GO FOR THE GOLD: EWP Open Call Commission for New Play to Premiere During 2028 Olympics

In honor of the 2028 Summer Olympics taking place in Los Angeles, East West Players will be commissioning a brand new sports play through a progressive open submission process. In the first phase, playwrights at any point of their practice are invited to pitch an idea for a play at the intersection of the Asian American experience and sports.

Next, a team of readers from the EWP community will evaluate every submission and select a cohort of finalists. These finalists will be issued mini-commissions to generate the first 15-25 pages of the play they pitch, and the readers will select a commission winner based on the samples. 

This new open call came about as a result of Artistic Director Lily Tung Crystal’s love of sports and Associate Artistic Director Annie Jin Wang’s vision for how East West Players can continue to lower the gate and increase opportunities for playwrights in America.

“Commissions from institutions can be a bit of a double-edged sword,” says Wang, who joined EWP this past November to lead new work development, “In the American theatre, it’s not always clear how playwrights get commissioned, and a production isn’t always guaranteed at the end, which can often leave plays in limbo. No playwright, I imagine, is satisfied being paid to only write plays that never get produced. I’m inspired by programs like the Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission and Beth Morrison Projects’ Next Gen competition, which make the commissioning process more equitable and sustainable for both artists and companies. By adding this second round, where finalists actually write part of the play they’re pitching, I’m hoping that a few things will happen: first, that the commission winner will benefit from starting their commission with pages already written; second, that other finalists will feel inspired to continue writing their plays; and third, that I and my fellow readers will be introduced to writers from all over that we never would have had the opportunity to meet through traditional industry channels.”

Wang is already thinking long-term about how commissions can fit into the fabric of EWP’s mission. “I want to see Asian American stories that break the mold and move the whole field forward. This process is an experiment, and depending on the response, I sincerely hope that open calls will become a signature part of our new work development programming. My goal with open calls is that though–for now–only one project can receive the commission, many artists will be supported while going through the process itself.”

In addition to a guaranteed world premiere in summer 2028, the commissioned playwright will receive developmental support from EWP and opportunities to present their works-in-process to the public in 2026 and 2027.

Read more about the open call and submit here! Submissions are open now and are due March 2, 2026 at 5:00PM PST.