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Instructions

Click here to access the application and please choose 2022 Front Row Productions Fellowship.

Before assembling your application, please read these instructions carefully.

Recommendation Letters

Recommenders can be undergraduate, graduate, or professional contacts; they should be people who can speak to your business and creative abilities and potential. We request that applicants submit all letters of recommendation electronically through our online application system. However, if your recommender prefers to mail the application, please follow these instructions: provide the form, along with a stamped envelope, to each recommender and request that they (1) enclose the recommendation; (2) seal the envelope; (3) sign their name across the seal; (4) mail the letter to:

FRONT ROW PRODUCTIONS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
c/o Columbia University
Theatre Arts Program
2960 Broadway, MC 1807
New York, New York 10027

Citizenship

All applicants must be United States citizens or have permanent resident status. You may prove U.S. Citizenship or Green Card Status by uploading a copy of any one of the following to the online application system: U.S. Passport, Green Card, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Naturalization Certificate, Certificate of Citizenship or Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state, with registrar’s seal and signature.

The following are NOT adequate proof of citizenship: driver’s license, voter registration card, or army discharge papers.

Presentation & Additional Materials

Applicants are evaluated on the basis of the quality of their past work, the application and their potential as Creative Producers. We are looking for well-organized and thoughtful applications that capture who you are as a person and as a theatre producer. Please be sure to proofread your application carefully before you submit it. The submission of relevant additional materials, over and above those that are required as part of the application, is highly recommended. Such additional materials might include photographs of work, press releases, reviews, etc. Please underline or highlight pertinent passages in any promotional material or reviews you submit. As part of the selection process the Admissions Committee will evaluate the professionalism of the application and the relevance of any additional materials.

Responsibility

All materials included in your application become the property of Columbia University and the Front Row Productions Fellowship Program.

Deadline

All application materials for the Front Row Productions Fellowship must be submitted no later than July 20, 2022. It is your responsibility to meet this deadline.

Interviews

The Admissions Committee will begin reviewing applications beginning on July 21, 2022. A group of semi-finalists will be selected and interviewed via Zoom during the week of July 25.

Notification

We expect to notify applicants regarding the status of their application by August 1, 2022. Official notification will be sent to the applicant by email at the address indicated on the application form. To ensure prompt notification, please keep the Fellowship Office up to date with respect to any changes to your mailing address, email, and phone number. Admissions decisions are made by the Front Row Productions Fellowship Admissions Committee and all Committee decisions are final. The Program regrets that, due to the large volume of applications, it cannot provide individual feedback to those who are not admitted.

Deferral

Accepted applicants cannot defer admission into the program. Front Row Productions Fellows must complete all academic and production work within one year of entering the program. Exceptions to the foregoing will be considered on a case by case basis.

Progress

Fellows who do not make satisfactory progress may be cut from the program.

Prince Fellowship Applicants / Prior Year Front Row Fellowship Applicants

Certain materials that have been uploaded and/or submitted for the Prince Fellowship application or for last year’s Front Row Productions Fellowship application, including transcripts and letters of recommendation, may be rolled over for consideration by the Front Row Fellowship Admissions Committee. Please see the application for further information.

Required Materials

  1. Click HERE to access the application and please choose 2022 Front Row Productions Fellowship.
  2. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO APPLICATION FEE FOR THE 2022 FRONT ROW PRODUCTIONS FELLOWSHIP.
  3. OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS: You may apply for the Front Row Productions Fellowship even if you have not completed an undergraduate degree. If you attended college, either a 2-year or 4-year program, please upload a scanned copy of your undergraduate transcript. No other transcripts are required, though applicants who did not attend college may choose to submit a high school transcript and applicants who attended graduate school may choose to submit a transcript from their graduate institution. Official hard copies of college transcripts are only required for finalists of the Front Row Productions Fellowship Program, prior to an offer of admission. Do not mail your official paper transcripts unless you are contacted by us to do so. To be considered official, transcripts must include the institution’s seal or stamp and must be submitted in an unopened envelope, signed or stamped across the seal. If an applicant’s name has changed since the undergraduate degree was received, the Admissions Office must be notified of the change at info@frontrowfellowship.com, so that the transcript can be correctly added to the applicant’s file.
  4. THREE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: Recommendations may be from undergraduate or graduate instructors, employers, professional contacts, or creative colleagues. Knowledge of the applicant’s work and track record and/or potential in the theatre industry, as well as their capabilities and qualifications for the program, are particularly helpful. A minimum of three letters of recommendation must be submitted. If possible, please include at least one from each of the following categories.
    1. ACADEMIC: academic reference from a teacher;
    2. EMPLOYMENT: a professional recommendation from an employer (ideally, an employer in the theatre industry);
    3. CREATIVE: a creative person (playwright, director, etc.) with whom the applicant has worked.
  5. BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHY Approximately 500 words summarizing the applicant’s life and theatrical experience.
  6. PROJECT ESSAY: The primary focus of the Front Row Productions Fellowship is the development of a theatrical project under the guidance of our mentors and advisors. As a result, a description of the project itself is an important component of the application. We want to make sure that your project will benefit from the resources the fellowship provides In approximately 500-1000 words, please describe the theatrical project you are interested in working on during your time in the program, addressing whichever of the following questions are applicable.
    1. Description: What is the project about? Please provide a brief synopsis. What interests you most about the project? Why do you want to produce it?
    2. Source Material: Is the project based on an original idea or on pre-existing material? If based on pre-existing material, please let us know if you have already acquired the rights to the source material.
    3. Current Status: Describe the current status of the project. Is it currently being written? Is there a complete draft of the script? Are there demos of songs? Has the project ever been performed?
    4. Creative Team: Who are the collaborators and creative team members? Are there any contracts in place? If no creative team members are in place, do you have a list of possible or dream collaborators?
    5. Audience: Who is the audience for the project?
    6. Next Steps: What do you hope to accomplish over the course of the year in terms of creative development and/or production?
  7. CURRENT THEATRICAL RESUME
  8. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: Please briefly answer the following questions.
    1. What does it mean to be a creative producer in the commercial theater industry?
    2. Why is the Front Row Productions Fellowship Program attractive to you?
    3. What do you feel are the biggest creative and economic benefits to being a creative producer in commercial theater as opposed to producing in-house at a not-for-profit theater company?
    4. Can you point to any current or recent examples of creative producing that you find particularly compelling in commercial theater?
    5. What attributes and skills do you have that you believe would make you uniquely qualified to be a creative producer?
    6. What experiences have you had to date that make you prepared to fully leverage the opportunities this Fellowship affords you?
    7. Do you currently produce through your own production company?
    8. What other options have you pursued or considered for your professional development?
    9. Please share with us a list of people, books, plays and/or productions that have helped shape your vision of creative producing. We are interested in knowing your greatest influences in the hopes of better understanding where you come from.
  9. PROOF OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP OR GREEN CARD STATUS: Please see Application Instructions for further information.

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Monday, June 7 6:30pm

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