Playwright Development Program

The Playwright Development Program, formerly known as DownStage Miami, was created to cultivate emerging Miami playwrights. The South Florida Theatre League administers the program on behalf of the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs.

The program consists of eight weekends of master classes in a two-year cycle, led by an incoming master playwright and scheduled at the availability of the lead playwright. This cycle’s lead playwright is Catherine Filloux and the participating playwrights are Marj O’Neill-Butler, Juan C. Sanchez, Paul Wong, and Michael Yawney.

At the end of the two-year cycle, the playwrights present new works in the From Scratch Festival, which will happen at a location within Miami-Dade County at the determination of a collaboration between the playwrights and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Participating playwrights also have the opportunity to develop their work at the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, as part of a continuing partnership.

Work developed in the Playwright Development Program has gone on to be produced throughout the country, with the most famous example being Christopher Demos-Brown’s American Son, which had a Broadway run and a Netflix Special.

If you are interested in joining the program, please connect with Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.