Premiere Stages is committed to supporting New Jersey playwrights through the development and production of new plays. In conjunction with the annual Premiere Play Festival, Premiere Stages runs a biennial commission program for New Jersey writers called Liberty Live. Liberty Live is a unique partnership with Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum to develop and produce new plays that celebrate New Jersey’s rich and diverse history.

Starting November 1, 2024, submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis and will be received throughout the year. Premiere Stages reserves the right to decline to select a proposal for production in any given submission cycle, and also reserves the right to contact New Jersey based playwrights directly to explore the potential commission.

Winning proposals are developed on a bi-annual schedule. The play will receive a series of public staged readings in the Fall of the first Commission year. Throughout the process, Premiere Stages will provide dramaturgical support for the playwright to further develop the play, as well as forge partnerships with groups statewide to grow the audience for the play. The play will be considered for a full Equity production at Kean University in the second Commission year.

All proposals will be evaluated by a panel of theatre and history professionals. The panel will submit their recommendations to the Producing Artistic Director and Premiere Stages staff. Because of the rolling submission policy, playwrights may be contacted in subsequent cycles about their plays, but are always welcome to contact Premiere Stages for updates.

Writers of winning proposals will receive a $3000 advance. 

Submission Guidelines

• The playwright must be a current resident of New Jersey and must be able to commit to being local to Union, NJ for the duration of development and production.
• The proposed script must have a cast size of no more than 5 actors.
• The proposed script must explore a topic from New Jersey history; submissions should not be set in or around the settings of previous commissions (see Liberty Live History page).
• The proposed script must have a minimum run time of 60 minutes.
• Musicals will not be considered at this time.
• Submissions are limited to one proposal per playwright.
• Playwrights must be available for the development of their script (see schedule).
• Starting on November 1, 2024, submissions are accepted on a rolling basis and will be received throughout the year.  We encourage submissions before the new year for consideration in the next cycle.  Premiere Stages reserves the right to decline to select a proposal for production in any given submission cycle, and also reserves the right to contact New Jersey based playwrights directly to explore the potential commission. 
• All plays must be submitted as a PDF. 
• Hard copies will not be accepted.

All submissions should include:

1. A proposal of no more than five pages. All proposals must include the following information:
 

• Background/significance of the proposal topic.
• A synopsis of the basic plot of the proposed play.
• A proposed scene breakdown.
• A proposed character breakdown.
• Explaination of why the playwright is inspired to write a play on this particular topic.

2. 10-page writing sample from a completed play. The panel may request the full script or additional writing samples.
3. Current playwriting bio.