The summer conference, held in Waterford, CT, provides theatre writers the opportunity to align with veteran stage directors and the O'Neill Center support team to stage readings of their works with noted cast members from the New York stage. The deadline for the Playwrights Conference is Oct. 22.

Writers receive a stipend, housing, meals and transportation during the month-long residency.

The O'Neill employs an anonymous selection process for Conference submissions that includes a panel of theatre professionals and volunteer readers who assess the works.

Among the plays that were nurtured at the O'Neill are The House of Blue Leaves, Uncommon Women and Others, A Walk in the Woods, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson and Fences. Alumni include August Wilson, John Patrick Shanley, Wendy Wasserstein, Adam Rapp, Gina Gionfriddo, John Guare, David Henry Hwang and Adam Bock. Musicals developed at the O'Neill include Nine, Avenue Q, In The Heights, Violet and Tales of the City.

For further information visit www.theoneill.org. The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was founded in 1964 and is based in Waterford, CT. Programs at the Center include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute. The Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home, is also owned and operated by the group.