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How did you get started with a career in playwriting ?
I am currently writing/submitting to festivals in my spare time. I'm wondering what the entry points are for playwriting as a career, especially as a career switch. Is it necessary to pursue an MFA? Are there specific fellowships or incubator programs I should be exploring? Or should I be looking to get into a writer's room?
Thank you so much for your time!
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Brian’s Answer
What a wonderful question and right in my wheelhouse. I've been a playwright for a little over ten years. I began my playwriting career before I began my masters degree. I had little experience writing, but from my acting work I was able to understand the format of a script. You do not have to have a degree to be successful as a playwright. However, to have a career as a playwright (being your primary income) is extremely difficult. Most playwrights draft plays for the love of the craft. I have had about 50 plays make it to stage and about 95% go uncompensated. I write for community theater and they normally don't pay the actors, writers, or directors.
If you want to become a successful playwright, link yourself with some strong networking sites. I have found plenty of opportunities on social media, mainly Facebook. But there are sites out there designed to help writers. Playsubmissionhelper.com charges a nominal fee, but they have a pretty comprehensive list of theater companies looking for plays. But before you submit, I suggest finding a workshop to help you analyze your work. I run one on Facebook and we meet once a month. I tell the writers to run the play through the workshop, listen to the feedback from other writers, and go from there. These workshops, at least mine, costs nothing to join. And the feedback can really help out.
I hope this helps you out. I wish you the very best of luck, from one playwright to another.
Join a workshop
Explore theater submission sites
If you want to become a successful playwright, link yourself with some strong networking sites. I have found plenty of opportunities on social media, mainly Facebook. But there are sites out there designed to help writers. Playsubmissionhelper.com charges a nominal fee, but they have a pretty comprehensive list of theater companies looking for plays. But before you submit, I suggest finding a workshop to help you analyze your work. I run one on Facebook and we meet once a month. I tell the writers to run the play through the workshop, listen to the feedback from other writers, and go from there. These workshops, at least mine, costs nothing to join. And the feedback can really help out.
I hope this helps you out. I wish you the very best of luck, from one playwright to another.
Brian recommends the following next steps:
Thank you so much, Brian!
C
Updated
Sarah’s Answer
It's exciting that you're already writing and submitting your work. That experience is valuable because you're not just studying the craft, you're practicing it.
As you think about building a career, I'd encourage you to consider not only how to become a better playwright, but also how the creative landscape is evolving. As mentioned previously, AI is changing parts of the writing industry, particularly where content can be produced quickly or at scale. The stories that will continue to stand out are the ones rooted in authentic human experiences, nuanced relationships, emotional depth, and perspectives that can't easily be replicated.
An MFA can certainly open doors through mentorship, networking, and structured training, but it isn't the only path. Many successful playwrights have built careers through festivals, writing residencies, fellowships, community theaters, professional organizations, and consistently producing new work. If opportunities arise to collaborate in television, film, or writers' rooms, those experiences can also strengthen your craft and expand your network.
I'd also encourage you to think entrepreneurially. Today's playwrights often build careers by combining multiple income streams, such as writing, teaching, consulting, directing, producing, speaking, or creating digital content alongside their artistic work.
Keep writing, keep seeking feedback, and keep building relationships with other writers, directors, producers, and theaters. Your talent matters, but so do the community you build and the unique perspective only you can bring to the stage.
As you think about building a career, I'd encourage you to consider not only how to become a better playwright, but also how the creative landscape is evolving. As mentioned previously, AI is changing parts of the writing industry, particularly where content can be produced quickly or at scale. The stories that will continue to stand out are the ones rooted in authentic human experiences, nuanced relationships, emotional depth, and perspectives that can't easily be replicated.
An MFA can certainly open doors through mentorship, networking, and structured training, but it isn't the only path. Many successful playwrights have built careers through festivals, writing residencies, fellowships, community theaters, professional organizations, and consistently producing new work. If opportunities arise to collaborate in television, film, or writers' rooms, those experiences can also strengthen your craft and expand your network.
I'd also encourage you to think entrepreneurially. Today's playwrights often build careers by combining multiple income streams, such as writing, teaching, consulting, directing, producing, speaking, or creating digital content alongside their artistic work.
Keep writing, keep seeking feedback, and keep building relationships with other writers, directors, producers, and theaters. Your talent matters, but so do the community you build and the unique perspective only you can bring to the stage.
Updated
Anuj’s Answer
Transitioning into playwriting as a career is about building a community of collaborators, not collecting degrees.
