Plays

Athena Project’s Read & Rant: A Plays In Progress Series

Submissions Accepted: September 1-30 for November Read & Rant

Athena Project’s new Read & Rant program seeks to combine the sharing of theatrical work with the wider public and aspects of new play development while also fostering collaboration between playwrights and dramaturgs. We operate this program with the goal to create digital opportunities for early and mid-career playwrights, uplift writers and dramaturgs overall, and highlight artists who identify as an underrepresented gender. At Athena Project, we want to create a safer space for expression and growth for women, transgender, and nonbinary individuals.

Each submission cycle, a total of four plays will be selected via random lottery and read by a Dramaturgical Cohort. The Cohort will select two of these plays to be featured in a Read & Rant event, where the playwright will be a invited to a moderated Zoom discussion led by a dramaturg where they will receive public feedback on their work. The playwrights not selected for the event will still receive written feedback from our Dramaturg Cohort.

Please keep in mind that our program does not provide a reading or a dramaturgical deep-dive, it works more like a Book Club! A general audience receives and reads the scripts in advance of the event, then a dramaturg uses their expertise to guide a discussion around the play. It is designed to give early-stage scripts audience feedback, and the dramaturg helps guide that discussion to ensure the feedback is productive and helpful.

Submission Guidelines:

• Must be a woman, trans or nonbinary playwright.

• Plays must be full-length and between 60-160 pages.

• Only previously unproduced plays are eligible. Scripts with prior workshops, readings or academic productions are accepted, but we recommend submitting a version that has been revised since so you can receive the most benefit from this opportunity.

• We do not accept musicals.

To submit your play, please Complete this Google Form to submit now!

Additionally:

• If you are not selected, you are welcome to continue resubmitting.

• If you have been selected from the lottery previously, please do not resubmit the same script, and please wait 6 months to submit a different script. We want to give other playwrights the chance to experience this process!

Sept 15, 2026, 11:59 pm MDT for November 2026 Read & Rant participation