New Plays and Playwrights

The Unknown Play project is dedicated to developing and producing new plays in line with the Mission and Primary Objectives of Unknown Theater, and to foster meaningful and productive relationships with playwrights in our community.

PAGE TO STAGE PROCESS: PLAY DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Bi-monthly playwright workshops
These two-hour sessions take place twice a month. Member Playwrights share fresh and/or rewritten pages of current works in progress. Additionally, playwrights explore different writing techniques and help each other in finding ways to improve and expand their work. The ultimate goal being to groom exciting new and unknown works for theater. Some of these plays will be presented with further development opportunities through Unknown Play’s Page to Stage process.

Bi-annual reading series for our contributors
Member Playwrights are given the opportunity to have their work presented in two reading festivals per year. These festivals are for Unknown Theater contributing Members, and members of the acting company, to see new plays being developed by Unknown Play Member Playwrights. In addition to providing exposure for our members playwrights, these readings will help determine which plays are ripe for our annual new play festival, and future Main Event production consideration.

Within the Unknown: Annual public new play festival
The Within the Unknown play festival is an annual all-day festival which offers a glimpse into Unknown Play’s unique development process. Featured are three new plays by Member Playwrights. Often, each play is at a different stage of development within The Unknown Play Project – giving the community a rare opportunity to see how a play goes from page to stage, from unknown to known.

PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES

The 5th Wall
Following each Unknown Theater Main Event, the 5th Wall takes over the space, exploding in a stunning array of smaller productions based around the theme of our Main Event. With every new Main Event, a new 5th Wall is born. With every new 5th Wall, a new play is born. Member Playwrights will be encouraged to write a short play based around upcoming 5th Wall themes. The Artistic Director, 5th Wall Director, and Unknown Play Director will read all submissions, and choose at least one of these short plays to be showcased in the corresponding 5th Wall.

The Main Event
We call our “main stage” productions The Main Event. New plays can be produced as Main Events either through normal submissions, or through our comprehensive Page to Stage process described above.

Other opportunities
Other opportunities include annual holiday themed festivals, working with directors to develop original adaptations through the Unknown Classics Project, and working with the Unknown Artists Project developing new works for: LAUSD school assemblies, The Junior 5th, The Junior Company, and for our work with homeless and at risk youth at My Friend’s Place.

WITHIN THE UNKNOWN NEW PLAY ANTHOLOGY
Too often, playwrights bleed, sweat, and tear through the process of developing a new play – only to have that labor of love receive a production or staged reading, and then disappear from the wings of the stage. Not at Unknown Play. Each year, selected works from the Page to Stage process will be featured in an Unknown Play anthology. Part archival, part fundraising, ALL Unknown Play!

BECOMING A MEMBER
Unknown Play seeks to offer a nurturing home for passionate playwrights to develop and produce new and unknown works. The best way to become a Member Playwright of The Unknown Play Project is to familiarize the Unknown Play Director, Brett Webster, with your work. If a playwright’s work is in line with Unknown Theater’s mission, and the playwright shows a dedication and enthusiasm toward the Unknown Play process, he or she may be a good candidate for membership. Contact Brett Webster to get started.

MEMBERSHIP vs. SUBMISSION
While our goal is to weave passionate playwrights into the Unknown company as partners in all of our projects, we also accept normal submissions. Visit our submission guidelines page for more information.

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