Penumbra Theatre Company Play Submission Guidelines
Penumbra Theatre is not accepting play submissions. We are, however, accepting applications to participate in our PLAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. To apply for this program, an artist must fill out a form and submit the required materials.
Before submitting the requisite items, please read this document fully and follow the instructions.
Penumbra Theatre creates professional productions that are artistically excellent, thought provoking, relevant and that illuminate the human condition through the prism of the African-American experience.
Penumbra's goals are:
To increase public awareness of the significant contributions of African-Americans in creating a diversified theatrical tradition.
To encourage and facilitate a culturally diverse and all-inclusive America by using theatre to teach, criticize, comment and model.
To use theatre to create an American mythology that includes African-Americans and other peoples of color in every thread of the fabric of our society.
To continue to maintain and stabilize a black performing arts community.
With these goals in mind, we ask all playwrights to submit a letter of intent not to exceed 500 words, a ten-page sample from the play, and a resume. This letter should address how s/he views her/his work in a continuum of an African-American aesthetic. All of these items must be included in the application to be considered for the program.
For the 2010-2011 development process, we would like the playwright to focus on the following:
James Baldwin, said once "To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger." Is this relevant to artists and or African-American life in the 21st century?
The Letter of Intent should use this quotation as a jumping off point to reflect briefly on the submitted text and how it may further illuminate or contextualize the work.
