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Discipline-Specific Guidelines

2021 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship

The Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship in Theater/Performance Art/Spoken Word supports Minnesota or New York City-based playwrights, primary creators of devised work, performance artists creating original work or spoken word artists, early in their careers, creating bold, innovative and risk-taking new work that challenges conventional artistic forms. The Fellowship is open to playwrights, primary creators of devised work, performance artists and spoken word artists.

Please take the Eligibility Questionnaire to assess whether you meet the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship eligibility criteria before reading through these further, discipline-specific requirements. You must meet all of the general eligibility requirements as well as those found in the Discipline-Specific Guidelines below, whether you are applying as an individual artist or as an ensemble/collective/collaborative.

Defining “Early Career”

Eligible applicants must have a sufficient body of completed work that a panel can use to assess your artistic development over time, dedication to the field and ongoing motivation to create new original work.

Early career artists:

  • Have between 2 to 10 years of experience as a playwright, primary creator of devised work, performance artist creating original work or spoken word artist (excluding any time in a degree-granting program; as an actor or performer in work created by others or interpreting, assisting, or remounting the work of others; or time away from working as an artist due to circumstances–e.g., having children, caring for family members, long-term illness, etc.).

Playwrights, primary devisers of new work, performance or spoken word artists who have been generating new work for more than 10 years (excluding any time spent in a degree-granting program) are generally not eligible, even if they feel under-recognized. Artists with more than 10 years in the field who wish to discuss eligibility—based on circumstances (whether personal or geographic) or on specific creative practice considerations (i.e., the scale of work and/or extended creative cycles necessary to complete a single work)—should contact Jerome program staff before April 15, 2020 to discuss eligibility in advance of submitting an application.

  • Have 2 completed and publicly presented works. Works created and presented while in a degree-granting program are not eligible for meeting this requirement.
  • Have at least 1 work on your resume/CV that has been supported by a presenting organization (that is not your own organization, if applicable) or funder (for a project grant from either a foundation or a federal, state or local arts agency). Self-presented work or work created and presented while in a degree-granting program is not eligible for meeting this requirement.

Panels rely on work samples and a resume/CV to assess the review criterion of artistic merit, impact and readiness. An artist’s application materials must demonstrate development over time, dedication to the field, craft and potential.

This is not an opportunity for beginning artists who have never written a play or created your own performance work, whose generated new work has yet to be publicly shared, or without a sufficient body of completed work that a panel can use to assess your artistic development over time.

Age is not a factor in determining eligibility.

Artists who are mid-career or established are not eligible.

Artists will be considered beyond early career and ineligible if they have:

  • Received consistent significant financial support for their artistic work from foundations and/or federal, state or local arts agencies for multiple different projects.
  • Considerable bodies of work and are consistently touring and being produced by organization (other than your own organization).
  • Garnered significant regional or national prizes or awards in recognition or support of the creation and/or public presentation of multiple different works, including but not limited to:
    • Obie Awards
    • National Theater Project
    • Creative Capital Awards
    • Princess Grace Statue Award
    • MAP grants
    • Fulbright Fellowships\
    • Lambda Literary Award for Drama\
    • Steinberg Playwright Award
    • Produced commissions or touring grants from theaters, performance venues, or commercial producers with annual budgets above $5M

Receipt of any one of these grants and awards does not make an artist ineligible—it is the receipt of multiple grants and awards for multiple projects that, taken as a whole, move an artist to mid-career or beyond.

  • Achieved significant commercial success.
  • Received recognition in the form of awards, commissions, residencies or funding opportunities that are specifically categorized as mid-career.
  • Received awards or prizes in recognition of significant cumulative career achievement (including but not limited to the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, Pulitzer Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, Fulbright Scholar, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, and the MacArthur Fellowship).
  • Have a full-time tenured faculty position (or the equivalent).

Recognizing that different funders may define “mid-career” in different ways, artists who have received mid-career awards but consider themselves still in an early career stage should contact Jerome Program staff before April 15, 2020, in advance of submitting an application.

Actors with substantial recognition and lengthy careers performing the work of others will generally be considered ineligible. Actors who want to discuss eligibility should contact Jerome program staff before April 15, 2020, in advance of submitting an application.

Mid-career or established artists from fields other than Theater/Performance Art/Spoken Word will not be considered early career. For example, a film director with a substantial career in film who is now moving into playwrighting will not be considered early career for the purposes of this Fellowship.

