Artist programs
The Labs
OP labs give artists time, space and a community to move their work forward, in Saratoga Springs, in New York City and online. Each lab is built around what the artists in it need.
Submissions for 2027 are open November 9, 2026 to 11:59 pm ET on January 3, 2027, and submitting is free. The Audio Lab is by invitation only in 2027.
Open call
Performance Lab
Our oldest program. Overlapping summer residencies at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, with free rehearsal space, room and board, and a community of fellow artists.
In person · Saratoga Springs · June–July
Open call
Episodic Lab
A six-week virtual lab for TV writers. Group and professional notes, a guided writers’ room and pitch practice, and you leave with a stronger pilot.
Virtual · Late summer
Open call
Greenhouse
A year-long New York accelerator for generative artists of every kind. It is built around the artists and their collaborations rather than a single project.
Hybrid · New York City · Year-long
By invitation in 2027
Audio Lab
A six-week virtual lab for scripted, audio-first storytelling, with weekly writers’-room sessions and guests from across the audio field.
Virtual · Late June–August · By invitation only in 2027, with no open submission this cycle
For OP alumni · Year-round
Homegrown Labs
Support for new projects by artists who have come through OP’s labs and programs.
Year-round
Every OP lab includes
- Free. There is no fee to submit and no fee to take part.
- Orientation. Every lab opens with a shared orientation in OP Creative Vocabulary, the process and feedback language we use across our programs.
- Office hours. Sign up for one-on-one time with OP staff and facilitators whenever you need it.
- Community Learning. Weekly panels and conversations with artists and industry, open to artists in every lab.
- OP Forward. Optional support after the lab, from producing advice to fee-free fiscal sponsorship.
- Credit, not royalties. Artists agree to OP’s participation policies and to credit the lab. OP takes no royalty or share of the work.
Submitting for 2027
How submitting works
Submissions are open November 9, 2026 to 11:59 pm ET on January 3, 2027. Submitting is free for every artist, thanks to our supporters. One common form covers the Performance Lab, Episodic Lab and Greenhouse, and you’ll tell us which lab is your first choice. Each lab page lists the extra materials that lab asks for.
Step 1
Submit
Tell us about yourself, the work you want to make, what you hope to get from OP, and anything practical we should know (size, tech). Most labs also ask for a CV and a work sample.
Step 2
Readers and conversations
A panel of readers reads every submission. A smaller group of artists is invited to a short conversation with panelists, with information sessions beforehand for questions.
Step 3
Decisions
A live panel conversation makes the final selection. Typically about 15% of submissions go to a conversation, and 3–5% are invited into a lab.
How we read
What we look for
We aren’t reading to find the next Broadway hit, and we don’t rank scripts against each other on polish. Every submission is read on its own terms, guided by a handful of priorities that have shaped OP since 2008 and have done a remarkably good job of finding the most exciting work:
- Ambition. Work that takes real risks, in form, content or medium.
- Expansion. Stories, voices and forms that audiences don’t often get to see.
- Fit. Work that OP’s community and our flexible, artist-led process can genuinely move forward right now.
- Community. Artists who will spark and support the other artists in the room.
What helps most, at any stage: a clear picture of the work you want to make, and of how OP fits into its development.
Who reads
Submissions are read by a panel of more than 30 readers nominated by OP artists and alumni, not by staff, and every reader is paid for their time. The panel reflects a range of backgrounds, places, disciplines and experience, and readers commit to meeting unfamiliar artists with an open mind.
After the lab
OP Forward
Support that continues once the lab ends: producing advice, shared resources, fee-free fiscal sponsorship through the OPportunity Fund, and production partnerships.
Who has been here
Our artists
More than 2,000 resident artists since 2008, from first plays to Tony winners.