The Jewish Plays Project is the nation’s leading incubator for new Jewish plays

The Jewish Plays Project is a radical experiment in artistic democracy and collective action, and it takes YOU to make it work.

Whether you are a playwright, a theater artist,  a theater lover, a lover of reading, or an acolyte of Jewish culture – or some combination of all of them – there is a place for you at the JPP!

FOR ARTISTS
FOR AUDIENCES
FOR ORGANIZATIONS

2017 Finalist “Trayf” by Lindsay Joelle at Theater J

The 12th Jewish Playwriting Contest Finalists

The Jewish conversation today is vastly different than the one the JPP started with 10 years ago. We are proud to present six playwrights who are asking the questions that matter now. 

Progressive Zionism. Mystical texts. Science and faith. Family, memory and culture. It’s all here. 

These plays are why the JPP exists: to bring these stories to you, to create community dialogue around the things that matter, and ultimately, to champion these plays as they move onto the best stages in the world.

Learn more about these plays now.

The 12th Jewish Playwriting Contest Finalists

THE JPP IS REINVENTING JEWISH THEATER

Through a radical experiment in artistic democracy and collective decision making aimed at advocating for pro-Jewish messages on the best stages in our nation and beyond.

We need your support to lift up the playwrights, the artists, and the communities that are making Jewish theater relevant in the 21st Century.

 You can make a CULTURAL DIFFERENCE TODAY

Support Jewish Plays

The JPP impacts PLAYS

 

The JPP has advanced 36 plays to production in New York, London, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv and around the U.S.

The Sabbath Girl

 

by Cary Gitter
50E59 Theaters
Feb, 2020

The Mar Vista

by Yehuda Hyman and Mystical Feet
14th Street Y
2019

The JPP Impacts People

It was incredibly meaningful to be able to combine my Jewish identity and love of performing together…All three plays are so nuanced and talk about important issues affecting the Jewish community in well–rounded and complex ways.

– Actor Gayla Loeb

JPP’s mission to bring new, distinct and innovative Jewish plays to a wide audience of theatergoers is immensely important in building inroads between communities of disparate theatergoers, Jewish or otherwise.

– Contest Finalist Les Hunter

This was such a joyful, wonderful event—because it reminded me and this whole community how important it is to come together as Jews and to create art. Thank you for choosing my play to be a part of this project. It’s taught me so much.

– 9th Contest Winner Jennie Berman Eng

The JPP helped me get off the COVID couch –I wrote Part II of my play just for the Contest!

-Playwright Lojo Simon

The Contest was wonderful! The stories were intriguing, the topics so relevant. It was very difficult to choose a winner.

– Community Panel Member Gail Duberchin

From the perspective of a playwright, it was really heartening to hear how seriously and sensitively the scripts were being considered.

– Contest Finalist Dana Leslie Goldstein

I feel deeply supported by being part of the JPP family, and honestly that’s so much of what it takes to keep committing over and over again. The relationships and the stories are all!

– 2-time Contest Finalist Bess Welden

As a Jewish educator, this was absolutely heavenly! Outstanding technology and really excellent actors…and of course, the fantasticwriting.

– Audience Member Anita Silvert

This was such a joyful, wonderful event—because it reminded me and this whole community how important it is to come together as Jews and to create art. Thank you for choosing my play to be a part of this project. It’s taught me so much.

– Community Panel Member Gail Duberchin

Working on those plays also made me think about my and my family’s relationship to Judaism, and I really appreciate that.

– Actor and Artistic Director of Theatre Mu Lily Tung Crystal

This was such a joyful, wonderful event—because it reminded me and this whole community how important it is to come together as Jews and to create art. Thank you for choosing my play to be a part of this project. It’s taught me so much.

– Community Panel Member Gail Duberchin

This was such a joyful, wonderful event—because it reminded me and this whole community how important it is to come together as Jews and to create art. Thank you for choosing my play to be a part of this project. It’s taught me so much.

– Community Panel Member Gail Duberchin

Where do I start? The last two weeks have been truly wonderful. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to spend time submerged in such poignant and diverse Jewish stories and for creating a home through which those stories can incubate and then be introduced to the world. Working with you and all of the JPP artists has been such a privilege. The community you are creating is really special and I am super excited to get to be a part of it.

– Staff Member Ariane Barrie-Stern

The energy with the group was fantastic and I’m thrilled to be a part of something so positive. Thanks so much for what you’re doing for artists and the Jewish voice in the world. And although perhaps inadvertently, it’s amazing what your vision is doing to create much–needed opportunities for us to build our community.

– City Producer and Board Member Deb Radin

The JPP helped me get off the COVID couch –I wrote Part II of my play just for the Contest!

-Playwright Lojo Simon

Thanks againfor the opportunity to be a part of the Contest -it was amazing! I learned so much from you and the other actors. I think I might even have an Irish accent now.

– Actor Claire Gelilo

What a great resource the Jewish Plays Project and its New Play Writing Contest have been for our Theatre Program and our engagement with the larger theater community in Houston. Having access to such exciting material is wonderful, and the experience and perspectives on the scripts provided by JPP have already proved invaluable in selecting plays for potential future production.

– Marilyn Hassid, Director of Arts, Evelyn Rubenstein JCC of Houston

The Jewish Plays Project (and annual Contest) has become a central element in our cultural arts programming, providing the perfect mix of intellectual discourse and entertainment for our volunteer play reading committee and for the audience members who adjudicate the contest every year.

– Jeff Dannick, CEO, Pozez JCC of Northern VirginiaIt

As a Jewish educator, this was absolutely heavenly! Outstanding technology and really excellent actors…and of course, the fantasticwriting.

– Audience Member Anita Silvert

It was absolutely thought provoking and brilliant writing. The actors were superb. Your panel spoke with intelligence and interesting concepts. For me, it is keeping our history and legacy alive for the grandchildren who need to continue supporting Jewish events and causes.

– Audience Member Pearl Berkowsky