New Plays on Campus
New Plays on Campus (NPOC) is an institutional membership program of the Playwrights’ Center that puts the best new plays in America into the hands of college and university theaters and connects today’s students and faculty with living playwrights and the professional playwriting world. New Plays on Campus memberships are a great value at $300 annually.
New Plays on Campus benefits
All of the regular general member benefits for 6 students and/or faculty members (additional students can be added for a discounted price of $25/each), including access to our online database of script submission opportunities, discounted seminars and classes, the chance to work one-on-one with a dramaturg, and more, plus:
Core Apprentice program
Students of New Plays on Campus schools can apply to be Core Apprentices, who are granted fully-funded play development workshops at the Playwrights’ Center and a mentorship with a professional playwright. More about the Core Apprentice program »
Playwriting seminars
Online playwriting seminars geared toward topics that pertain to college and university students and preparing for life after college as a playwright. Taught by working playwrights from around the country.
Script matching services
Find new plays for your stage. Access to the most exciting new work in the country, year-round, before anyone else. The Playwrights’ Center has access to a vast nationwide network of playwrights and plays. Let us be your “literary manager at large.” We’ll narrow the pool to meet your requirements, then you select the play or playwright. Scripts are drawn from the Center’s high-caliber Core Writers, fellows, and Affiliated Writers, assuring a professional commitment to excellence.
Playwright residencies
Bring a playwright to your school. Choose on-campus residencies, on-site commissions, teaching, or collaborative work with students.
Student internships
Special internships throughout the year can be arranged to give students hands-on experience with the new play development process. New Plays on Campus members are given priority consideration for internships. More about internships »
Ready to join?
Students: Want to sign up for New Plays on Campus? Have a school staff or faculty member contact us.
For more information about the New Plays on Campus program, please contact Sarah Myers, Director of University Programs and Partnerships, at sarahm@pwcenter.org or 612-547-5743.
Colleges, universities, and affiliated programs currently enrolled by state:
ARIZONA
Arizona State University, School of Film, Dance and Theatre
CALIFORNIA
California Institute of the Arts
University of California - San Diego, Department of Theatre & Dance
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Catholic University of America, Department of Drama
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival
IDAHO
Boise State University, Theatre Arts Department
ILLINOIS
Northwestern University, Department of Theatre
Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, Department of Theatre
INDIANA
Indiana University, Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance
IOWA
Iowa State University
University of Iowa, Theatre Arts
KENTUCKY
Spalding University, Creative Writing
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston University, Boston Playwrights' Theatre
Lesley University, Humanities
Smith College, Department of Theatre
MINNESOTA
Augsburg University, Theater
Macalester College, Theatre and Dance Department
Normandale Community College
St. Olaf College, Theater Department
University of Minnesota, Department of Theatre Arts & Dance
University of St. Thomas
NEBRASKA
University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film
NEW YORK
Barnard College, Department of Theatre
Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group
Purchase College
Sarah Lawrence College
Vassar College
NORTH CAROLINA
University of North Carolina
PENNSYLVANIA
Carnegie Mellon University, School of Drama
RHODE ISLAND
Brown University, Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies
TEXAS
Texas Tech University
University of Texas - Austin, Department of Theatre and Dance
VERMONT
Bennington College, MFA in Writing
VIRGINIA
Hollins University, The Playwrights' Lab, Playwriting MFA
WISCONSIN
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Praise for New Plays on Campus
This play engaged our students’ imaginations more than any other project I've seen in a while.
—David Johnson, Associate Professor of Theater at Virginia Tech, about NPOC and their production of Tallgrass Gothic by Melanie Marnich
It is one of the first times that I can honestly say that such a bridge between the professional world and college theater makes us connect in a way that is creative, important, and useful for all parties involved.
—Karen Peterson Wilson, Theater Department Chair at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, about NPOC and their production of Perpetua by Vincent Delaney
The NPOC workshop was a wonderful first taste of what life as a working playwright could be like. When I saw the Playwrights’ Center for the first time I was stunned, in awe that a national center for playwriting was housed inside a church—it was beautiful, and empowering.
—Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, MFA playwriting student at University of Texas-Austin, about the workshop of her play The Other Side of the Closet
Asked if New Plays On Campus could “change American theater,” Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Artistic Director Gregg Henry chuckles. “I think it is possible…I don’t mean to be Pollyanna about it, but everybody’s going to benefit from this.”
—From a Variety magazine article by Mark Blankenship
This program actually works. I can honestly say that the New Plays on Campus collaboration is a win-win for everyone involved.
—Karen Peterson Wilson, professor of theater, St. Olaf College
The Core Apprenticeship provided me with a fantastic mentor and a full week of new play development; it gave me tremendous and vital support as I left grad school.
—Basil Kreimendahl, MFA playwriting student at Iowa Writers’ Workshop, 2012-13 Core Apprentice, 2013-14 Jerome Fellow, 2014-15 McKnight Fellow