New Play Exchange

New Play Exchange The New Play Exchange is a digital platform and online repository for contemporary play scripts, founded to centralize access for playwrights, theaters, producers, and educators. It functions as a searchable library and submission system used by regional theaters, university drama departments, literary managers, and festival organizers across the United States and internationally. The platform intersects with institutions such as American Theatre, Theatre Communications Group, Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout Theatre Company, and major festivals like Humana Festival of New American Plays, facilitating distribution and discovery of new dramatic works.

History

The project originated in the late 2000s amid conversations among playwrights including Lauren Gunderson and administrators connected to National New Play Network, Theatre Bay Area, and New Dramatists who sought alternatives to traditional submissions used by The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center affiliates, and regional companies like Seattle Repertory Theatre and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Early adopters included dramaturgs from The Public Theater, artistic directors from Goodman Theatre, and educators at Yale School of Drama, Columbia University School of the Arts, and Northwestern University. As the platform matured, partnerships emerged with producing entities such as Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Trinity Repertory Company, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, while archives and rights managers from organizations like Samuel French engaged with its licensing features. The platform's development paralleled broader shifts seen in publishing initiatives tied to New Playwrights Festival, National Endowment for the Arts, and digital archives like Internet Archive.

Services and Features

The platform provides script hosting, searchable metadata, submission management, and options for private and public circulation used by literary offices at institutions such as Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, and Long Wharf Theatre. Playwrights can upload works with notes similar to practices at Royal Court Theatre and companies that prioritize developmental processes like Steep Theatre and The Flea Theater. Features include tagging compatible with catalogs used by Dramatists Play Service, query filters familiar to staff at McCarter Theatre Center, and calendar tools analogous to scheduling at Oklahoma City University drama programs. The site supports metrics and analytics valued by funders such as Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and committees advising National Endowment for the Arts, and integrates contractual workflows used by rights agencies including Concord Theatricals and Music Theatre International.

Membership and Community

Membership encompasses playwrights, literary managers, dramaturgs, producers, and educators affiliated with organizations like Playwrights Realm, The Lark Play Development Center, New York Theatre Workshop, Chicago Dramatists, and university programs at Brown University and University of California, Berkeley. The community interacts through curated lists, private groups, and collaborative exchanges that mirror networks found in Steinbeck Festival-style consortiums and conferences such as Association for Theatre in Higher Education and United States Artists. Accessibility and rights controls allow institutions like Juilliard School and American Conservatory Theater to manage submissions, while festivals such as Fringe Festival chapters and consortiums like Network of Ensemble Theaters use the platform to discover emerging voices.

Impact and Reception

The platform has been noted in coverage by outlets like The New York Times, The Guardian, Variety (magazine), and American Theatre for influencing commissioning and programming choices at regional venues including Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, and Victory Gardens Theater. Dramaturgs from Theatre Communications Group member companies credit it with streamlining literary office workflows similar to transformations attributed to digital initiatives used by Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre (London). Critics and scholars in journals associated with College English and conferences at Modern Language Association have analyzed its role in authorship, rights management, and dramaturgical practices, while arts funders like Ford Foundation and critics tied to Pulitzer Prize committees have observed shifts in submission volume and diversity. Responses from playwright organizations such as Writers Guild of America-adjacent groups and development centers including New Dramatists reflect both praise for access improvements and concerns echoed by unions and advocacy groups about equitable compensation and exposure.

Governance and Funding

The organization operates with a governance structure involving boards and advisory councils composed of playwrights, producers, and institutional partners drawn from entities like National New Play Network, Theatre Communications Group, Playwrights Horizons, and university arts administrators from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Funding sources include subscription revenue, grants from philanthropies such as Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation, project support from public funders including National Endowment for the Arts, and partnerships with theatrical rights organizations like Concord Theatricals and Dramatists Play Service. Financial oversight and strategic planning have been discussed in forums involving leaders from League of American Theatres and Producers and in convenings hosted by Arts Council England-linked networks, reflecting a blend of earned income and philanthropic support.

Category:Theatre databases