Carlos Armesto & Graeme Gillis
Program Directors

Now entering its 10th Season, The Ensemble Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project commissions, develops, and presents new works that delve into how we view and are affected by the scientific world. These plays examine the struggles and challenges scientists and engineers face -- from moral issues, to personal dilemmas, to the consequences of their discoveries.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation leads a nationwide effort to support innovative work focused on science and technology in theatre, film and television media. The goal: build bridges between the scientific and popular cultures.

	Each season the EST/Sloan Project commissions and develops new work, and then presents the results, at varying levels of production, in a month-long festival called FIRST LIGHT, which takes place in the spring.

	This season's EST-Sloan Mainstage Production is Lucy by Damien Atkins. Opening on October 29, 2007, the play will be presented separately from the FIRST LIGHT FESTIVAL. For more information on Lucy, please click here.

Over the past nine seasons, the EST/Sloan Project has awarded more than $400,000 in commissions to more than 120 writers, composers, choreographers and theatre companies, with the resulting work presented in developmental readings and workshops engaging over one thousand artists. Commissioned artists include David Zellnik*, Arthur Giron*, Jaquelyn Reingold*, Quincy Long*, Cassandra Medley*, David Valdes Greenwood, Carey Perloff, Don Nigro, Israel Horovitz, Tom Donaghy, Bridgette Wimberly, Billy Aronson*, Dan O'Brien, Spencer/Colton Dance, Drama of Works, Stillpoint Productions and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

To apply for a commission, please download our SUBMISSION GUIDELINES.

Proposals for this season's round of commission awards are due November 30, 2007. Extant scripts are due December 31, 2007.

The EST/Sloan Project has been at the forefront of the wave of science-related theatre. Plays originally commissioned by the EST/Sloan Project have been produced at major venues around the country, including The Black Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, American Conservatory Theatre (San Francisco), The Empty Space Theatre (Seattle), Actors Theatre of Louisville and Williamstown Theatre Festival. The EST/Sloan Project has also hosted symposia involving Pulitzer and Nobel prize-winning scientists and authors, as well as award-winning playwrights. It continues in its mission to bridge the gap between the two cultures, science and the arts.