This spring, for the first time, the National Music Theater Institute (NMTI) will be offered as a stand alone semester program, offering students a robust, specialized curriculum taught by working professionals to build practical skills needed to thrive as a music theater performer. Led by Tony-nominee Alexander Gemignani, Artistic Director of the National Music Theater Conference at the O’Neill, you will receive an intentional, high-level educational experience through the lens of professional rigor. NMTI will help you build greater confidence in your performance craft and provide you with tools to help meet the demands of the professional music theater industry.

We are accepting applications for NMTI Spring 2026 through September 15th, 2025.

QUESTIONS?  Contact us at ntirep@theoneill.org.   

If the $30 application fee poses a financial barrier to you, please contact ntirep@theoneill.org before you begin your application.

If you have any technical questions about the submission form, your login information, or payment, please contact Submittable directly through THIS LINK.  

Application Instructions

Please complete your application by 11:59pm PST on Thursday, September 18, 2026. Early submissions are encouraged. Please review the 2026 NPC Application Guide and eligibility requirements below before starting your application. This form will request the following materials:

• Contact and Demographic Information:  This includes your name, email address, telephone number, physical address, and optional demographic information. If you have an agent or professional representation, you will be asked to share their name and contact information.
• Script PDF:  Be prepared to upload a single PDF of your script and developmental goals. The developmental goals should be included on the last page of the file. Your name, contact information, and agent information (if applicable) must be removed. Page numbers and a character breakdown are required. We are only able to accept PDF files.
• Developmental Goals: This should be no more than a page in length, and should be included on the last page of the PDF of your script. Please use this opportunity to share your larger developmental goals for the play, and what you would hope to accomplish at the Conference if selected. We cannot accept two separate documents. 
• Residency Goals: In addition to their developmental workshop period, all playwrights selected for NPC will be invited to a multi-week summer residency at the O’Neill campus in Waterford, CT. Multiple O’Neill programs run concurrently each summer, and dormitory-style accommodations are provided for all. (Visit our website for more information.) This application form will ask what you hope to gain from being in community with other O’Neill artists and NPC playwrights, and what you hope to contribute as a member of this community. There is a 250-word limit.
• Biographical Statement: Please focus on your background as a playwright or theater artist. This can be in the style of a standard bio—the kind you might see in a playbill—or something more extensive. There is a 500-word limit.
• Synopsis: Please provide a brief synopsis of your play here in two or three sentences. There is a 250-word limit.
• Cast Size: Please list the cast size for your play and any additional notes about casting. Please note that this year, the maximum cast size for NPC 2026 is 10 total actors per play. We will not accept or consider plays that require 11 or more actors. We find that plays that require 2-7 actors are the most successful at NPC. 
• Additional Information: If applicable, you will be asked to provide a developmental history of your play that includes any prior readings, staged readings, or workshops. If you are adapting a work that is not in the public domain, you will be asked to upload proof of your permission to adapt this material. You will also be asked to confirm that your play adheres to the NPC eligibility requirements listed below. 
• Administrative Fee: The administrative fee for the 2026 National Playwrights Conference is $15. This fee helps offset the costs associated with the organization and administration of NPC: the submission platform, application processing, materials review, and more. If this fee poses a financial barrier for you, please request a fee waiver at this link before you begin your application. 

Eligibility Requirements

• You must be 18 years of age or older and have the right to work within the United States.
• You must be the sole author of the play you are submitting to NPC, and the exclusive owner of all rights to the play. You may submit an original or adapted work, provided that the rights to any material not in the public domain have been granted in writing and a copy of the release is submitted with your script. 
• Cast size: This year, the maximum cast size for NPC is 10 total actors per play. We will not accept or consider plays that require 11 or more actors. We wish to be transparent that this is a new requirement due to space limitations on the O'Neill campus. The NPC application form will require you to list your cast size and provide space for additional notes, comments, and possible doubling schemes. Please see the FAQs on our website for additional information.
• Your play must not have had a professional production, or be licensed or optioned to have a professional production, prior to July 31, 2026. If you have any questions about this, please visit our website FAQs for more information. If your question is not answered there, please reach out to the O'Neill literary office at litoffice@theoneill.org.
• If your play has previously received—or is scheduled to receive—a developmental workshop, reading, or staged reading prior to July 31, 2026, you must disclose that information in your NPC application. 
• If your play receives a workshop, reading, staged reading, or is optioned after submitting your application, please inform the literary office via email at litoffice@theoneill.org as soon as possible. Failure to disclose additional development could affect your application’s standing.  
• If selected for NPC, we understand that you may need to honor outside commitments and/or employment obligations during your residency. However, please be prepared to be fully available during the week that your play is in rehearsal. 
• Please note that, at time of writing, all staff, artists, and participants of O'Neill programs—including selected NPC playwrights—must submit proof of a negative COVID-19 test 24 hours prior to their arrival at the O'Neill.  Please visit our website for more information about our COVID-19 policies. 
• While we welcome all genres and styles of drama, NPC does not develop works of musical theater. You may submit those to the National Music Theater Conference. 
• Although we welcome one-acts and solo shows, plays submitted to NPC should be at least 60 minutes in length and/or intended to be the main event of an evening. We do not develop ten-minute plays. While we do not have a minimum or maximum page-count requirement, we find that scripts that range in length from 50-to-150 pages are the most successful. 
• While we accept work that has been submitted to NPC in previous years, we strongly recommend that you share a new play with us each season. 
• Only complete applications will be accepted. If we discover an error or omission in your application, the O'Neill literary office will contact you through Submittable. You will have 48 hours to correct your materials. If your application is not corrected, it will be withdrawn from consideration and your fee will not be refunded.

Questions?

• If we discover an error in your application, the O'Neill will contact you through Submittable. You will have 48 hours to correct your materials. If your application is not corrected, it will be withdrawn from consideration and your fee will not be refunded. Otherwise, please expect to hear from us by April 2026 with an application status update.
• If you have any technical questions regarding the submission form, your login information, or payment, please contact Submittable directly through THIS LINK.  
• If you have any questions regarding your application's content, please visit the NPC Frequently Asked Questions  that can be accessed on our website. If the FAQ page does not answer your question please contact the O'Neill literary office at litoffice@theoneill.org.