Baylor New Play Initiative Attracts 865 Submissions for 2027 Festival
U.S. playwrights compete for $15,000 Kirk New Play Prize; Competition champions creation of bold new American Theatre
"& Sons" by Jack Angelo Cummings won the Kirk New Play Prize at the inaugural Baylor New Play Festival in 2025 and made its 2026 world premiere at Luna Stage in West Orange, N. J. Playwrights from the across the country have submitted 865 new works for the 2027 festival. (Photo Credit: Valeria Terranova)
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The Baylor New Play Initiative's (BNPI) call for submissions for its 2027 Playwrights Festival lasted only 30 days, from April 1-30, but yielded an impressive 865 entries, Baylor University Theatre announced today.
In collaboration with 13 Texas theatres, the innovative program champions the creation of unproduced new works by both emerging and established U.S. artists, culminating in professional readings of the four finalists’ plays and the awarding of the $15,000 Kirk New Play Prize.
The inaugural BNPI Playwrights Festival debuted at Baylor University Sept. 26-28, 2025, featuring four artists and their new plays, each developed and staged by 40 professional actors, directors and stage managers. New York/New Jersey-based playwright Jack Angelo Cummings won the Kirk Prize for his new work, “& Sons,” about three young men who try to salvage a construction company after the sudden death of their patriarch.
Cummings’ gripping drama made its world premiere at Luna Stage in West Orange, New Jersey, on April 16, 2026, and ran through May 10, receiving stellar reviews from BroadwayWorld and NJArts.
More bold new works ahead
For the 2027 festival, the BNPI committee received scripts from 38 states across the U.S. The genres of plays range from comedies, family dramas, historical biopics, mysteries and farces to true crime, coming-of-age stories and science fiction.
“The development of new plays depends on creative innovation and artistic excellence,” said Baylor Theatre Department Chair and BNPI Co-chair Dominic Yeager, M.F.A.
“We are discovering a wealth of bold new works, creative energy, fresh voices and innovative storytelling,” said Carla Neuss, Ph.D., BNPI Co-chair and assistant professor of theatre at Baylor.
A panel of readers, made up of a combination of Baylor Theatre Arts faculty and professional theatre artists, are already dedicating attention to each script. Four finalists will be selected from the 865 submissions, which will go on to compete for the $15,000 Kirk New Play Prize. Finalists will be announced this fall, after which they will receive stipends and be assigned a dramaturg and director before the cast is selected for the 2027 BNPI Festival.
Preston and Ronda Kirk, the Festival benefactors, are 1968 Baylor graduates and Waco residents. They join the BNPI Committee in welcoming lovers of the live arts, both creators and patrons, to join in forging new frontiers and possibilities in American theatre. The weeklong festival in fall 2027 concludes with a luncheon and awards ceremony.
The Kirks have clearly stated the objectives for their legacy project – “A Premier U.S. Playwrights Festival” – proposed more than a decade ago:
- To help playwrights generate engaging, entertaining, successful and profitable original plays for audiences worldwide;
- To provide fresh opportunities in the academic and artistic fields for Baylor Theatre Arts students; and
- To reinforce Waco as a significant metropolitan center for the theatrical arts.
Collaborating Theatres . . . Schedule of Events . . . Newsletter
Currently, 13 Texas theatres collaborate with the BNPI, providing support, dialogue and evaluation as well as being production candidates for the finalists’ plays, either individually or cooperatively for rolling premieres statewide.
“Our Texas theatres were vital participants at our inaugural Baylor Playwrights Festival event, having recommended dozens of plays worthy of support to get them ‘from the page to the stage’ as well as attending readings and conversing with students,” Neuss said.
The companies, which include some of Texas’ top professional theatres, include
- Austin/Round Rock: ZACH Theatre and Penfold Theatre
- Dallas: Dallas Theater Center, Second Thought Theatre, Theatre Three and WaterTower Theatre (in Addison)
- Fort Worth: Amphibian Stage, Stage West Theatre and Circle Theatre
- Houston: 4th Wall Theatre Company, Alley Theatre, Stages and AD Players
In addition to the staged readings, the BNPI biennial festival features a playwrights’ panel, a new works development roundtable and networking receptions that foster dialogue and connect communities through innovative storytelling.
To stay informed of BNPI announcements and updates, subscribe to the BNPI newsletter here. Tickets for the next Festival will be available in late July 2027, with the full schedule of events available on the BNPI website.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENTOF THEATRE ARTS
Baylor’s Department of Theatre Arts is an elite program combining an excellent liberal arts education with rigorous training in both academic and artistic fields of theatre study. Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the department is ranked among the top undergraduate theatre programs in the nation and among the Top 4 in Texas. Follow it on Instagram, Facebook and X.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.