Access/VSA Playwright Discovery Program
Tips for 2025 Applications
Young writers with disabilities (generally, ages 14-22) enrolled in high school or high school equivalency are invited to submit a 'ten-minute script' on any topic. Entries may be the work of an individual student or a collaboration of two students that includes at least one student with a disability. A panel of theater professionals selects division winners.
Applications for the 2025 season are due by Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Apply now!
The following webinar was recorded on October 15, 2024 and provides tips and advice on how to present your best application for the program! A written Q&A is also provided below.
Q & A
Below are questions asked by participants during the webinar as well as frequently asked questions about the program and the application process. If you have additional questions, you may email us anytime at [email protected].
First, how do you define disability?
We use the Americans with Disabilities Act as our guide for the definition of disability. Disability is a broad umbrella and that covers a variety of lived experiences. Eligible authors may have apparent, physical and or sensory conditions, as well as less apparent conditions like anxiety, ADHD, depression, chronic illness or pain, PTSD, OCD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, neurodivergence and more. Learn more about the ADA's definition of disability at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/faqs/americans-with-disabilities-act-amendments#Q5.
I wrote a 10 minute screenplay. Can I submit that?
Yes, we accept any 10 minute script written for performance.
Can I submit a scene from my full length play?
The answer is no. We focus on the 10 minute script format. Please submit something in this style. We are not able to review a full length play or a one act play and provide constructive feedback, nor does the program structure allow for the development of a piece of that length.
I don't live in the United States. Can I still apply?
Yes! This is an international program. You may live in the United States or another country, but please note, the program is delivered in English and/or ASL, so you must be comfortable with educational instruction in one of those languages.
When will my play be performed?
This is a writing development program. We place the emphasis on the creative development process. We host closed readings and feedback sessions as part of this process. So while a public performance is not part of the process, we do work to model a kind of first day of rehearsal feel with the DC portion of the program. Writers will be paired with a professional dramaturge and after a table read, each script will receive select design treatment, presentations, things like lighting design, costume design, sound design, or set design. In the past, some playwrights have gone on to revise and finalize their scripts and worked to produce a local performance in their home community.
My co-author and I live in two different states and we go to two different schools. Can we still apply?
The short answer is yes, you absolutely can. As long as your piece is a truly collaborative project. So that means that both parties are really creatively providing input and editing and you work as a cohesive team. We've had previous participants who were family members that have grown up writing plays together, or we've had folks in the past who perhaps used to go to the same school, really connected through playwriting and then through, you know, life circumstances have moved to other places, but they still consistently collaborate. And I think that's the key word there is that consistent collaboration. If this is a play that you wrote with a friend your freshman year of high school and it's your senior year of high school and you haven't talked to them in the last couple of years, that would really not be something that I would encourage you to use to apply for this program because we really are investing in the development of you as a creative team together moving forward and amplifying that work.
I don't feel comfortable traveling to DC on my own. Can a parent or guardian come with me?
Absolutely. In fact, if you're under 18, a parent or guardian has to come with you! We can talk individually about who that person might be in your life, but we have to have an adult travel with you if you are under 18. Parents and guardians do not participate in the workshops themselves, unless you have a personal care assistant who is providing for some of your access needs - perhaps helping with toileting, eating, or those sorts of things. But otherwise, our parent and guardian group often gets very close and sometimes they get to go and do activities around DC kind of as their own little cohort while our playwrights are at the Kennedy Center.
What kind of information should I put in the "writing process" question of the application?
That question is really used by our adjudication team to get to know you a little bit more. The things I would encourage you to include are why do you write? Why did you write this particular piece? What about script writing is of interest to you? How do you see this fitting in perhaps in your future career plans? Is this something, do you wanna be a screenwriter in the future? Are you planning to go to college for acting, perhaps? Is this an opportunity for you to explore the other side of the table as it were on that process? Tell us just a little bit more about who you are. The other things you can go into are, what do you wanna get out of this program? Why are you applying? Are you really interested in working with a dramaturge? Do you really wanna learn more about the broader theater industry? Because as part of those workshops that we offer, yes, it's a script development program, but we also bring in industry experts in a variety of disciplines. We've had directors as part of the industry panel before. We've had actors, filmmakers, folks who work in set and costume design. If you're interested in other parts of the industry, you can also mention that. You want to give us a sense of kind of who you are as a writer and why this program is of interest to you.
Does my script have to be about my disability?
No, it does not. If you want to write about your disability experience or disability in general, that's great, but that is not a requirement of the program. Your script can be about whatever you would like your script to be about.
My school doesn't have a theater program. Can I still apply?
Absolutely! You do not need a theater program at your school or have participated in a theater program at your school to apply. Perhaps you are someone who is really interested in creative writing or English, and this is is how you're choosing to express yourself through writing for performance. That's totally fine. Maybe you just do it as a hobby or are involved in a community program that focuses on writing or theater. That's also great! There is no prerequisite to have a knowledge of theater itself or the writing process. I would say most years we have at least one award winner for whom this is the first script they've written. So, I would encourage you to give it a shot. There are some great resources on our website.
What are the adjudicators looking for in my piece?
That is a really great question! We ask our adjudicators to look at the mechanics of sort of the script. What is the beginning, middle, and end? How does the story arc? Did you connect with the piece? Did you find that emotional resonance? Was it something that really stuck with you that is asking you to reconsider? Did it make you laugh? Did it make you cry? So they are really looking at the scripts that are submitted and thinking through, you know, the originality of the idea. They're thinking through the originality of the structure that's being developed. And things like, is it a script that would benefit from this type of process? Is there more to the story? There's more to this particular idea that this type of program, like working with a dramaturge, hearing the play read aloud by professional actors, getting feedback from your peers, getting feedback from industry experts. Are those things that would really help this piece move to the next level. We are looking for a piece that has a really good start, but would also really benefit from this process.
Ready to apply? Applications are due January 8, 2025! Apply now.