NYCPlaywrights October 17, 2026
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NYCPlaywrights
Oct 17, 2026, 5:05:32 PM (8 days ago) Oct 17
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Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Horror Puppet Theater
Come see puppets come to life in our horror puppet theater
Just in time for Halloween, local puppeteers give you their scariest performances for one night in Bushwick
Tue, Oct 20 • 8:30 PM
3 hours 30 minutes
Ages 21+
House of Nancy
219 Central Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11221
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-puppet-theater-tickets-2003309680181?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** SEEDING THE SCIENCE ***
Seeding the Science: A Playwriting Workshop with Kate Douglas
Wondering how to bring science or conservation themes into your own plays? Come see it done.
Join us for an afternoon as two playwrights bring new science-inspired work to life. Actors will read their pages aloud, and Kate Douglas will talk through each piece with its writer while you listen in. It’s a chance to see how scientific ideas and theatrical storytelling come together. Everyone is welcome!
Saturday, October 24, 1-5pm, Midtown Manhattan
Observer tickets: sliding scale, $25-50
Reserve your seat: https://events.humanitix.com/seeding-the-science-playwriting-workshop
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Award 2027 - dedicated to plays addressing LGBTQ+ themes and diversity in the sphere of love in the time of gender fluidity.
Plays of any length are accepted, full-length as well as 10-minute short plays, including those already performed.
***
Paperback Productions is accepting script submissions for a November production, presented as staged readings at one or more partner venues in Denton, TX. Potential performance locations include Harvest House and Toasty Bros, with the possibility of a third venue. One selected script will be produced by the company, and the selected playwright will participate in our profit-sharing structure.
***
She/NYC Arts 2027 Festival
We accept full-length plays and musicals during our open submissions period for our Summer Theater Festivals. In order to apply, you must be a playwright or composer of a gender marginalized group (including cis women, trans people, and non-binary people), or a writing team that is made up of at least 50% people from a gender-marginalized group.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** NAKED AND ONSTAGE ***
What should actors consider if they’re asked to perform nude?
Take some time to think over these elements to see if you mesh with showing flesh:
Career goals: Does performing nude fit into your theatrical trajectory? If you hope to land primarily family-friendly gigs going forward, this practice could be a potential roadblock.
Protections: Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how much flesh you’ll be expected to show and in what capacity, your contract details, the use of modesty garments, and what will be included in promotional materials.
Personal ethos: Performing nude may go against your religious beliefs, sense of modesty, or relationship boundaries.
If onstage nudity sounds like a decent proposal, here’s how you can protect yourself:
More...
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/nudity-onstage-18291/
***
What’s the takeaway from Liberation? Should audiences leave feeling hopeful?
My hope is that it’s hopeful. It’s meant to inspire people to have conversations with each other, especially intergenerationally. I’d like for children to talk to their parents and for parents to talk to their children and for there to be a sharing of perspectives. My hope is that people walk out feeling that they're not alone. One unexpected silver lining of the nude scene is that people are forced to put their phones in a pouch. That is huge. The number of times I go to a Broadway show and people are looking on their phones while the show is going on is shocking to me. The fact that the whole audience is not distracted by their phones for those two hours is a big accomplishment. So I also hope people notice that and walk out feeling good about something that took their attention.
More...
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/206256/susannah-flood-turns-liberation-into-a-full-body-experience-on-broadway/
***
Free love-era musicals didn’t have a monopoly on nudity. In the next few decades, plays like Equus (1973), M. Butterfly (1988), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1995), The Blue Room (1998), The Graduate (2002), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (2002), and Slave Play (2019) all featured nudity in their storytelling. Whether being utilized to tell a story about sexual identity or to realistically explore a romantic encounter, nudity drew more attention to a play than it might receive otherwise—especially when said nudity was enacted by a star, such as Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room or Daniel Radcliffe in the Equus revival (2008). One compelling moment of nudity in Wit (1998 off-Broadway, 2012 Broadway) challenged expectations for nudity on stage. Here, a character dying of ovarian cancer appears naked to show the frailty of her suffering body.
