The New Voices Program is a playwriting program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The goal of the New Voices Program is to create and ultimately produce more works about the experiences and culture of our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ community by providing meaningful access and opportunities.
About the Program
The New Voices Program aims to promote diversity and equity within the Triangle theatre community by hosting a writing workshop series. The workshop series is to provide training to adults (18+) of the global majority (BIPOC) and the LGBTQIA+ communities. The series will end with a culminating event during the spring of 2026, in which the cohorts’ will present their work.
The program will be taught and facilitated by experienced writer Judy Dove, and will include several sessions on understanding the art of creative writing, consulting and coaching during the writing process, and a reading series to showcase and workshop each of the original works.
Judy M. Dove is a Raleigh playwright, director, and teaching artist. She has directed for the Raleigh Little Theatre, Forest Moon Theater, Women’s Theatre Festival, WCPSS, and NRACT. Her full-length play, Shinsei (rebirth), was written when she was a member of the RLT/New Voices 2022 cohort, and was named a semi-finalist in the 2023 Bay Area Playwrights Festival. It was produced by OdysseyStage in 2024, recognized by the Chatham Life and Style Best of 2024 in five areas including Outstanding Playwriting, and was nominated for Best New Play or Musical in Broadway World Raleigh 2025. Other plays have been produced by the Rock Hill Community Theatre Short Play Festival, Goodly Frame Theatre’s ZoomFest 2020, OdysseyStage 10×10, Old Courthouse Theatre, Cary Playwrights, Triad Short Play Festival, Artists Soap Box/CATG, Creative Greensboro’s Evening of Short Plays and Short Tales for Children, and the Raleigh Little Theatre Storytellers to Go!, as well as in the U.K. Memberships include Dramatists Guild of America, and the North Carolina Theatre Conference, where she serves on the Board of Directors. She is also on the Board of the Raleigh Little Theatre.
Dates:
Orientation: February 10, 2026
Tuesdays
- February 17, 2026
- March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2026
- April 7, 2026
Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
The program will be limited to 5-6 participants, which will be selected via the application process below. There is no cost to apply or participate. All session will take place on RLT’s campus.
How to Apply
Accepting online applications January 5th – 21th.
Please note: This opportunity is a space for those who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+. If you do not identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA+, we invite you to check out other opportunities at RLT.
Questions? Please email education@nullraleighlittletheatre.org.
Volunteer Access Fund
If you face financial barriers related to transportation to the theatre, please check out our Volunteer Access Fund pilot program!
The 2025 Cohort
Meet our 2025 New Voices cohort here! The culminating event was held on May 14th in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre.
The 2024 Cohort
Meet our 2024 New Voices cohort here! Watch the video of their culminating event held on Wednesday, June 12 on RLT’s Facebook page.
The 2023 Cohort
Meet our 2023 New Voices cohort here! Watch the video of their culminating event held on Wednesday, June 14 on RLT’s Facebook page.
The 2022 Cohort
Meet the talented cohort of New Voices for 2022! Watch the video of their culminating event held on Thursday, May 26 on RLT’s Facebook page: https://fb.watch/hyfnFn7oTB
The Inaugural 2021 Cohort
Click here to meet the talented participants that comprised the New Voices Program’s inaugural cohort in 2020-21. Watch the live video from their culminating event here on RLT’s Facebook page!
Sponsor
This project was supported by the Maurer Family Foundation.
