Plays for Now

What act yet mightier yet imagineth
Thy venturous spirit?
—The Odyssey, Book IX
(tr. Chapman)

Thank you for your interest. Submissions are now closed.

In 2020 and 2021, Venturous supported theater companies in implementing their imaginative responses to the COVID-19 crisis and recent social upheaval. Our “Plays for Now” grants funded theatrical work that embraced the current moment, as companies reconceived theatrical forms during the suspension of in-person performances.

Supported projects included work that embraced interactive digital technology; plays produced outdoors and in site-specific venues with social distancing; radio plays; durational and hybrid pieces; work involving non-traditional platforms such as smartphone apps, video gaming, text messages, and postal service; and more.

We prioritized projects that were ambitious in their use of interactive media, and were “venturous” as described in our Venturous Capital Grants program. We gave special emphasis to projects that were artist-generated and work that was created for now, rather than plays written for the stage but adapted for presentation online or in other media. 

Plays for Now Projects Supported (partial list) 

Currents: 716 Digital Theatre Festival
Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo, NY

P.S. by Teddy Bergman, Sam Chanse and Amina Henry
Ars Nova, New York, NY

American Arcana by Cyndi Williams
Astoria Performing Arts Center, Astoria, NY

Karen, I Said by Eliza Bent
Bentertainment

Antigone at the Border by Marc David Pinate
Borderlands Theater, Tucson, AZ

​Caribbean in Queens: a Borough, a People, a Vibe, in a Time of COVID 19
Braata Productions, St. Albans, NY

​Black Feminist Video Game by Darrel Alejandro Holnes

The Civilians, New York, NY

The Woman’s Party by Rinne B. Groff
Clubbed Thumb, New York, NY

Pleasure Machine conceived by Tara Elliott and Emma Orme
Colt Coeur, New York, NY

Audio plays by Theresa Rebeck and Chisa Hutchinson
Dorset Theatre Festival, Dorset, VT

Kaidan Project: Alone by Lisa Dring and Chelsea Sutton
East West Players, Los Angeles, CA
Co-produced by Rogue Artists Ensemble

A Dozen Dreams
En Garde Arts, New York, NY

Mike Pence Sex Dream by Dan Giles
Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, NY

[…] in the time of COVID(second series)
Fault Line Theatre, New York, NY

The Language of Wild Berries by Naghmeh Samini
Golden Thread Productions, San Francisco, CA

The Story Box by Suzi Takahashi
HERE, New York, NY

​
#RIFT by Gabriel Jason Dean
Luna Stage, West Orange, NJ

vs. by Carl Hancock Rux​
​Mabou Mines, New York, NY

The Catastrophist by Lauren Gunderson
Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, CA
Co-production with Round House Theatre
​
The Dinner by Warren Adams
The New Group, New York, NY

The Jackson C. Frank Listening Party w/ Special Guests by Michael Aguirre
New Light Theater Project, New York, NY

Mud Season Mystery: The Lodger by Brenda Withers
Northern Stage, White River Junction, VT

Is it Supposed to Last by William Burke
PlayCo, New York, NY

The MTA Radio Plays curated by Ren Dara Santiago
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York, NY

A Song by Taylor Fagins
Rubicon Theatre Company, Ventura, CA

Quince by Camilo Quiroz Vazquez & Ellpetha Tsivicos
The TEAM, Brooklyn, NY

D-Pad by Jeremy Gable
Theatre Exile, Philadelphia, PA

Readymade Cabaret 2.0 by Jessie Bear
This Is Not a Theatre Company, New York, NY

A Breath for Us by Jarrett McCreary & Sara Outing
Tiny Dynamite, Philadelphia, PA

Lessons in Survival
Vineyard Theatre, New York, NY

June Rites co-created by Lee Sunday Evans, Ásta Bennie Hostetter, and Mariana Sanchez
Waterwell, New York, NY 

...and others still to be announced.