Many Voices Fellowships Grant

Many Voices Fellowships Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Playwrights' Center
Amount: US $56,000
Last Updated: October 21, 2025

Summary

The Many Voices Fellowship supports early career Black and Indigenous playwrights in Minnesota, offering a $25,000 salary and $3,000 for play development. This two-year program focuses on enhancing artistic vision through collaboration with experienced theater professionals. Since its inception in 1994, it has awarded over 140 fellowships to diverse voices in theater, providing crucial financial support and mentorship to cultivate new works and enrich the American theater landscape.

Overview

Many Voices Fellowships Purpose The Many Voices Fellowship is intended to support early career Black playwrights, playwrights of color, and/or Indigenous playwrights (what's this?) who demonstrate extraordinary potential, artistic vision, and a commitment to a two-year professional development residency in Minnesota. Within each two-year cycle, Many Voices Fellows are classified as part-time employees of Playwrights' Center, with a salary of $25,000/year (paid bi-weekly), and are eligible for all employee benefits, including employer-sponsored health insurance. Fellows also have $3,000/year available to support customized play development through workshops with professional directors, dramaturgs, and actors. Beyond the financial support, the fellowship includes working in an individualized and hands-on way with Playwrights’ Center artistic staff—some of the most experienced theater professionals in the country—to develop plays and connect playwrights to producers of new work. This holistic and customized combination of financial support, play development support, and professional connection is career-changing for most playwrights. Background The Many Voices Fellowship was created in 1994 in partnership with the Jerome Foundation in order to create a home for early career playwrights of color, Black playwrights, and/or Indigenous playwrights who would provide the American theater scene with diverse voices and aesthetics. Since that time, the Many Voices program has provided over 140 fellowships for more than 100 early career playwrights, offering class instruction, play development workshops, and mentoring opportunities.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Fellows commit to spending the two-year fellowship period in Minnesota and actively participating in the Center's programs.Fellows may spend no more than 10 weeks/year (20 weeks over two years) out of town during their residency.Applicants must reside in, and have the legal right to work in, the United States during the fellowship term. Playwrights who have not received a Many Voices Fellowship in the past are eligible. Playwrights who have received one one-year Many Voices Fellowship in the past are eligible.Previous Many Voices Fellowship recipients must apply with a different play than the one that accompanied their previous successful application. Playwrights who have received other Playwrights’ Center fellowships may apply, provided they still meet the Many Voices Fellowship eligibility guidelines.

Ineligibility

Applicants may not have had more than two different works fully produced by professional theaters by the time of the application. Productions that open after the application deadline do not count.Playwrights who have received two Many Voices Fellowships of any length OR one two-year Many Voices Fellowship in the past are not eligible.  Recipients may not receive any other Playwrights' Center fellowships during the two-year cycle.  Housing and travel are not provided.