Directing Artistic Review

MONOLOGUE

One contemporary monologue, presented in English

• We define “contemporary” as anything written from around 1900 to now.
• Your monologue must be under 90 seconds in length.
• Your monologue must be from a published play (no musicals; no film/TV scripts; no original material).
• Each monologue should be written as such, not a dialogue pieced and edited together to make a monologue.
• Please choose material that is within your age range (roles you would be cast in now).
• The gender of the character need not be a determining factor when choosing a monologue.
• Props and costumes are not permitted.
• We want to hear your natural voice. Please do not add an accent to your monologue.

We encourage you to explore the great depth and breadth of material in the field of theater to find engaging and challenging material.

CONVERSATION

You will have an opportunity to converse with your evaluator immediately after presenting your monologue. This is a chance for us to get to know you a little bit. We've watched your work as an artist and now we want to learn about you as a person.

DIRECTING PORTFOLIO

Submit materials that tell your evaluator about a theatrical event you would like to direct. 

●      What is it? This can be but is not limited to: a stage production of an existing play, a devised movement piece, an adaptation of a short story, a puppet musical, an immersive installation–or something else that you want to work on. (1 or 2 short, literal sentences)

●      Why do you want to direct this? (250 words or less)

●      Why is your event something that you are asking an audience to experience? (250 words or less)

●      What happens in your event? (250 words or less)

●      Represent what your event looks, feels, and sounds like in a visual way. This can be any combination of a series of images, collages, drawings, photos, video, or something else not listed here. It can have a sound component, but there should be something visual that can be seen. Don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself to be a visual artist, you are not being evaluated on what your submission looks like, but rather on what it communicates about your ideas. You will be asked to have a conversation about why you have chosen to include the things that you did and how they communicate what you are imagining your production will be like.

CONVERSATION

You will have a conversation with your evaluator about your interest in and ideas about directing. This conversation will be centered around the directing portfolio that you submit but is not limited to it. It’s also an opportunity to get to know who you are as an artist, leader, and a person.

You are required to bring both a photograph and a résumé to the artistic review, in addition to uploading them digitally to the artistic review portal. A snapshot is preferable, as long as you are recognizable in the photo. Please use the industry standard for a performing arts résumé (example here).

You may bring your portfolio in paper or digital format. You will not be leaving your portfolio with us and may take it home with you once you have finished your artistic review.

Once accepted, students who are interested in directing are placed at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School to complete two years of multidisciplinary, foundational artistic training. After these two years, they have the option to continue on in the program and create their own work for anywhere from 1 to 4 additional semesters. Please visit the studio’s website to learn more about the program.

You will reserve either a morning or afternoon session for your artistic review. You should expect to be with us for the entire session. Sessions are approximately 3.5 hours. All candidates arrive at the same time to check in. For the most part, check-in for morning sessions begins at 9:00 and afternoon sessions at 2:00.