Newsletter: upcoming oppertunities and Ticket Offers
Professional Opportunities
Premiere Stages:
Premiere Stages, the professional theatre in residence at Kean University, will accept submissions for our 2026 Play Festival from September 1, 2025 through November 1, 2025.
We would love to read submissions from any of your playwriting students or alumni whose work fits our guidelines, and hope that you might share this e-mail with them.
We have linked the full current submission guidelines here. Your students are invited to upload the full text of a play at our submission portal on Submittable at 2026 Premiere Play Festival Invited Submissions. (Please note the link in this e-mail is private and for invited submissions only.)
Below is a brief description of the Festival:
The Premiere Play Festival offers developmental opportunities to four unproduced plays by writers with ties to the greater metropolitan area (New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Pennsylvania). From the pool of submissions, four finalists are selected for public readings with an Equity cast at Premiere Stages in the Spring of 2026. The winner of the Festival will receive a $4,000 advance and a full Equity production as part of Premiere’s 2027 season, with the option to retain the coveted “World Premiere” brand on their plays. Another finalist will receive $1,500 and a week-long workshop in the fall of 2026. The two additional finalists will receive cash prizes of $1,000. Premiere Stages is committed to supporting a diverse group of writers; playwrights of all backgrounds, ages, and experience levels are encouraged to apply.
RTA Collaboration:
RTA (Rehabilitation Through the Arts – https://rta-arts.org) is seeking short play submissions (10 minutes or less) for a new fall production in collaboration with the Taconic Women's Correctional Facility.
RTA, which was featured in the film Sing Sing, creates transformative arts programs for incarcerated individuals in New York State prisons and beyond. The organization welcomes submissions from both new and experienced playwrights—anyone with a story to tell is encouraged to apply!
This is an exciting opportunity, especially for Fordham students, to potentially see their work produced by non-traditional casts with a focus on social justice and community impact. All roles will be performed by inmates at the facility, offering a meaningful and collaborative experience for both artists and participants.
Plays can address any subject matter and do not need to focus on incarceration or prison-related themes.
Please send submissions to Lori Steinberg (lorims345@gmail.com) by September 15th. For questions, feel free to reach out to Chauntee’ (cirving2@fordham.edu).
Documentary Opportunities
(Anxious Generation)
Edgeline Films:
Award-winning filmmakers – Imagine Documentaries and Edgeline Films – have teamed up with Jonathan Haidt (author of The Anxious Generation) and a streaming network to make a major documentary about what it’s actually like to grow up with phones and social media. And we want Gen Z to tell that story.
We’re looking for people ages 16-30 to be in the documentary. There are two opportunities:
Protagonist (17-22): Are you curious about how phones and social media are shaping your life? Are you passionate, creative and funny? If so, apply to work directly with the filmmakers to investigate the issue, document your personal experiences, interview experts, and be a central voice in the film. Application here! No commitment necessary.
Stories of Challenge & Growth (16-30): Have you been harmed by social media or technology and are interested in sharing your story - including how you’ve overcome and learned from these experiences? Apply here and a producer will reach out for an initial conversation. No commitment necessary.
Feel free to apply to both. If you have any questions, we’d be more than happy to answer them. Email us at phonelifedoc@edgelinefilms.com. Compensation structure and union guideline compliance will be discussed and determined during the casting process.
Drama League:
Attention, Directors! The Drama League is offering students 50% off for upcoming workshops, centered on the audition process.
The Other Side of the Table
Wednesday, September 24th at 7pm
Focuses on current industry standard and innovative casting practices across theatre, film, and television through the lens of the director. Directors will learn various casting & preparation techniques, room culture, and inclusivity approaches to ensure a healthy audition process for all.
Creating the Audition Room
Monday, September 29th at 7pm
Allows directors to practice communicating with actors in a mock audition setting. Directors will be able to observe other directors direct professional actors under the guidance of the Drama League's Artistic Directors. Directors will get feedback on room preparation, actor-director relationship, and casting breakdown practice.
Offer: 50% off with code DLStudent50
Eligibility: Must register using a school email
Details & registration: dramaleague.org/workshops-events/
FREE Workshops for Fordham Students
Accademia Dell'arte:
October 16 12-2PM in Franny’s
Acclaimed physical theatre training institution Accademia Dell’arte will give a FREE workshop just for Fordham students:
Clown! Encountering the Red Nose: Clown training does not have to be painful! This workshop leads students through a journey of opening up their bodies and minds to the innocence and vulnerability of the clown. Physical ease will be established through Lecoq-based warmups and body opening exercises. Joy and vulnerability will be found through game play, and technique will be discovered through “turns” in the red nose as students learn how to interact with props, other clowns onstage, as well as the audience! Led by physical theatre teaching artist and theatre-maker, Francesca Marie Chilcote.
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art:
On Thursday, October 30 12-2pm in Franny’s
Our international partner and leading arts training institution, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art will lead a free workshop just for Fordham Students. Nick Hutchison leads a 2-hour workshop, Words Words Words, an active and actorly examination of how Shakespeare uses language and why, suitable for the more experienced actor/student. He examines the differences between Prose and Verse, the “rules” of verse speaking in early modern theatre; the implications of half lines, conjoined letters, mid-line endings, syllable counts etc, using examples from many different plays. Referencing the work of Peter Hall and Giles Block’s work at the Globe.
Ticket Offer
MEXODUS:
MEXODUS is a groundbreaking live-looped *new* musical created and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. It shines a light on the little-known story of the Underground Railroad that went south into Mexico, highlighting a history of Black and Brown solidarity. In today’s climate, where oral and written histories are often censored or erased, MEXODUS is more than entertainment – it’s resistance, education, and empowerment.
Brian and Nygel build every track live on stage, blending hip-hop, looping, and storytelling into an electrifying performance. We’d love to share this fun night at the theatre with you!
Please send out our MEXODUS Outreach Ticket Request Form to the Fordham community.