Fellows

The ideas of today’s writers become the groundbreaking shows of the future. DGF’s Fellows program helps create that future by propelling the most promising creative talents to their full potential.

The Fellows program is a selective, year-long intensive for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and bookwriters. The program pairs talented writers with accomplished professional mentors, who help them hone their process, and find their unique voice.

This program increases the likelihood that Fellows will be able to turn their passion and talent into a successful career, impacting audiences around the globe. The Fellows program, currently headed by Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde), and Diana Son (Stop Kiss), is highly sought after for its uniquely successful format of partnering playwrights and musical theater writers together in the learning process. In addition, Fellows receive a stipend and the opportunity to partner with several arts organizations for Fellows-specific development opportunities.

Applications for the 2019-2020 Fellows class are now closed. Applications for the 2020-2021 Fellows class will open in early 2020.

“I was in the Fellows during my first year in New York, and it was wonderful to have a little family of writer friends and mentors…And one of the best perks of the whole thing was the series of visits from veteran writers. Ten of us in a room with Doug Wright or Sarah Ruhl or Terrence McNally, picking the brains of our heroes in an intimate conference room, what could be more awesome?”
SARAH HAMMOND,
Playwright, Bookwriter, and DGF Fellows Alumna, Barefoot Persephone, String

2018-2019 Fellows

Jay Adana, Rae Binstock, Zeniba Britt, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Mathilde Dratwa, Aryanna Garber, Charles Gershman, Nambi Kelley, Melissa Li, Benjamin Velez, Kit Yan, and Zack Zadek

Alumni

Since its inception in 2000, the Fellows program has given over 160 writers a path forward in the industry, with several going on to achieve the highest levels of recognition in both theater and film.

Fellows alumni include Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman, La La Land), Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen, In Transit, Coco), Lauren Yee (The Great Leap, King of the Yees), Chisa Hutchinson (She Like Girls, The Wedding Gift), and many more.

View Our Fellows Directory