applications have been received. Each application is thoughtfully reviewed by a broad reader pool of industry professionals. Semi-finalists and finalists are selected through two rounds of consideration. Finalists are granted an interview with a selection panel, including representatives from Rattlestick and Tom Kirdahy Productions.

Cycle 4 Fellows will be selected by a Playwrights Advisory Council. Our Cycle 3 Fellows were selected from a competitive pool of over 500 applicants by our esteemed Playwrights Advisory Council, which has included Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Chen, Halley Feiffer, David Henry Hwang, Donja R. Love, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel. Selected Fellows will be awarded the Fellowship in spring 2026.