Is an MFA Necessary? No. Do not pay for an MFA. It is only worth it if you get into a fully funded, top-tier program (like Yale or Juilliard) primarily for the industry connections. You can learn the craft by reading extensively and joining local workshops.
Key Incubators & Fellowships: Look into The Playwrights’ Center (Many Voices Fellowship), New Dramatists (Princess Grace Fellowship), and The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group.
Writers' Rooms: This is for TV/Film. Playwrights frequently cross over into television because they excel at dialogue and character development, but it is an entirely separate career path with its own staffing cycles.
Is an MFA Necessary? No. Do not pay for an MFA. It is only worth it if you get into a fully funded, top-tier program (like Yale or Juilliard) primarily for the industry connections. You can learn the craft by reading extensively and joining local workshops.
Key Incubators & Fellowships: Look into The Playwrights’ Center (Many Voices Fellowship), New Dramatists (Princess Grace Fellowship), and The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group.
Writers' Rooms: This is for TV/Film. Playwrights frequently cross over into television because they excel at dialogue and character development, but it is an entirely separate career path with its own staffing cycles.
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
I would like to propose a new career direction for playwrights and writers in this rapidly evolving AI landscape. The main reason AI generated video often looks 'fake' or uncanny isn't necessarily that the models are lacking; it's that people misunderstand how to use them. We shouldn't treat AI as the producer or director that comes up with the emotional core of a scene. Instead, we should treat it like a cameraman or a VFX artist.
For example, AI currently struggles to understand and generate nuanced human emotion on its own. If you prompt it to 'create a sad scene,' the result will likely look artificial. However, if a playwright uses their skills to translate that emotion into concrete visual stage directions -> instructing the AI to focus on atmospheric details like 'slowly falling autumn leaves in dim, cool lighting'. When AI excels, creating a natural and advanced cinematic effect. Because playwrights are already experts at visual storytelling and stage directions, they are perfectly positioned to pivot into new careers as AI Video Prompt Engineers or AI Content Directors.
For example, AI currently struggles to understand and generate nuanced human emotion on its own. If you prompt it to 'create a sad scene,' the result will likely look artificial. However, if a playwright uses their skills to translate that emotion into concrete visual stage directions -> instructing the AI to focus on atmospheric details like 'slowly falling autumn leaves in dim, cool lighting'. When AI excels, creating a natural and advanced cinematic effect. Because playwrights are already experts at visual storytelling and stage directions, they are perfectly positioned to pivot into new careers as AI Video Prompt Engineers or AI Content Directors.
Thank you, this is amazing! I really needed it.
Mina
Frivita Dsouza
Instructional designer and change management professional
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Frivita’s Answer
Hey C,
To be a playwright, all you really need is keen observation and the patience to sit with your characters and story for a long, long time. That's it. That's the whole secret.
No course can replace a skill that's built through years of practice. So here's what I'd actually recommend: read as many plays as you can get your hands on. Watch how directors take those words off the page and turn them into something alive on stage — that's where you'll learn more than any classroom could teach you. And then, just start writing your own.
Observe people. Really watch them. If it helps, go sit in a busy market or a train station and just people-watch for a while — nothing beats that for building characters or figuring out who your characters even are. The best characters usually come from real people you've actually paid attention to.
Get into the habit of writing and reading as practice, not as a project with a deadline. If you want a reference for format, sure, grab a book on playwriting structure — that's fine, that's just craft mechanics. But don't mistake format for the thing itself. A play doesn't really have rules. What matters is how much of a mirror it holds up to society, and how deeply it lands.
To be a playwright, all you really need is keen observation and the patience to sit with your characters and story for a long, long time. That's it. That's the whole secret.
No course can replace a skill that's built through years of practice. So here's what I'd actually recommend: read as many plays as you can get your hands on. Watch how directors take those words off the page and turn them into something alive on stage — that's where you'll learn more than any classroom could teach you. And then, just start writing your own.
Observe people. Really watch them. If it helps, go sit in a busy market or a train station and just people-watch for a while — nothing beats that for building characters or figuring out who your characters even are. The best characters usually come from real people you've actually paid attention to.
Get into the habit of writing and reading as practice, not as a project with a deadline. If you want a reference for format, sure, grab a book on playwriting structure — that's fine, that's just craft mechanics. But don't mistake format for the thing itself. A play doesn't really have rules. What matters is how much of a mirror it holds up to society, and how deeply it lands.