More...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/A-History-of-Nudity-on-Stage-20250405
***
In fact, I find nudity to be rather empowering. It is one of the more vulnerable things you can do as an actor as there are quite literally no layers between you and the audience. It has made me an infinitely more confident performer: any fear that you might have about live performance is eradicated out of necessity. You are in complete control of the audience and it can be a transformative experience: whatever stage presence you inherently bring as an artist is amplified as their gaze is transfixed on you. Properly used, nudity is a powerful theatrical tool that can evoke pathos, sensuality, desire, shock or just about any emotion. And there are different types of bodies in this cast, which has made the juxtaposition of our nude forms even more poignant and self-affirming. We are all gay men and uniquely beautiful in our own imperfect way: we are not a homogeneous lot.
More...
https://www.dailyactor.com/acting-advice-columns/adam-davenport-nudity-on-stage/
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Horror Puppet Theater
Come see puppets come to life in our horror puppet theater
Just in time for Halloween, local puppeteers give you their scariest performances for one night in Bushwick
Tue, Oct 20 • 8:30 PM
3 hours 30 minutes
Ages 21+
House of Nancy
219 Central Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11221
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-puppet-theater-tickets-2003309680181?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
*** SEEDING THE SCIENCE ***
Seeding the Science: A Playwriting Workshop with Kate Douglas
Wondering how to bring science or conservation themes into your own plays? Come see it done.
Join us for an afternoon as two playwrights bring new science-inspired work to life. Actors will read their pages aloud, and Kate Douglas will talk through each piece with its writer while you listen in. It’s a chance to see how scientific ideas and theatrical storytelling come together. Everyone is welcome!
Saturday, October 24, 1-5pm, Midtown Manhattan
Observer tickets: sliding scale, $25-50
Reserve your seat: https://events.humanitix.com/seeding-the-science-playwriting-workshop
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Award 2027 - dedicated to plays addressing LGBTQ+ themes and diversity in the sphere of love in the time of gender fluidity.
Plays of any length are accepted, full-length as well as 10-minute short plays, including those already performed.
***
Paperback Productions is accepting script submissions for a November production, presented as staged readings at one or more partner venues in Denton, TX. Potential performance locations include Harvest House and Toasty Bros, with the possibility of a third venue. One selected script will be produced by the company, and the selected playwright will participate in our profit-sharing structure.
***
She/NYC Arts 2027 Festival
We accept full-length plays and musicals during our open submissions period for our Summer Theater Festivals. In order to apply, you must be a playwright or composer of a gender marginalized group (including cis women, trans people, and non-binary people), or a writing team that is made up of at least 50% people from a gender-marginalized group.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** NAKED AND ONSTAGE ***
What should actors consider if they’re asked to perform nude?
Take some time to think over these elements to see if you mesh with showing flesh:
Career goals: Does performing nude fit into your theatrical trajectory? If you hope to land primarily family-friendly gigs going forward, this practice could be a potential roadblock.
Protections: Don’t be afraid to ask questions about how much flesh you’ll be expected to show and in what capacity, your contract details, the use of modesty garments, and what will be included in promotional materials.
Personal ethos: Performing nude may go against your religious beliefs, sense of modesty, or relationship boundaries.
If onstage nudity sounds like a decent proposal, here’s how you can protect yourself:
More...
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/nudity-onstage-18291/
***
Another show to take advantage of the end of censorship was the revue Oh! Calcutta!, which in 1969 staged bawdy sketches and erotic dances, after the entire cast stripped off in the first scene. It was conceived as a money-making bit of mischief by theatre critic Kenneth Tynan; he enlisted the likes of Samuel Beckett, Sam Shepard and John Lennon to add an avant-garde air to his juvenile joke. Even at the time, its tittering titillation was seen by many as old-fashioned rather than sexually liberating – but the show also caused a serious scandal, seen by conservative commentators as a symptom of the moral degradation ushered in by the swinging ‘60s.
Amid a press furore, there were demands for it to be shut down – led by the right-wing Dowager Lady Birdwood, who called it ‘grossly obscene’. Undercover coppers went to see the nude romp three times (was that really necessary?), and called for the Attorney General to close the show. But an expert panel, made up of headmistresses, a vicar and a law professor, were secretly sent to see the show; they found its wobbly bits harmless, and the show went on. And on – it ran for a decade in the West End.
More...
