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Grants available for Black playwrights to bring scripts to life at Indianapolis theatre festival

Writers have until March 10 to submit their scripts. According to organizers, winners will be chosen in April, and the plays will be performed in November.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis theater festival is looking to help several aspiring playwrights bring their scripts to life and be performed in front of a live audience — all for free.

OnyxFest, Indiana's first and only theatre festival dedicated to the stories by Black playwrights, will cover the cost for five lucky writers.

"To just know that all you have to worry about is actually staging the play, finding your cast, finding your director, conducting rehearsal, that the financial end is taken care of, that's a godsend," OnyxFest director Vernon Williams said.

Covering the cost includes paying for actors, directors, stage equipment and design, as well as theater rental, which normally costs more than $6,000.

Williams said OnyxFest not only showcases writers but gives the community a different look at diverse backgrounds.

"We want to broaden the scope of the entire concept of theater, but particularly look at trying to tell better stories about the life and culture, the diverse life and culture of Black people in America," Williams said. 

Writers have until March 10 to submit their scripts. According to organizers, winners will be chosen in April, and the plays will be performed in November.

Click here for more information on how to apply.

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