Emerging Writers Residency

A new works incubator that offers theater writers a four-week residency at our premier acting conservatory to develop a play or musical, culminating in a presentation on the Circle in the Square Broadway stage.

 

Application dates
Aug 19 - Sept 3, 2024

Residency dates
Jan 7 - Feb 10, 2025

 

  • WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A WRITER

    • There are no limitations on writer experience level or demographics. The first round of submissions will be read BLIND.

    • As an educational institution, it is imperative to us that the writers we bring in are comfortable working in an educational environment with actors who have never been part of a new works process before. There will be an interview process for the six finalists (3 plays, 3 musicals) to determine which writers will be the best fit for our institution.  

    • Writers are expected to be within commuting distance of NYC for the duration of the residency. No housing or transportation will be provided. Please reach out to us with any questions regarding potential conflicts. 

    WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A SCRIPT/SCORE

    • A full draft of a script/score in early stages of development that has NOT been professionally produced (1st drafts are great!)

    • Substantial and challenging roles for a diverse array of actors (both racial and gender diversity) 

    • A MINIMUM of 4 substantial roles*, not including ensemble for the musical. Musicals with ensembles are encouraged to apply!

    * Note: as we are casting within our student body, flexible casting may be necessary

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    HOW TO APPLY

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    Questions? Reach out to ewresidency@circlesquare.org

  • Circle in the Square Theatre School’s Emerging Writers Residency returns for its second year in 2025! The program’s aim is to support the future of the theater industry with a truly collaborative residency. The Residency nurtures both writers and actors while developing new trailblazing works that celebrate underrepresented stories and challenge theater norms. 

    Due to the pandemic, many developmental spaces and residencies had to close their doors; we aim to fill that gap by providing writers a home for their developmental process. As educators, we have also noticed a gap in which students were not being given the tools to know how to support new work. This residency will give our students the experience needed to become true collaborators in a play or musical’s development.

  • The CITSTS New Works Residency offers writers a creative space, an acting troupe, and time to develop their work. One musical and one play are selected each year to be workshopped for four weeks each, with CITSTS student actors and faculty directors. Each piece will receive a public reading on the Circle in the Square Broadway stage at the end of that four weeks. 


    SCHEDULE

    The Musical will be in residence from January 7, 2025 to Feb 3, 2025, with the public presentation on February 3, 2025. See the Musical Submission Guidelines for a detailed schedule.

    The Play will be in residence from January 14, 2025 to Feb 10, 2025, with the presentation on February 10, 2025. See the Play Submission Guidelines for a detailed schedule.

    Writers are required to be present in person at Circle in the Square in NYC for the residency. There is an honorarium, but no housing or transportation is provided. 


    HONORARIUM

    • Playwright: $500

    • Musical team: $500 per team member, maximum of $1000 to be divided evenly


    ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

    • Printing, photocopies, and binders

    • Access to the CITSTS library and rehearsal rooms as a space to write outside of the session times

    • Complimentary tickets to the show playing on the Broadway stage when available

  • Jenn Grinels
    Composer/bookwriter of Wakeman: The Rosetta Project (2024)

    "It was so exciting to create theater in such a historic space, and on such a historic stage. I absolutely loved working with Billy Bustamante. He made me feel so respected as a creator and artist, and was so successful in terms of helping me clarify certain aspects of the piece. 

    The students were also so passionate about the material and I loved watching them support each other and cheer each other on during the process. I cried a few times during the rehearsal process.”


    Alexa Derman
    Playwright of The Creature (2024)

    “Sometimes a traditional new play development process is really focused on publishing each scene in isolation. Through this process, I really got to think about the arc of the piece and what each piece is doing to move the audience in a new direction. The Circle students had such a fresh and excited take on the play, and brought an eager, unpretentious desire to try new things to the process. I got to remember what it feels like to just be incredibly joyful in a room together."

Questions?
Reach out to ewresidency@circlesquare.org

 

2023-2024 Residency Selections

Selected Musical

Wakeman: The Rosetta Project
Music, lyrics and book by Jenn Grinels

A new folk rock/Americana musical inspired by the true story of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, who fought in the Union Army during the Civil War.

 
 

Selected Play

The Creature
by Alexa Derman

A speculative play about care, reproduction, bodies, and every wild thing.

2023-2024 Play Finalists

en-DANGER-ed! by A.R. Corwin
Fucking Ghosts by Jeff Athey
New England Summer Storms by Emily Elyse Everett
The Queen of Time by Ashley Lauren Rogers 

2023-2024 Musical Finalists

Fowl Play by Billy Recce & Yoni Weiss
The Lost Girl by Arianna Rose & Ben Bonnema
A Problem with the Pattersons by Laura Zlatos & Andre Catrini
Taking Off! By Sonya Hayden & Matthew Lowy

 

EWR Staff

  • EWR Program Director

    Natalie Wilson has worn many hats in this industry, as a singer, voice and music theory teacher, writer, and producer. Her performing career included such diverse roles as the title role in Carmen, Sesto in La Clemenza Di Tito, and Desiree in A Little Night Music.

