Cadence Theatre Company Announces Launch of Pipeline New Works Fellowship

Cadence Theatre Company, an award-winning producer of contemporary theatre for Richmond audiences, announces the launch of its Pipeline New Works Fellowship Program, debuting in the fall of 2018.

The Pipeline New Works Fellowship will afford three Virginia playwrights the opportunity to develop new work under the artistic guidance and encouragement of a seasoned professional playwright over the course of nine months, culminating in a celebratory series of public readings in the spring of 2019.

The inaugural Pipeline New Works Fellows will be mentored by New York playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. Cadence Theatre Company has produced three of Lindsay-Abaire's plays, including 2017's Rabbit Hole, for which Lindsay-Abaire received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

"Fostering relationships with developing playwrights and supporting local work is a vital extension of the Cadence mission," said Anna Senechal Johnson, Artistic and Managing Director of Cadence Theatre Company. "We couldn't be more thrilled to be providing Virginia playwrights with this amazing opportunity."

The first group of Pipeline New Works Fellows will be selected by mid-July 2018. The program will commence this fall with an initial meeting with Lindsay-Abaire in Richmond and continue throughout the winter and spring with individual video mentoring sessions and online training. Lindsay-Abaire will work with the Fellows throughout the program on playwriting fundamentals, including structure, character building, and other key elements of the craft. The training sessions will also serve as group check-ins, providing motivation, accountability, and a sense of creative community among the Fellows.

The Pipeline New Works Fellowship will conclude in the spring of 2019 with a celebratory series of public readings of the plays developed during the Fellowship. The program is funded in part by founding sponsor CapTech. "Cadence's New Works program reflects several of our core values - innovation, mentorship, and creative excellence," said CapTech Creative Director Mark Badger. "We are proud to support Cadence's mission and its commitment to Central Virginia's creative community."

Playwrights interested in being considered for the Fellowship should submit an excerpt of 20 pages or less from a completed, original script as well as an updated résumé and biography to info@cadencetheatre.org no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2018. Playwrights must reside in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the time of submission and throughout the term of the Fellowship. Selections will be made by July 16, 2018. Fellows will be provided a stipend of $500 to help defray travel and other expenses.