Ensemble/Collective/Collaborative Eligibility

Ensembles/collectives/collaboratives may submit a single application requesting support request for 2–5 members who will share the Fellowship funds equally. In order to submit an eligible application, the ensemble/collective/collaborative must have a majority of members that meet all of the Fellowship eligibility requirements for artists applying individually and have a demonstrated history of creating new work collectively or as part of an ensemble. Only eligible ensemble/collective/collaborative artists may be included in the application.

Please take the Eligibility Questionnaire to assess whether your group meets the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship eligibility criteria for ensembles/collectives/collaboratives.

Playwrights, primary creators of devised work, performance artists or spoken word artists may provide script work samples, video work samples or a combination of both.

Work Sample may either be:

Script or Text Samples

  • 2 work samples of performance texts or scripts, each from a different completed and publicly presented full production (not drafts, readings, workshops or works-in-progress) that you have conceived, generated and publicly delivered as a generative artist. The samples should be formatted with a minimum font size of 11 point with one-inch margins and pages numbered.

Each text excerpt may be accompanied by video or audio documentation of a live performance of the work that corresponds to the text excerpt. If you do not have video, you may alternatively upload up to 3 production photographs that correspond to each work sample.

  • Work sample maximum for submitting scripted samples: 20 pages of text (with optional accompanying video or audio)

For example, you might submit a 12 page script sample of a completed work, with an accompanying video or audio clip of the scripted section, and an 8-page script sample of a different completed work.

Or

Video samples (if the work is not script-based or if you prefer to show work via video):

  • 2 work samples, each from a different completed and publicly presented work (not staged readings, drafts, workshops, work in progress, etc.) that you have conceived, generated and publicly delivered as a generative artist.
  • Work sample maximum for submitting video samples: 10 minutes of video

For example, you might submit one 6-minute video sample of a completed work; a 4-minute video sample of a different completed work; and a 3-minute video section of a work-in-progress that you are developing over the next couple of years.

Or

Combination of Scripted and Video Samples

  • A combination of 1 text sample (with option of accompanying video or audio) and 1 video sample—these 2 samples should each be from different publicly presented work. (not staged readings, drafts, workshops, work in progress, etc.) that you have conceived, generated and publicly delivered as a generative artist. For this purpose, 1 minute of video = 2 pages of text.
  • Work sample maximum for submitting a combination of 1 script sample and 1 video sample: 10 pages of text (with accompanying video or audio) and 5 minutes of video or equivalent using ratio of 2 pages of text = 1 minute of video.

 

Work-in-Progress Sample

In addition to the required sample options above, all applicants may submit a third work sample of a work-in-progress, especially if this is a project you would be pursuing during the Fellowship. For the work-in-progress sample, you may either provide 5 additional pages for a text sample or 3 additional minutes for a video sample.

 

Submit your works in the order in which you would like them to be viewed, starting with your strongest sample. Panelists want to see a range of work demonstrating development over time, dedication to the field, craft and potential.

The applicant(s) must be the playwright, primary creator of devised work, performance artist or spoken word artist of all submitted samples. If applying as an ensemble/collective/collaborative, all of the work samples must be the work co-created by the members of the group who are applying.

Do not submit promotional videos, trailers, reels, or interviews. Panels prefer to see documentation of real-time sequences of work representative of the live experience. The preference is that you submit links to the full-length work and provide a single cue point within the work for the panel to watch.

Jerome staff will assess whether your work samples are eligible for the panel to review.

Use your most recent and strongest work. Panels prefer work created within the last 3 years. Older samples may be submitted with an explanation in the “work sample context” field. Work created and presented while in a degree-granting program is not eligible.

Ineligible work samples include:

  • work in which you are an actor and not the creator of the work;
  • work created as part of an ensemble or work for which you do not have primary creative control;
  • commercial or non-commercial work-for-hire that you created at the direction of a client or producer, even if this is commissioned work;
  • work created and presented while in a degree-granting program or with all student performers.

For each work sample in the application, please provide the following required information:

For scripted works:

  • Performance Text or Script via PDF
    • Corresponding Vimeo/YouTube URL sequence: artists are encouraged to provide links to the full-length documentation of the work. This provides panelists the opportunity to view more of the work if they so choose.
      • Vimeo password, if applicable
      • Cue point for the work sample, aligned with the performance text or script
    • OR Production Stills (up to three) in either JPG or PNG format

 

If your work is not script-based or if you prefer to show your work via video:

  • Vimeo/YouTube URL: artists are encouraged to provide links to the full-length documentation of the works used for work samples. This provides panelists the opportunity to view more of the work if they so choose.
    • Vimeo password, if applicable
  • Cue point for the Work Sample
    • Indicate your start and stop time for the excerpt (e.g., “Start at 3:30 and end at 8:00”). If no start and stop time is provided, panelists will begin watching at the beginning of the work.
    • Do not submit more than one sequence per sample (e.g., Do not “Start at 1:00 to 1:30 then jump to 2:45 to 3:45”—panelists want to see uninterrupted sequences of work in real time).