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160223-nudity-on-stage-the-naked-truth
Another show to take advantage of the end of censorship was the revue Oh! Calcutta!, which in 1969 staged bawdy sketches and erotic dances, after the entire cast stripped off in the first scene. It was conceived as a money-making bit of mischief by theatre critic Kenneth Tynan; he enlisted the likes of Samuel Beckett, Sam Shepard and John Lennon to add an avant-garde air to his juvenile joke. Even at the time, its tittering titillation was seen by many as old-fashioned rather than sexually liberating – but the show also caused a serious scandal, seen by conservative commentators as a symptom of the moral degradation ushered in by the swinging ‘60s.
Amid a press furore, there were demands for it to be shut down – led by the right-wing Dowager Lady Birdwood, who called it ‘grossly obscene’. Undercover coppers went to see the nude romp three times (was that really necessary?), and called for the Attorney General to close the show. But an expert panel, made up of headmistresses, a vicar and a law professor, were secretly sent to see the show; they found its wobbly bits harmless, and the show went on. And on – it ran for a decade in the West End.
More...
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160223-nudity-on-stage-the-naked-truth
***
What’s the takeaway from Liberation? Should audiences leave feeling hopeful?
My hope is that it’s hopeful. It’s meant to inspire people to have conversations with each other, especially intergenerationally. I’d like for children to talk to their parents and for parents to talk to their children and for there to be a sharing of perspectives. My hope is that people walk out feeling that they're not alone. One unexpected silver lining of the nude scene is that people are forced to put their phones in a pouch. That is huge. The number of times I go to a Broadway show and people are looking on their phones while the show is going on is shocking to me. The fact that the whole audience is not distracted by their phones for those two hours is a big accomplishment. So I also hope people notice that and walk out feeling good about something that took their attention.
More...
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/206256/susannah-flood-turns-liberation-into-a-full-body-experience-on-broadway/
***
Free love-era musicals didn’t have a monopoly on nudity. In the next few decades, plays like Equus (1973), M. Butterfly (1988), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1995), The Blue Room (1998), The Graduate (2002), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (2002), and Slave Play (2019) all featured nudity in their storytelling. Whether being utilized to tell a story about sexual identity or to realistically explore a romantic encounter, nudity drew more attention to a play than it might receive otherwise—especially when said nudity was enacted by a star, such as Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room or Daniel Radcliffe in the Equus revival (2008). One compelling moment of nudity in Wit (1998 off-Broadway, 2012 Broadway) challenged expectations for nudity on stage. Here, a character dying of ovarian cancer appears naked to show the frailty of her suffering body.
More...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/A-History-of-Nudity-on-Stage-20250405
***
Practically, it can be hard to keep your audience focused on a play with nude actors strutting about. One can easily drift off into worrying about their comfort level — are the players warm enough? Are they embarrassed? Are we embarrassed for them?
Inevitably, biology and cultural biases are not suspended in the art. Nor are moral quandaries. Is it all right to keep your eyes riveted on the nude form? To judge it on a scale of attractiveness? To be aroused by it, or turned off by it?
Does the sight jolt you into hyper-awareness? Or offend you into shielding your eyes, or fleeing?
Theater is an artistic endeavor, therefore the aesthetics of stage bodies are as much a part of the experience as any other dramatic element. Our responses become part of the performance.
Actors know they are cast, to varying degree, based on their appearance. But their physical imperfections won’t be airbrushed in live theater, as celebrities’ are in magazines. Being so exposed can produce gooseflesh and other unintended physical consequences (use your imagination), or quaking terror.
It takes nerve and poise to be so vulnerable on a stage. And that vulnerability can be compellingly revealing. Watching the disrobed Quinn Franzen as Doug in “Threesome ” struggle with feelings of sexual inadequacy, and Erik Gratton as Billy Pilgrim, alarmed then pleased to be on display, I admired their theatrical commitment. It makes the great Rosalind Russell’s definition of acting as “standing up naked and turning around very slowly” even more true than usual.
As critics tend to do, I was analyzing my own reactions to their bare-it-all turns, which ranged from blasé to discomfited to fascinated. But how did my fellow patrons respond?
The ACT staff reports very few complaints about the nudity in “Threesome.” In fact, one woman bought tickets because a friend told her how distracting it was “seeing a penis onstage.” Apparently she needed to check that out for herself.
More...
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/the-naked-truth-about-nudity-onstage/
***
When mainstream audiences – particularly in the United States – go to the theatre, they usually expect to be treated to a simple night of entertainment that is fun and friendly for the entire family. As a result, most shows that are frequently produced at local theatres reflect such desires among theatergoers. However, not all shows are as accessible as others. Some shows contain scenes with explicit violence, full-frontal nudity, and in some cases, even scenes depicting sexual acts on stage. As one can imagine, this often provokes controversy and often can spark outright negative reactions from the audience.
