American Players Theatre In Wisconsin Announces 'New Voices' Play Development Program

American Players Theatre has announced a new play development program, New Voices: Creating the Classics of Tomorrow. As an organization that has dedicated 40 years to classical plays, the APT company has been questioning what exactly "classical" means today. This new play development program is a first step in addressing this question. The goal is to expand the lens of the classical canon by focusing on candidates for this project that are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

The Theatre is specifically seeking poetic, language-driven plays with a multiracial cast of nine actors or less, inspired by themes that are both contemporary and ancient; plays that represent the cultural complexity of our U.S. history. The chosen playwright will receive a $15,000 stipend, extensive workshops, a public reading, and a potential future production. There is no submission fee.

APT began accepting submissions on April 1, 2021. Interested candidates can learn more and apply at americanplayers.org/about/submissions. Submissions will close June 1, 2021, or when the first 200 candidates have applied, whichever comes first.

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita said, "Over the past many years, we have been having this conversation at APT about what makes a classic? What makes a great play? Who gets to decide that? And in the interest of exploring those questions, and expanding our definitions, and expanding the scope of plays on our stages, we decided we need to actively seek out new stories and new artists to help us start to answer those questions. At the same time, we want to engage artists who may traditionally be shut out of those conversations as they explore their own work and their own processes, and provide them with some of the incredibly valuable tools APT has to offer."

"Though plays are often characterized as a literary medium, in practice that's not actually the case. Despite the almost evangelical focus we place on text and poetry at APT, ours is a medium far more rooted in human behavior than anything else. In order to construct a play - a play with true durability, and thus the potential to earn the status of 'Classic' as the project's mission states - a playwright must devote time and energy to deconstructing their play with a group of other trusted dramatic artists, draft after draft, reading after reading, until it's unshakeable. That's the only way to ensure that what's on the page aligns with how humans are likely to behave in identical circumstances in the real world. Our APT artists are some of the finest in the country, and the talent and experience they'll bring to the workshop process will only serve to reinforce the vision our playwright aims to achieve."

After initial applications are collected, the program will move to a finalist screening on August 1, 2021, where 20 candidates will be selected to submit an artistic statement, submit a 10-page sample of their script and interview with DeVita and other artistic staff. The final playwright selection will be made October 1, 2021, and work on the final project will begin. That work will include first-draft readings and workshopping with APT artistic staff and actors, and the playwright must be available in-person residencies in Spring Green, WI, with exact dates of those residencies to be determined. (Public health restrictions permitting.)

Artistic Associate Jake Penner, who will serve on the "Creating the Classics" selection committee, said, "I'm excited to be able to collaborate closely with whomever we ultimately decide to work with on their new play, and I have no doubt the process is going to be rewarding and ultimately successful. But more than anything, I'm looking forward to engaging with candidates' proposals and writing samples. After the year we've spent re-assessing the values of the American Theater, I'm anticipating a lot of new and interesting subject matter, narrative structures, and characters from backgrounds that have traditionally been left out of the conversation. There's nothing more thrilling to me."

Funding for this program comes from The Forrest Fund, which was created through a gift to support new work in the Touchstone Theatre. This will be APT's first project funded by The Forrest Fund.

For more information, visit www.americanplayers.org

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