 

All work samples require the following required information:

  • Work Sample Description, listing:
    • Name of the Work
    • Date Completed
    • When and where the work was documented
    • Where the work has been presented/performed
    • If you are in the work, identify yourself (e.g., “I am the performer wearing a sequined coat”)
  • Your Role in the Work Sample
    • This may seem redundant if you were solely the playwright—in this case, enter “playwright”
    • If you played multiple roles, list all of the roles you played in the creation of the work. For example, “playwright, director, performer” or “performance creator, composer” or “spoken word artist, choreographer.”
  • Work Sample Excerpt Context
    • Provide up to 150 words (recommended length) to give panelists a precise context for what they are watching. This can include a brief description of the entire piece, any important information about sections of the work occurring either before or after your clip that you want them to know, or your intentions and goals in creating the piece. If your work is durational or immersive or some other form that is challenging to experience in short clips, you can share that here. If you’d like panelists to pay attention to specific elements of your work, this is also where you might instruct them to do so. Given the panelist preference for recent work, if you are submitting work samples that are older than 3 years, please explain why.

 

Applicants who cannot provide the minimum amount of requested work samples leave the panel without enough information to gauge whether the applicant is truly competitive. Applicants who cannot meet the minimum requirement will be eliminated from consideration.

Panels rely on the resume/CV to evaluate how your artistic background demonstrates development over time, dedication to the field, ongoing motivation in the creation of new, original work in your artistic field over a multi-year period and your readiness for a two-year fellowship.

To meet eligibility requirements, you must have at least 1 work on your resume/CV that has been supported by a presenting organization or funder (for a project grant from either a foundation or a federal, state or local arts agency). Work that has been self-presented or work created and presented while in a degree-granting program is not eligible for this requirement.

Staff will assess your resume/CV to make sure you are eligible for the panel to review. Any applicant whose resume does not clearly establish eligibility will be eliminated for further consideration at the prescreening stage.

Resume/CVs should be current and complete. Bios are not acceptable. The Jerome staff and panel will not do research to determine your role(s), running time, dates in degree programs, etc.

The resume is your chance to present and confirm your status as an early career playwright, primary creator of devised work, performance artist or spoken word artist with a history of ultimate creative control over projects, artistic development over time, dedication to the field, and ongoing motivation in the creation of new, original work. For that reason, you need to clearly list your work as a playwright, primary creator of devised work, performance artist or spoken word artist separate from other work and opportunities.

A sample individual artist resume is available for your reference.

Individual Artist Resumes/CVs should include the following:

  • Completed Publicly Presented Work: listing of plays, devised works, performance art pieces and/or spoken word productions of completed, publicly presented work, include all presented, commissioned and self-produced work.
    • Name of the work and running time
    • Date completed
    • When and where the work was documented
    • Where the work has been presented/performed/toured
    • If you played multiple roles beyond playwright, creator of devised work, performance artist or spoken word artist, list all of the roles you played in the creation of the work. For example, “performance artist, composer.”
    • Provide a short (1–3 sentence) summary of the work.

Example: Check This! (85 minutes), premiered at Venue A (City) in 2016. Presented at Festival A (City) in September 2017 and Venue B (City) April 2018. I developed this play at Venue D during Residency A. This is an epic tale that follows a modern black family’s engagement with ghosts and gods who intercede on their journey to their ancestral homeland.

Barrelhouse (40 minutes), premiered in vacant lot in Neighborhood A (City) in 2018. Produced with Collective A with funding support from Funder A (2017). I created the text and directed this performance art experience with Collective A. It is a group piece with 18-25 performers, including trained performers and community members, in a meditation on home and displacement.

Back to the Planet (90 minutes), premiered at Venue A (City) 2016 following development at Venue B (City) in 2014; reading at Venue C (City) in 2014; workshop at Venue D (City) in 2015. This immersive experience floods the stage with a panorama of icons from gay popular culture, theatre history, and radical community to questions how we live in this world.

  • Work in Development

Example: Pipeline, short play commissioned by Venue A (City) for Series A, 2021. A first draft is in progress.

  • Other Artistic Work: list role, name of project, location and date

Example: Director for Rafael Greene’s work-in-progress production, DIVA, as part of Program A at Venue A (City) in 2019.

