The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is now accepting applications for the 2027 National Playwrights Conference. Applications are due by September 10, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST.

Selected playwrights will receive a week-long workshop of their play on the O’Neill’s seaside campus in Waterford, CT. These workshops are staffed by a full team of professionals, including a director, a dramaturg, and actors, and feature two script-in-hand public readings that provide writers with further insight into their work. The cohort of playwrights also receives a multi-week residency on the O’Neill campus to use as they see fit.

"The National Playwrights Conference has always been a beacon for a broad range of writers with an incredible breadth of diversity of experiences and backgrounds, whose work, over time, has driven the evolution of the American Theater,” said National Playwrights Conference Artistic Director Melia Bensussen. “I'm looking forward to reading the new works that will be submitted this year.  If you are someone considering submitting your work in, please—send it our way.  Your voice matters and we encourage you to submit your work to this unique conference."

The O’Neill continues to employ an open script submission process for its founding program and invites all playwrights to share their work regardless of professional representation. Scripts are reviewed blind, without writer names or contact information.

To be eligible for the conference, submitted plays should not have received or be scheduled to receive a professional production prior to July 31, 2027.

If you are interested in applying, please click HERE. A $15 fee supports the costs of the application process and platform. If the fee is a barrier to submission, a number of waivers are also available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be requested on the O’Neill’s website prior to beginning an application. For more information, please click HERE.