AlterLab
New Plays Commissioned & Developed
Begun in 2011, AlterLab is a yearlong playwright residency that supports three to five playwrights as they each write a new play. A playwright-empowered residency, AlterLab requires simply that each writer take risks, try something they haven’t done before, challenge themselves... and that they support their fellow writers. The structure of the residency is determined by the writers each year, based on what they need to accomplish their creative goals. AlterTheater commissions one playwright in each AlterLab cohort to write specifically for AlterTheater—for our ensemble of artists, for our non-traditional performance locations, for our community—and we then premiere the play they write for us.
New Plays Produced
We produce 100% of the plays we commission. We produce about 75% of all plays created and developed within AlterLab.
Since our inception, AlterTheater has always had a commitment to new plays: we’ve produced more than 20 world premieres, and also given 2nd, 3rd, 4th productions to new plays, as well as first look productions, or workshop productions.
Support the next AlterLab writers
AlterLab veteran Ann Brebner (bottom right) wrote her first original play at age 88. Long before she stretched into playwriting, she had a long and celebrated career as a theatre director, talent agent, and casting director for film/television. The Ann Brebner Legacy Fund helps ensure that Ann's beloved new play program continues to be a cornerstone of AlterTheater's work. Give today, and help create tomorrow's plays!
