The writer isn’t just part of the process. They are the process.
New Play Development Conference
of New Plays
The PlayPenn New Play Development Conference is a three-week intensive held in Philadelphia dedicated to nurturing playwrights and developing bold new theatrical works—culminating in free public readings.
Since 2005, the conference has developed over 160 plays and helped enrich the theatrical landscape locally, regionally, and beyond. Approximately 60% of the plays developed at PlayPenn have gone on to receive productions, many in multiple, award-winning stagings across the country.
The conference is a cornerstone of PlayPenn’s mission: to support the creation and refinement of new plays while offering an artistic playground for playwrights. It’s a space where writers are encouraged to experiment, take risks, and explore their work on their own terms—free from the pressures of production.
Amid massive cultural shifts and major changes in arts funding, giants in the new play development field—such as the Sundance Theater Lab, The Lark, and the Humana Festival—have been sunsetted or permanently closed.
As these vital institutions disappear, the need for PlayPenn’s continued presence grows more urgent. For the past twenty years, PlayPenn has empowered playwrights to shape adventurous, original stories for the stage—and that mission is more essential now than ever.
Foundations of Equity
In 2022, we reassessed our policies and procedures through a lens of equity and inclusion. Writers were invited to share demographic information, allowing us to better match submissions with readers of similar backgrounds.
This change helped reduce implicit bias and gave each play a more equitable chance to advance. The result: our most diverse Conference in PlayPenn’s history. In addition, PlayPenn maintains an open, no-fee submission policy—a rarity in the new play development field.
The Conference begins with a mandatory orientation for staff, cast, and creative that includes training on equity, diversity, inclusion, and transgender awareness. Together, participants create community agreements and commit to a shared code of conduct rooted in these values.
Browse past conferences at PlayPenn
Each entry captures a year of creative exploration, featuring the plays and artists at the heart of it all.