New Artists / New Works
Our mission at Untitled Theatre Works is to enrich and grow the artistic community in the Greater Austin area. To encourage new writers and directors, we have conceived the New Artists/New Works (NA/NW) program. We take an original, never-produced play by a new playwright and pair it with a director who is just beginning their theatrical career. We give them the flexibility, creative freedom, resources and assistance needed to truly find their artistic voice and sharpen their skills.
Play submissions for the NA/NW program will be accepted year round. Director Applications will be accepted only during the NA/NW application period which will be announced via the website and the Company Newsletter. The guidelines for submissions are listed below. Instructions on how to apply are at the bottom of this page.
Play Submission Guidelines:
- One Act Plays and Musicals are not accepted (You may submit, however, two or more short plays that would be packaged as a night of shorts).
- Small scale productions are preferred. All submissions will be read but the NA/NW shows will have smaller budgets so it is imperative that your production be of simple design needs. Casts of more than 10 roles are at a significant disadvantage.
- Plays are expected to be free of licensing fees/royalties.
- Playwrights are expected to give full control of the production to the NA/NW director. The Director, at their own discretion, may contact the playwright for advice, insight or to propose cuts/additions/changes, etc.
- Plays must be in completed form. Directors may allow/ask the playwright to re-write portions of the completed script but changes must be approved by the Artistic Directors.
- Plays must be completely original works OR adaptations based on non-copyrighted materials only. For example, you may adapt a story from the bible because it is not copyrighted. You may not adapt a recent film such as The Social Network because it is protected by copyright laws.
- The estimated running time of your production should be no less than 1 hour and 20 minutes but no more than 3 hours. These times do not include intermissions.
- The same playwright may submit multiple plays for consideration.
- The NA/NW program will never choose a play by the same author for two consecutive years. For example, if your play was chosen for the 2013 season none of your works will be eligible for consideration until 2015.
- There are no content restrictions, however, the play must fall in line with community standards and must not contain material that would violate local laws.
Director Applicant Guidelines:
- Applicants must have less than 3 directing credits to their name to be considered (educational credits do not count).
- Applicants must be available for rehearsals in the evening hours for the duration of the rehearsal process.
- If chosen, applicant must behave in a professional manner when interacting with the cast, crew and theatre staff.
- If for any reason a chosen applicant must be removed from the director position, a semi-finalist will be offered the position. If no semi-finalist accepts the position, the Artistic Directors will appoint a new director or take on the duties personally.
Double Applicants:
A playwright may want to submit a work to NA/NW as well as apply for the directing position. This is allowed provided the applicant agrees to the following:
- If a double applicant’s play submission is chosen but they do not get the directing position, they may not withdraw their permission to perform the play.
- If a double applicant is chosen as director but their play submission is not, the applicant is allowed to withdraw from the position prior to beginning of rehearsals and the opportunity will be offered to another applicant.
- If a double applicant is chosen as director of their own show, they still must get all major re-writes and script changes approved by the Artistic Directors.
How To Submit a Play:
If you'd like to submit your play for the NA/NW program, please send a copy of the play, a resume and a cover letter detailing your vision for the production and why you should be chosen to the following email address: [email protected].
How To Apply to Direct:
We are not currently accepting applications for the NA/NW director position at this time. If you have questions, please email [email protected].