Writer Director Lab

The Lab is an engine for creating lasting artistic relationships and giving the artists the means and resources to make a tangible piece of theater. The Lab supports the development of four projects created by collaborative teams over 12 months, culminating in work-in-progress presentations at Soho Rep. Our goal is that the artistic teams will emerge from the Lab confident in the work they have made with a substantive piece of theater that has enhanced and enriched the collaboration between the two artists.

What the LAB is looking for:

We are seeking collaborative teams of two theater artists who will work together to create a text-based live performance event.

We seek to prove the hypothesis that theater can be made in all types of ways. Therefore, the artists in each collaborative team can come from a variety of artistic specializations, but they must identify as the lead artists on the project, and they must be able to work together toward an in-process presentation of a performance work at the culmination of the 12-month Lab process. Historically, these teams have involved one “writer” and one “director,” but we do not require a background in either discipline, and welcome fluidity in artistic roles.

We are excited by language, by bold theatricality and by challenges to form.

Requirements

Applicants who are full time students (undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree granting organizations), will not be considered.

Applicants must be based in the greater New York City area and be able to attend twice monthly meetings and presentations in person for the duration of the 12-month program. The Lab runs September 2022-Sept 2023 with a small break from meetings in the summer.

Because Lab participants will be working on the same piece for 12 months, this should be a piece that is not being developed in conjunction with any other organization or any other primary collaborators outside the Lab.

Applicants must have an interest in theater-making, collaboration, and relationship-building with other artists.

Applicants may only apply with one project per cycle. Applicants who apply with multiple projects will not be considered.

Past Writer Director Lab participants are not eligible for this round of the LAB.

The Lab welcomes applications from all artists, regardless of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, veteran status, disability unrelated to participation requirements, genetic information, military service, or other protected status.