Applications are open through March 14 for the return of The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals. The annual professional development initiative for early-career theatre artists will be held July 9–13 at Pace University's Lower Manhattan campus, with a cohort production at Classic Stage Company's Lynn F. Angelson Theater. 

Established in 2007, the program gathers promising early-career artists for a rigorous series of workshops, master classes, panel discussions, career development, community building, and more. The event culminates in a production of The 24 Hour Plays, in which the cohort will produce theatrical works written, rehearsed, and performed in 24 hours.

In previous years, artists participating in workshops, panel discussions, and breakout conversations have included playwrights Annie Baker, Martyna Majok, and David Lindsay-Abaire; directors Leigh Silverman, Liesl Tommy, and Thomas Kail; actors Jesse Eisenberg, Claire Danes, and Aasif Mandvi, and more. 

The program will take place in both New York and Los Angeles for the first time. A separate application for the L.A. installment, which will be held in January 2026, will open this summer. 

On both coasts, the Nationals program is led by directors Jake Beckhard and Serena Berman.

"The Nationals program has always been, well, national!,” Beckhard and Berman said in a joint statement. “We’ve served early-career artists from all over the country for nearly two decades by gathering them annually in New York City. With this year's expansion of the program, we’re truly living up to our name—it's a joy to have our celebrated professional development initiative closer to home for artists building careers on the West Coast.”

The Nationals program has been produced in partnership with Pace University's Sands College of the Performing Arts since 2023. 

Click here to apply.