Liberty
Live
Commission
Liberty Live Commission 2023/24
SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED BEGINNING ON NOVEMBER 1, 2022!
Premiere Stages is committed to supporting New Jersey playwrights through the development and production of new plays. In conjunction with the annual Premiere Play Festival, Premiere Stages runs a biennial commission program for New Jersey writers called Liberty Live. Liberty Live is a unique partnership with Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum to develop and produce new plays that celebrate New Jersey’s rich and diverse history.
Premiere Stages is dedicated to supporting a diverse group of writers; playwrights of all backgrounds, ages, and experience levels are encouraged to apply. There are no restrictions on casting; characters may be of any age, gender, or race. Premiere Stages is dedicated to celebrating the wide diversity that enriches New Jersey.
Submissions open
NOV
1
2022
Liberty Live Details
Submit BEGINNING NOVEMBER 1, 2022!
Starting on November 1, 2022, Premiere Stages will accept proposals for plays from playwrights who are current residents of New Jersey that explore a historical event or events that provide compelling ideas for dramatic storytelling. A shortlist of proposals will be selected as finalists, and playwrights will be interviewed by Premiere Stages.
The winning proposal will be developed in 2023-24. The play will receive a series of public staged readings in October 2023. Throughout the process, Premiere Stages will provide dramaturgical support for the playwright to further develop the play, as well as forge partnerships with groups statewide to grow the audience for the play. The play will be considered for a full Equity production at the Liberty Hall Museum in Fall 2024.
All proposals will be evaluated by a panel of theatre and history professionals. The panel will submit their recommendations to the Producing Artistic Director and Premiere Stages staff. All playwrights will be notified of submission status.
Awards
The winning proposal will be selected in Spring 2023, and the commissioned writer will receive a $2000 advance.
2023-2024 Schedule
Nov 1, 2022
Submissions open
Late 2022/Spring 2023
Winning proposal selected
Nov 2023
Equity 29-hour staged reading at Premiere Stages
TBD - Fall 2024
Equity production (LOA referenced to LORT) at Premiere Stages
Submission Guidelines
Guidelines are available in PDF format
- The playwright must be a current resident of New Jersey and must be able to commit to being local to Union, NJ for the duration of development and production.
- The proposed script must have a cast size of no more than 5 actors.
- The proposed script must explore a topic from New Jersey history; submissions should not be set in or around the settings of previous commissions (see Liberty Live History page).
- The proposed script must have a minimum run time of 60 minutes.
- Musicals will not be considered at this time.
- Submissions are limited to one proposal per playwright.
- Playwrights must be available for the development of their script (see schedule).
- Starting on November 1, 2022, submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and will be received throughout the year. Premiere Stages reserves the right to decline to select a proposal for production in any given submission cycle, and also reserves the right to contact New Jersey based playwrights directly to explore the potential commission.
- All plays must be submitted as a PDF. Please email submissions to pfsubmit@kean.edu.
- Hard copies will not be accepted.
Submission Requirement
No Agent? No problem!
Interested playwrights should submit:
1. A proposal of no more than five pages. All proposals must include the following information:
- Background/significance of the proposal topic.
- A synopsis of the basic plot of the proposed play.
- A proposed scene breakdown.
- A proposed character breakdown.
- Explaination of why the playwright is inspired to write a play on this particular topic.
2. 10-page writing sample from a completed play. The panel may request the full script or additional writing samples.
3. Current playwriting bio.