BECOME A JPP ARTIST
Passionate about new Jewish plays? Read on.
We believe that great plays can change the world.
We partner with great writers have a heartfelt intention to write a play that find the intersection between Jewish identity and global self. We want to find stories of Jewish ideas, traditions, myths, culture (and yes, religion) that impact, inform, and hopefully improve our lives. If you’ve got that play, we want to hear from you.
CURRENT SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES
The 16th National Jewish Playwriting Contest
The Jewish Playwriting Contest seeks to discover, highlight, and nurture contemporary Jewish drama by engaging with artistic and Jewish communities throughout the English-speaking world. The Contest has received and vetted over 2,800 plays by 1,800 writers in 34 states and 10 countries. The JPP has actively developed 60 of those plays, 41 of which have gone on to production in cities across the globe, including New York, Los Angeles, London, and Tel Aviv, playing for more than 130,000 audience members.
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!!!
The JPP has moved to the Submittable platform. Watch this video to learn everything you need to know.
The Jewish Dramaturgy Lab
Formed in 2022, the Lab brings deep culturally-specific knowledge and learning to the development of new plays. New plays are paired with what the JPP calls a Jewish Dramaturg – a thought leader (clergy, scholar, lay leader) – to pinpoint the Jewish questions being asked, and to see what Jewish tradition, text and culture have to say about those inquires. And then we add a Theatrical Dramaturg to support the playwright to build their play from these new ideas.
“[This] was one of the most fruitful workshops I’ve ever had (in a lot of years of doing this). The room was full of smart, generous, thoughtful, kind people and I’m overwhelmed by how much I received and the excitement I feel to dive back into the play. Whenever I teach, I start with the ground rule — only offer feedback that will make the writer eager to get back to their pages. Every single comment made me feel that.”
– Lab Participant Deborah Zoe Laufer
JOIN THE ARTIST READER PANEL
The JPP is seeking professional artists — actors, directors, designers, dramaturgs, stage managers and more — to join our national and international reading process. This radical experiment in democratic artistic decision invests artists in their Jewish identity, centers a diverse range of voices, and embraces passionate advocacy. To learn more, contact Contest Dramaturg Heather Helinsky.
Schedule
Preliminary Round: Pesach through July
Each of our 300 submitted plays is read by at least 2 Artist Panelists and 1 JPP Staff Member
Includes 2 Virtual Community Meetings
Semi-Finalist Round: July Through September
A select group of excellent plays are advanced for special scrutiny and an additional 3-5 reads.
Includes 2 Virtual Community Meetings
Finalist Round: Ending by the High Holidays
A small group of experienced readers digs into the final group of plays to determine cycle Finalists. Requires reading at least 10 scripts.
Includes 1 Virtual Community Meetings