PlayGround Announces Applications for 2024-2025 Producing Fellows

Posted by on February 23, 2024

PlayGround is excited to announce immediate openings to join the 2024-2025 Producing Fellowship, designed to foster the next generation of leadership for the American Theatre. We are looking for individuals passionate about theatre and looking to make an impact on the field while developing the skill set to do so for a living. Candidates must reside in one of the four PlayGround regions (LA, SF, NY, or Chicago). Eight (8) fellows will be selected with two (2) drawn from each of the four (4) PlayGround regions. Particularly, in filling these roles, we will give weight and priority to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and disabled applicants with the hope of employing diverse voices who can continue to hone their producing skills in a collaborative environment. Applications are due by 11:59pm on May 31, 2024, with a target start date of August 1, 2024, running through July 31, 2025. Interviews with select candidates will be conducted in June. Applications must be submitted through this Google Form.

Through this continued program, we hope to strengthen the lineage of talented theatre administrators, and open up the producing process for individuals historically excluded. Candidates will be expected to have strong organizational, writing, and communication skills, to work well in collaboration, and to have an interest in pursuing a career in theatre.

Fellows generally work 4 hrs/wk (default Fellow workday is Friday, 10am-2pm PT / 12pm-4pm CT / 1pm-5pm ET) via zoom. Pay is salaried, $20/hr.

The program is designed to foster collaboration and peer-learning while providing all Fellows with a strong overview of the operations of a professional regional theatre. This fellowship will involve hands-on training in the fields of Literary Management/Casting, Fundraising/Grant Writing, Theatre Management, and Communications, with all fellows getting the opportunity to work in each department.

Required application materials include:

Cover Letter (max 2 pgs): Please include the following information; What relevant experiences and skills can you bring to the team? What do you hope to learn from the Fellowship and how does this integrate with your career goals?
A brief artistic statement, indicating the type of theatre that excites you and why, and how you see your aesthetic values reflected in the mission/work of PlayGround.
Resume or Curriculum Vitae.
Two professional references.

What former Producing Fellows have to say:
As someone new to the Bay Area, I enjoyed getting to know the PlayGround community and local artists through this fellowship. I also gained valuable hands-on experience in producing, marketing, and fundraising. I would recommend this fellowship to anyone interested in being a producer or arts administrator. – Xinyuan Pu

The fellowship has been an incredible learning experience in the administrative and artistic decision-making involved in producing theatre. It’s a great opportunity to get hands-on producing experience while working with dedicated peers and leaders in the industry.– Zoe Chien

PlayGround, a leading national playwright incubator, provides unique development opportunities for the Bay Area’s, Los Angeles’, New York’s, and Chicago’s best new playwrights, including the monthly Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series, annual PlayGround Festival of New Works, full-length play commissions and support for the production of new plays by local playwrights through the New Play Production Fund. To date, PlayGround has supported over 350 early career playwrights, developing and staging more than 1,500 of their original short plays through the Monday Night PlayGround staged reading series and the PlayGround Festival. PlayGround has also commissioned 100 new full-length plays by 60 of these writers through its Commissioning Initiative and, through the innovative New Play Production Fund, has directly facilitated the premiere of 36 plays at theatres of every size, including three that have gone on to NYC and other major theater communities. Over the past thirty years, PlayGround has served to identify some of the most important new local voices for the theatre. PlayGround’s alumni have gone on to win local, national, and international honors for their short and full-length work, including recognition at the Steinberg Awards, Glickman Awards (including 6 of the last 10), O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and New York International Fringe Festival, among others. For more information visit: PlayGround-LA , PlayGround-NY ,or PlayGround-Chicago