New Plays Program

Since its beginning, Childsplay has been a company dedicated to the development and production of new work. Over the years a number of plays for young audiences were born at Childsplay: The Yellow Boat (David Saar), Hush: An Interview With America (James Still), The Highest Heaven (José Cruz González), and Even Steven Goes to War (Allison Gregory), to name a few. By the year 2000, the decision was made to establish a more formal program to aid in the development of new plays. And so the Whiteman New Plays Program was created with generous grants from The Flinn Foundation and the Whiteman Foundation. The program has contributed to the development of several new plays, including: Cyrano by Barry Kornhauser, Salt and Pepper, Two Donuts and Tomás and the Library Lady by José Cruz González, Eric and Elliot and The Imaginators by Dwayne Hartford, Lost and Foundling by Eric Pfeffinger, and River Rat and Cat by Y York. Two new plays feature in this season: a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, and A Little Bit of Water, both by Dwayne Hartford.

The Whiteman New Plays Program accepts unsolicited scripts and excerpts. These submissions will not by returned unless accompanied by a SASE. Please send, along with a cover letter and résumé, to: Whiteman New Plays Program, 900 S. Mitchell Dr., Tempe, Arizona 85281.