Scholarship support provides valuable aid for artists seeking to study in various programs, and ensures the O'Neill's role as a national leader in nurturing and developing artistic talent. Support scholarships for:

National Theater Institute Students

Financial barriers prevent a rising class of theater artists from sharing in the transformative, singular experience of NTI. More and more, students withdraw applications for lack of resources, untold others never apply. Private investment in scholarships is critical to train an emerging and more diverse generation of theater artists to ensure a flourishing future for the American theater. > Give Now

Puppet Artists

The National Puppetry Conference encourages puppet artists to create and communicate through the visual and kinetic form of the puppet, to push beyond their personal boundaries, and develop new works for Puppet Theater. The annual Conference would not be a possibility for puppet artists without supplemental scholarship aid. There are multiple scholarships to give to from general to specific needs. > Give Now

Cabaret Fellows

The O'Neill provides emerging cabaret artists individualized attention and the opportunity to hone their skills under the mentorship of world-class artists and master teachers. Few other opportunities exist in this artistic field. > Give Now

Cabaret Junior Fellows

The Junior Fellows Program offers select middle and high school students an opportunity for professional vocal instruction, movement, and hands-on artistic guidance in the art of performance. > Give Now

The O’Neill is a pioneer in the development of new work and new artists for American theater, and sponsorship of new work while under development plays an important role in ensuring that legacy. Underwrite a play or musical as it makes its way through the “O’Neill process.” Our underwriters get exclusive access to the rehearsal process, creative team, and artists. Over 1,000 new works have been born at the National Playwrights and National Music Theater Conference, many of which continue on to regional theater, Broadway, and international productions every year. Underwriters provide vital support for a show at its infancy.

> Learn more about underwriting

Wendy Wasserstein was a loyal friend of the O’Neill throughout her distinguished career, from her earliest work as assistant to Lloyd Richards, and as a mentor to other writers long after her first produced play, Uncommon Women and Others, was developed at the O’Neill in 1977. She was a passionate advocate for the O’Neill’s Open Submissions program and the opportunities it presents for emerging writers who can benefit from the O’Neill’s resources at pivotal times in their careers, just as she did.

The O’Neill’s Open Submissions program affords writers from throughout the country and the world -- many of whom would otherwise have no means to bring their work to the attention of the professional theater community -- the opportunity to have their work considered for the O’Neill’s developmental conferences. Each script received by the O’Neill undergoes a review process involving scores of readers, a distinguished professional selection panel, and the programs’ Artistic Directors. These readers receive manuscripts with no writer’s name or biography included, so the selection process is “blind.” The artists are thus selected on the strength of their writing and the passion of their ideas.

THE WENDY WASSERSTEIN FUND is an endowment that will ensure the Open Submissions program in perpetuity. Income for the Fund will be used for operational costs of the Open Submissions program, offering all artists the opportunity to benefit from what the O’Neill has so successfully provided over more than five decades.

> Give Now