In cases such as this, it is worth asking: Are there instances in which theatre goes “too far”? If so, what would they be?
Depending on the demographics of the audience attending the show, the answer would likely be different. Some audiences might barely be able to see the sight of a fully naked man on stage in a show like Equus. In the 2007 revival of that play, for example, Daniel Radcliffe received a good deal of hate from parents of young Harry Potter fans who hated the idea of him portraying a role involving full-frontal nudity, worried about the “bad example” he would be setting by acting in a role that was very different from what they were used to.
More...
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2018/2/28/does-theatre-ever-go-too-far
Practically, it can be hard to keep your audience focused on a play with nude actors strutting about. One can easily drift off into worrying about their comfort level — are the players warm enough? Are they embarrassed? Are we embarrassed for them?
Inevitably, biology and cultural biases are not suspended in the art. Nor are moral quandaries. Is it all right to keep your eyes riveted on the nude form? To judge it on a scale of attractiveness? To be aroused by it, or turned off by it?
Does the sight jolt you into hyper-awareness? Or offend you into shielding your eyes, or fleeing?
Theater is an artistic endeavor, therefore the aesthetics of stage bodies are as much a part of the experience as any other dramatic element. Our responses become part of the performance.
Actors know they are cast, to varying degree, based on their appearance. But their physical imperfections won’t be airbrushed in live theater, as celebrities’ are in magazines. Being so exposed can produce gooseflesh and other unintended physical consequences (use your imagination), or quaking terror.
It takes nerve and poise to be so vulnerable on a stage. And that vulnerability can be compellingly revealing. Watching the disrobed Quinn Franzen as Doug in “Threesome ” struggle with feelings of sexual inadequacy, and Erik Gratton as Billy Pilgrim, alarmed then pleased to be on display, I admired their theatrical commitment. It makes the great Rosalind Russell’s definition of acting as “standing up naked and turning around very slowly” even more true than usual.
As critics tend to do, I was analyzing my own reactions to their bare-it-all turns, which ranged from blasé to discomfited to fascinated. But how did my fellow patrons respond?
The ACT staff reports very few complaints about the nudity in “Threesome.” In fact, one woman bought tickets because a friend told her how distracting it was “seeing a penis onstage.” Apparently she needed to check that out for herself.
More...
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/the-naked-truth-about-nudity-onstage/
***
When mainstream audiences – particularly in the United States – go to the theatre, they usually expect to be treated to a simple night of entertainment that is fun and friendly for the entire family. As a result, most shows that are frequently produced at local theatres reflect such desires among theatergoers. However, not all shows are as accessible as others. Some shows contain scenes with explicit violence, full-frontal nudity, and in some cases, even scenes depicting sexual acts on stage. As one can imagine, this often provokes controversy and often can spark outright negative reactions from the audience.
In cases such as this, it is worth asking: Are there instances in which theatre goes “too far”? If so, what would they be?
Depending on the demographics of the audience attending the show, the answer would likely be different. Some audiences might barely be able to see the sight of a fully naked man on stage in a show like Equus. In the 2007 revival of that play, for example, Daniel Radcliffe received a good deal of hate from parents of young Harry Potter fans who hated the idea of him portraying a role involving full-frontal nudity, worried about the “bad example” he would be setting by acting in a role that was very different from what they were used to.
More...
https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2018/2/28/does-theatre-ever-go-too-far
***
In fact, I find nudity to be rather empowering. It is one of the more vulnerable things you can do as an actor as there are quite literally no layers between you and the audience. It has made me an infinitely more confident performer: any fear that you might have about live performance is eradicated out of necessity. You are in complete control of the audience and it can be a transformative experience: whatever stage presence you inherently bring as an artist is amplified as their gaze is transfixed on you. Properly used, nudity is a powerful theatrical tool that can evoke pathos, sensuality, desire, shock or just about any emotion. And there are different types of bodies in this cast, which has made the juxtaposition of our nude forms even more poignant and self-affirming. We are all gay men and uniquely beautiful in our own imperfect way: we are not a homogeneous lot.
More...
https://www.dailyactor.com/acting-advice-columns/adam-davenport-nudity-on-stage/
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