A New Model for Engaging Playwrights, Audiences, and Communities around the Power of Playmaking

The Garden State New Play Festival (GSNPF), a partnership between Jersey City Theatre Center and The New Jersey Play Lab, is an innovative new play development festival celebrating the unique way in which art can impact, unite, and inspire.

The mission of the Festival is to marry a rigorous dramaturgical process and professional development with community engagement around issues and actions aimed at progressive individual, societal, and global change.

The result is the presentation of a slate of new plays by a diverse group of writers that have the clarity of intention and story necessary to spark a rich and open exchange of ideas and perspectives.

The novelty of The Garden State New Play Festival is the long-term investment made in both the plays and the playwrights, the level of professional resources afforded to all participating playwrights regardless of career level, and the engagement with community throughout the artistic process.

The three pillars of the Festival are:

“Craft and Excellence”
- To champion what we deem to be best practices in new play development, and to act as a resource for NJ professional theaters looking to identify new plays for production.
“Artistic Equity and Exchange”
- To bring together a diverse group of artists of varying career levels and backgrounds under the umbrella of collaboration, mutual respect, and individual and collective growth.
- The unifying attribute of all the playwrights selected for this Festival is their enthusiasm for using their work as a means to stimulate meaningful exchange and deeper understanding.
- Our philosophy is that a strong process yields a strong product, and that process should never be sacrificed for expediency of product. Therefore, the Festival process fosters a supportive and responsive environment for each participating playwright through an individualized approach.
“Community and Advocacy”
- To engage a broad spectrum of audiences, artists, advocates, and arts and community organizations around the power of theatre as an agent for societal and personal change.
- Everyone has a story to tell. We believe that by engaging our communities and audiences as creators of stories, not just consumers of them, we can create a thriving ecosystem that values the development and sharing of impactful art.

The third annual Garden State New Play Festival will begin in November of 2026 and culminate in May of 2027.

Submissions will be accepted from July 15th through August 15th, 2026.

What can playwrights expect from this Festival experience?

Playwrights will receive professional, in-depth, individually tailored dramaturgy on their plays, leading up to professionally acted and directed readings in May.
In the six months leading up to the readings, playwrights will receive professional development workshops and be expected to offer and participate in two workshops/events in NJ schools and community organizations.
- Please note that this is not a typical play development opportunity in that it focuses on community engagement in tandem with a playwright’s individual developmental journey with their play.
Playwrights will be introduced to Artistic Directors and established Theatermakers at professional New Jersey Theaters.
Playwrights will be invited to attend Jersey City Theater Center’s International Festival in the month following the Garden State New Play Festival free of charge, and have the opportunity to meet and exchange with renowned international artists of many disciplines.
Playwrights will be given a clear outline of all dates and expectations prior to acceptance of this opportunity, and will be asked to prioritize a commitment to the Festival for the entirety of the six months.
There is an honorarium and some travel reimbursement for each playwright.

Who is an ideal candidate for this Festival?

Playwrights will be part of a cohort of writers of diverse backgrounds, levels of experience, and connections to the issues they are writing about. While each playwright will work with their own professional dramaturg, successful applicants will be those who are interested in learning and growing as part of this cohort.
Playwrights will be expected to lead workshops and participate in events with local schools and community organizations that will revolve around the issues being explored in their plays. We seek candidates who will be excited for the opportunity to both teach and learn from the community as they develop their play.
Jersey City Theater Center’s mission focuses around global arts and exchange. Successful candidates will be enthusiastic about considering how their work might resonate beyond our borders and about learning from other theatrical traditions.

What type of plays are we looking for?

Only plays conceived with the intention of exploring or advocating for an issue related to societal change will be considered. However, this is not to say we are looking for plays that are didactic in their structure or execution. This “change” can be centered individually, locally, nationally, or globally; it can exist in any scope, any style or tone, any theatrical world, or any storytelling tradition, or in something completely new and novel. We encourage playwrights to think broadly and have the courage of their convictions.
We are looking for plays that are intended to entertain, but also to challenge, impact, and generate discussion.
We will accept plays in all stages of development, as long as the playwright believes the play still needs development, and as long as there is enough on paper for us to assess the work.
There is no limit on cast size, but this will be a factor in our selection process.
We will accept submissions of small musicals with limited musician requirements.

Who Can Submit?

Submissions are limited to playwrights residing in New Jersey or New York. Selected playwrights will be expected to be in-person in Jersey City on a number of occasions between November 2026 and May 2027, and travel reimbursement will only cover some of these occasions.
We respectfully request that past applicants from BOTH 2024 and 2025 who did not receive a request for a full script in either year to please refrain from applying this year.

What to Submit?

Playwrights must submit in one of the following categories:

Working Playwrights (This category is for writers who consider playwriting to be their primary career path, and have had some professional training, and professional experience through productions and developmental processes. )
Early Career Playwrights (This category is for writers who are relatively new to the full-length format, and have had little or no formal playwriting training and little or no experience with professional production and development processes.)

Playwrights should submit the following documents in PDF Format ONLY:

A cover letter
- Please share anything you’d like to share with us about yourself and your work that might not be evident in your resume.
- Please briefly describe why this opportunity would be a good fit for you at this stage of your life and your artistry.
A resume
A plot synopsis of the play. This is not a marketing blurb. This is a detailed plot summary. Please also include anything crucial to understand about the tone, style, or world of the play. One page maximum.
The play
- Please include a character breakdown in or with the script, and make note of any doubling.
- Please submit the entire text, but know that in the first round of our selection process, only the first 20 pages will be reviewed.

The Selection Process and Timeline:

Please note there are three rounds to the selection process. All playwrights who have submitted will be notified regarding whether or not they are selected to move onto the next round.

ROUND ONE

July 15 – Applications Open

August 15 – Deadline for submissions

In this first Round, the first 20 pages of each submitted play will be read.

ROUND TWO

September 15 – Notification date of selection for this round

In this second round, select plays will be read in their entirety and those playwrights will be asked to submit additional information.

ROUND THREE

October 15 – Notification Date for selection for this round.

In this final round, we will speak with playwrights whose plays have been identified as a potential fit for this Festival to better understand their goals, intentions, and working processes, and to answer questions the playwrights may have about the process.

ANNOUNCEMENT

November 1 – Announcement of Selected Playwrights for 2027 Festival