Ojai Playwrights Conference has presented the Summer Conference and New Works Festival each summer for over 20 years, contributing to the development of seminal dramatic works that have revolutionized the sector and contributed to the canon of American storytelling. The Conference and New Works Festival is the centerpiece of all programming at OPC. Every summer a group of up to eight plays, which have yet to be produced, written by a diverse group of writers identified through a rigorous selection process, are developed in an intensive two-week, in-residence workshop program. The plays are then presented to the local Ojai community along with a large visiting audience from around the country. Our goal is to address the need for confronting the many social, cultural and human challenges facing us today through great contemporary theatre, to do this work with diverse voices from diverse communities, and to develop this work and these voices within a process that optimizes their theatrical potential.
In addition to the Conference and New Works Festival, OPC offers dynamic new play development resources throughout the year, including theater partnerships and workshops. We also provide youth arts education and internship opportunities to encourage and develop a new generation of theater artists.