Out of nearly 400 applicants from 23 states and 22 countries, comprising TONY and Emmy (and other) award winners as well as those new to playwriting - covering subjects from Cannibalism to Nude Dinner Parties, Drag Kings to Godhood, Birthwork to Assassinations, our 2026 ROO Applicants have it all!  We are thrilled to introduce the 2026 ROO semifinalists! Adina Aaron - Textiles Lindsay Bourne - Some Place You Don't Have to Take Your Body with You  Ella Rose Chary - The Wrong Question Jayne Deely - Legacy Steph Del Rosso - Damage Control Penelope Gould - Untitled Women's House of Detention Play Zoë Kim - Famished Megan Medley - I'm God Mamie Parris - The Circle Sandy Rustin - Ladies Home Journal Project M.D. Schaffer - Untitled White Woman Militia Play Kimberly Senior - The Reinvention of Annie Besant Melisa Tien - Antidotes to Patriarch - A Series of Theatrical Events Ania Upstill - Ella, Annie, and Stella - a Drag King Musical Liza Wyles - The Raft

Return of the ROO Residency This two-year residency offers a combination of financial investment, physical space, and curated mentorship. We are once again opening applications for its signature  Room of One's Own (ROO) Residency . Inspired by Virginia Woolf's seminal assertion that a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write, this residency is designed to provide exactly that. This two-year residency offers a combination of financial investment, physical space, and curated mentorship to empower feminist writers to develop bold, innovative work for stage or screen. "I am thrilled that we get to continue supporting the creation of innovative works, investing in emerging talents, and creating inclusive spaces for artistic expression through our ROO Residency program," says Maria Aparo, Co-Creative Director at Bechdel Project. "By providing platforms, resources, and support, we strive to nurture the voices that are often silenced through systemi...

Premiere reading set for August 15 on LPAC’s mainstage. Bechdel Project will launch a new partnership with LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) on August 15 with an in-house reading of INVISI(BILITY) by Nikki Brake-Sillá, directed by Lori Parquet (Suffs). The collaboration will provide crucial support for Bechdel Project artists and programs, including ADA-accessible rehearsal space through its Free Community Space Program. The new partnership will also extend to future events and initiatives, ensuring artists and activists doing mission-aligned work have free, accessible space for creation. Brake-Sillá’s INVISI(BILITY), developed through her ROO Residency, explores whether Blackness could legally qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The play follows Gabriela Johnson, a Black attorney with rheumatoid arthritis, as she argues for Blackness to be recognized as a protected disability—sparking a challenge from Marcus, a fellow Black Harvard Law gradu...

Nikki will utilize the ROO Residency to delve into her thought-provoking new project, Invisi(bility). This powerful play confronts the complex intersection of race and disability in the United States. Invisi(bility) centers on Gabriela Johnson, a Black attorney with rheumatoid arthritis, who embarks on a legal battle to have Blackness recognized as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Through Gabriela's fight, the play compels audiences to critically examine the concept of a "post-racial" America and the enduring presence of racial prejudice within the legal and medical systems. A seasoned artist with a distinctive voice, Brake-Sillá is stunningly accomplished. She is the founder of DrAW (Dramatists At War) and has been commissioned by EST/Sloan, Elevate Theatre, RECPhilly, Revolution Shakespeare, and Philadelphia Women’s Theater. She has received funding from The MAP Fund, The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, RECPhilly, The Puffin Foundation, Jody Fa...

We're excited to collaborate with Todd London to create a three-day retreat here at BECHDEL PROJECT this coming weekend as part of The Third Bohemia!!! Founded in 2011 by Todd London, The Third Bohemia is a series of national gatherings of independent theatre artists, along with artists and thinkers from other fields, focused on sharing, teaching, and making work. The goals of these working sessions—or mini-camps, include: 1) To inspire and energize the participants in hopes of fueling their ongoing work; 2) To incite cross-disciplinary thinking and creation; 3) To explore the potential of peer-artist-to-peer-artist teaching; 4) To seed the national theatre's native creativity by connecting its artists outside of existing institutional structures; 5) To create a fluid, self-determining national theatre of artists. Following Bechdel Project's values, which encourage its artists to bring their whole selves, this 3B will be unique. The retreat has been carefully structured a...

Ever wonder why even many narratives written by women don't past the Bechdel test? Chimamanda Adichie explains the danger of a single story.