Performed in DD Ward’s The Living World, 2017 premiere at Venue A (City) for a 3-week run.

  • Fellowships & Awards: list name of award, date, amount and the project

Example: [name of fellowship or award], [year], [amount of award or fellowship stipend], [length of fellowship], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Grants: list name of grant, date, amount and the project

Example: [name of grant], [year], [amount of grant], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Residencies: list name of residency, date, length of residency

Example: [name of residency], [year], [length of residency], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Education: list any dates when you were enrolled in degree program/s

Example: University A, MFA in Theater Arts (Playwriting Concentration), 2012-2015

                College A, BA in Theater Arts, 2005-2009

  • Teaching: list name of class, venue, city, year, length of class

Example: [name of class], Venue A (city), [year], [length of class, e.g. 1 week intensive” or “12 weeks”]

  • Additional relevant categories: Please include any additional categories, including curatorial experience, selected critical reviews, artistic training programs, press and publications, etc., that you usually include on your resume.

Ensemble/Collective/Collaborative Resumes/CVs:

Artists applying as an ensemble/collective/collaborative should submit a resume of the collaborative work in addition to individual resumes of the artists applying. The collaborative information is the same format as that requested from individual artist applicants, just specific to the collective creators applying.

A sample collaborative resume is available for your reference.

The collaborative resume should include:

  • Completed Publicly Presented Work: listing of publicly presented work, include all presented, commissioned and self-produced work.
    • Name of the work and running time
    • Date completed
    • When and where was the work was documented
    • Where the work has been presented/performed/toured
    • List the roles of collective members. If collective members applying play multiple generative roles beyond playwright or primary creator of devised work, performance art or spoken word, list all of the roles applicants played in the creation of the work. See example below.
    • Provide a short (1–3) sentence summary of the work.

Example: Grain of Salt (3-hour durational work), premiered as part of Festival A (City) in 2017 with support from Funder A. Co-written and performed by Free Fall Ensemble members, Roni Stark and Rafael Greene. Stark also created the sound score and Greene produced the video. This work engages the history of place, factory workers and fire on the former grounds of the Gold Meadow Mill.

Take Me Away (50 minutes), presented a 15-minute work-in-progress version at Venue A (City) as part of Program A and premiered the final version at Venue B (City) in 2019. This work was co-written, developed and performed by Free Fall Ensemble: Stark and Greene. The show investigates racialized stereotypes in silent film melodramas through a menagerie of puppetry styles, including overhead projectors, toy theater and tabletop puppets.

Back to the Planet, (90 minutes), premiered at Venue A (City) 2016 following development in Program A at Venue B (City) in 2014; reading at Venue C (City) in 2014; workshop at Venue D (City) in 2015. This work was co-written and developed by Free Fall Ensemble: Stark and Greene. This play floods the stage with a panorama of characters from gay popular culture, theatre history, and radical New York City, to ask how we live in this world.

  • Work in Development:

Example: Pipeline, short play commissioned by Venue A (City), for Series A, 2021. Stark and Greene are writing the first draft, which is currently in progress.

  • Other Artistic Work: list role, name of project, location and date

Example: Co-Directors for Bronx-based artist Cary Cortez’s work-in-progress production, El Bolero, as part of Series A at Venue A (City), 2019.

Stark and Greene performed in DD Ward’s The Living World, 2017 premiere at Venue A (City).

  • Fellowships & Awards: list name of award, date, amount and the project

Example: [name of fellowship or award], [year], [amount of award or fellowship stipend], [length of fellowship], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Grants: list name of grant, date, amount and the project

Example: [name of grant], [year], [amount of grant], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Residencies: list name of residency, date, length of residency and the project

Example: [name of residency], [year], [length of residency], [name of project, if relevant]

  • Teaching: list name of class, venue, city, year, length of class

Example: [name of class], Venue A (city), [year], [length of class, e.g. “1-week intensive” or “12 weeks”]

  • Additional relevant categories: Please include any additional categories, including curatorial experience, selected critical reviews, press, artistic training programs, etc., that you usually include on your collective resume

Note: if the ensemble/collective/collaborative includes members that are not Jerome-eligible or not included in the application, but those artists were involved in the development and performance of the works included on the collaborative resume, please note this on the collaborative resume.

Example: Push Button (90 minutes), received work-in-progress showing at La Mama in 2016 and a premiere in 2017 at Dixon Place. Written and performed by Free Fall members, Roni Stark, Rafael Greene. Lane Lee designed the set and participated in the writing. This a hilarious, yet scathing indictment of the criminal justice system. Lane Lee is not Jerome-eligible but is a regular member of Free Fall Collective.

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