Actors, Directors, and Dramaturgs

The 44th Annual Mid-America Theatre Conference

The Pyle Center, Uw-Madison

March 7-10, 2024

Playwriting Symposium—Actors, Directors, and Dramaturgs

Click this link for a downloadable PDF of the CFP: 

MATC Playwriting CFP ADD 2024

The Playwriting Symposium of the Mid-America Theatre Conference seeks: 

  • Actors, Directors, Dramaturgs for the Dramatists Play Lab.
  • Actors, Directors, Dramaturgs for the Pitch-Your-Play Showcase.  

All submissions must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 15,  2023.

This call is directed to academic theatre artists (faculty members or graduate students) and/or to professional Independent Artists, especially those located in the greater Madison region. Applications are also welcome from undergraduates with a faculty member’s letter of recommendation.

The symposium enthusiastically echoes MATC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and especially encourages submissions from theatre artists of color and/or from other underrepresented groups. 

The Mid-America Theatre Conference commits to advancing intersectional equity, inclusivity, and diversity; creating a conference that is welcoming and fully accessible; and to disrupting the ongoing damage of white supremacy within MATC and the broader academic and theatrical worlds. As part of this effort, we highly encourage a broad range of submissions by presenters or about theatre of historically disenfranchised and underrepresented populations, particularly those of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. For MATC’s full statement on anti-racism, accessibility, and inclusivity please see our website at http://matc.us. 


MATC prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind, including during all associated meetings, the annual conference sessions, and within publications. In case of questions or concerns, to request specific accommodation, or to report a bias incident, please contact our Equity and Inclusion Officer at equity@matc.us.

The Dramatists Play Lab features new, unproduced, ten-minute plays, which are presented as script-in-hand performances. 

The Pitch-Your-Play Showcase  offers playwrights of full-length and one-act plays an opportunity to receive critical feedback from a dramaturg along with a staged reading performance of a 10-minute excerpt of the play at the All-Conference Pitch-Your-Play Showcase.. Dramaturgs will be expected to give a short “elevator pitch” for each play at the beginning of its performance. 

For both events, each selected play  will have an assigned Creative Team comprised of a director, dramaturg, and actor(s). All participants assigned to a particular play will receive a digital copy of the final script prior to the start of the conference, and one preliminary conversation—via email, video conference, conference call, etc.—is required of each Creative Team. Participants are therefore expected to reply to emails in a timely fashion to schedule this pre-conference conversation, as well as to make arrangements for the 75-minute, on-site rehearsal. 

All selected theatre artists must register for the conference. Unfortunately, the conference is unable to provide funding to assist with the costs of travel and/or lodging. However, a limited number of actors from the Madison region may apply to receive an honorarium of $150 to participate as well as a waiver of the conference fee. To request specific conference accommodations, please contact Katya Vrtis, our Acting Accessibility Officer, at access@matc.us. 

All proposals must include:  

ACTORS:
Please submit the following three (3) documents:

  • Document one (1): a recent headshot or photo saved as jpg file format
  • Document two (2): a resume or bio saved as .doc, .docx, or PDF file format
    • Please ensure that the resume or bio specifies Actor’s Equity status
  • Document three (3): a brief letter (1 page or less) describing the types of roles you usually play. Please also note any experience working with new plays and/or staged readings. Save the letter as .doc, .docx, or PDF file format
    • Please note: accepted actors may be assigned to two plays 

DIRECTORS:
Please submit the following two (2) documents:

  • Document one (1): a resume or CV detailing directing experience saved as .doc, .docx, or PDF file format
  • Document two (2): a brief letter (1 page or less) describing your approach to directing and the types of work you are drawn to as a director. We strive to match each script to a director interested in that genre or style. Please emphasize in the letter any experience developing new plays or directing staged readings. Save the letter as .doc, .docx, or PDF file format

DRAMATURGS:

Please submit the following two (2) documents:

  • Document one (1): a resume or CV detailing dramaturgical experience saved as .doc or .docx, or PDF file format
  • Document two (2): a brief letter (1 page or less) describing your dramaturgy experience, both with new work and in other capacities. We ask that you also describe the types of work you are drawn to as a dramaturg, as we strive to match each script to a dramaturg interested in that genre, style, or length of play. Finally, it is imperative that you indicate whether you are interested in serving in the Dramatists Play Lab, Plays-In-Progress program, or both. Again, the Dramatists Play Lab produces 10-minute plays, whereas the Play-In-Progress program develops full-length and one-act plays. Save the letter as .doc, .docx, or PDF file format

NOTE: Theatre artists who do not follow the above guidelines will not be considered.

The Playwriting Symposium is eager for, and appreciative of, your help in advertising the conference to theatre artists in both academic and professional theatres within the reach of the conference location. We appreciate your help in circulating this call (as well as the symposium’s other calls) widely! The Symposium especially seeks your assistance with circulating the call for actors to theatre artists of color and/or from under-represented groups, as it is our priority to be able to ethically produce all plays selected for the Dramatists Play Lab and Pitch-Your-Play Showcase. 

All submissions must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 15,  2023 at 11:50pm PST  via the online form available here.

Questions can be directed to playwriting@matc.us

For Acting questions, please use “Acting Question” as the subject line

For Directing questions, please use “Directing Question” as the subject line

For Dramaturgy questions, please use “Dramaturgy Question” as the subject line

Please note that no individual may submit to more than two symposia, including the Playwriting Symposium. This limit is put in place to avoid scheduling conflicts and to provide more individuals the opportunity to present.

Visit the MATC website at http://www.matc.us to find individual Calls for Papers for the  All-Conference Panels, Pedagogy Symposium, Playwriting Symposium, Practice/Production Symposium, Theatre History Symposium, Emerging Scholars Panels, Articles-in-Progress and Pitch-Your-Book Workshops.

Please submit proposals by Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 11:59pm PST via the online form available at https://forms.gle/N5FzCqD5KZv1HeDu8