    In addition to being on faculty at Circle in the Square, Natalie has taught private voice for 30 years, and her students perform on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on national tours, and with regional theaters across the country.

    As a writer, her works include: Sweethearts of Swing (Lark grant, residency and Workshop; NAMT grant; Rockefeller Brother’s Fund grant; NAMT finalist; developmental reading at Aurora Fox Arts Center); (Un)sung (Lark grant and workshops at NYFA and CITS); The Taming of Cats (Resident Production at The Brick); The Innkeeper (Soap Gets in Your Eyes Festival); and numerous short plays that have been produced across the US and in Montreal.

    Natalie is also the co-founder of Lather Rinse Repeat: A Playwrights’ Collective, and has produced a number of new works festivals and short play showcases, including the Ladies Lab featuring plays by all women-identifying playwrights. Natalie is passionate about making singing and theater more accessible to a wider array of both performers and creators, and couldn’t be more proud to be at the helm of this exciting new development process for new works.

  • Director of the Musical/Advisory Committee Member

    Billy Bustamante is a New York City based theatre artist.  He most recently directed and choreographed the world premier of Larry: The American Journey at the Brava Theatre in San Francisco. Other recent credits: Associate Choreographer for Here We Are Off-Broadway and Assistant Director for Here Lies Love on Broadway. 

    Other credits: Notes From Now (Prospect), Whisper House (Civilians), Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Into the Woods (Arden Theatre), Virginia Stage Company, Goodspeed, Lincoln Center, and NAAP.

    Broadway performing credits: Miss Saigon (Engineer alt.), The King and I (Lun Tha u/s).

    Off-Broadway/Regional: Soft Power and Here Lies Love at the Public Theater, Center Theatre Group, Arena Stage, Old Globe and Paper Mill Playhouse.

    Billy is also co-founder of Broadway Barkada and on faculty at Jen Waldman Studio and Circle in the Square Theatre School. He is passionately committed to the development of new artists and building a more equitable world.

  • Director of the Play/Advisory Committee Member

    Galia Backal is a first generation Mexican-American director, choreographer, and collaborator. She is drawn to work that supports themes of diversity, inclusion, and intersectionality, specifically pieces that center women and Latinx stories. Galia received her BA in Directing from Pace University and is currently the Associate Director of Six the Musical North America.

    She has worked with New Georges as one of the 2022 Audrey Residents, The Civilians as a part of the 2020 – 2021 R&D Group, and was a part of the 2020–2022 Roundabout Directors Group Cohort. Galia has also collaborated with The Drama League, Samuel French, Atlantic Theater Company, The Broadway League, Theatre for a New Audience, The Sol Project, The Tank, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and TADA Theatre.

    Recent directing credits include El Huracán by Charise Castro Smith (Brooklyn College), Into the Woods (Prima Theatre), Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (LIU Post Theatre Company), El Cóndor Mágico by Noelle Viñas (The Civilians R&D Group), Untitled Puppet Show by Daniella De Jesús (San Diego Repertory Theater), Inútil by Alisha Espinosa (Teatro LATEA), Canciones Project Workshop by Beto O’Byrne (The Sol Project), and Latch by Tom Mularz (Samuel French OOB Festival).

  • Artistic Director of Circle in the Square Theatre School

    Jeanne Slater began her career in NYC as an actor with credits including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Regional Theatre and commercials.  She has been teaching, directing, and choreographing for over 35 years and, in addition to serving as the Artistic Director of Circle in the Square Theatre School, she is currently on faculty at The Juilliard School, The Trinity School and Juilliard Pre-College. 

    Previously, she served on faculty at The Aspen Music Festival and The Metropolitan Lindemann Young Artist Programs and as guest artist/faculty at Harvard University, Ithaca College, the Juilliard/Windermere Program and The Hamptons Shakespeare Company. 

    Directing and choreography credits encompass a wide range of projects spanning both educational and professional theatre including: The 2008 Carnegie Hall Gala, Link Up Concert (Carnegie Hall), Amelia al Ballo, L’enfant et les Sortileges, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Cunning Little Vixen (Juilliard), A Little Night Music, Sweet Charity, Urinetown (Circle in the Square Theatre School), L’Etoile (Ithaca College), Aesop’s Fables (New World Stages), Godspell, Little Women, Mean Girls (THS), West Side Story, Candide (AOTC), Oreste (Festival dei due Mondi). 

    Jeanne holds a BA in Theatre from the University of California – Irvine, an MA in Shakespeare & Theatre from The University of Birmingham/Shakespeare Institute, and is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School.

 

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