How do I apply to LABA?
Our application process open on Friday, September 17. We will announce the following year’s cohort in mid December. The 2022 LABA Application is available here.
What are you looking for?
First and foremost, those who seem excited about digging into ancient texts. We also want someone who has a great project idea or work-in-progress that will benefit by the study and the theme of that year. (We announce the theme with the application, so you’ll know.) Lastly, our goal is to put together a group with great chemistry. We aim to achieve this by bringing together fellows who work in a variety of mediums, have a diverse background in terms of ancients texts (no experience is more than okay), and are at various stages in their careers.
How much do fellows receive?
The study stipend is $1200 and they also receive project support. They also receive use of our theater for rehearsal time and occasionally performances, as well as use of our building for writers workshops, readings, art classes, gallery shows, or anything else they can dream and we can make happen.
What exactly do fellows do?
They come and study with us at the 14th Street Y or virtually, monthly from January to December, with a summer break to work on projects. We study on Monday evenings, sitting around a big table, drinking wine or other libations and speaking freely about texts. Fellows are also required to present an excerpt of their work at one of our LABA evenings either at the 14th Street Y or virtually, as well as do a piece for our LABA Journal.
While our current cohort of LABA Fellows has shifted into in-person gatherings and performances, due to the pandemic, we are leaving open the possibility that some of the fellowship may take place virtually.
What are the expectations about the work created through the fellowship?
We don’t need anything to be identifiably Jewish in content, but do want to see that any ideas or feelings provoked by our texts have made it into the work. Sometimes fellows leave the year with a more developed idea, and sometimes they leave with a finished project. We are fine with both. Really, it is about enriching the creation experience with the study.
Some LABA projects return to the 14th Street Y as developmental workshops and full-fledged productions. How does that happen?
If, at the end of the year, the LABA staff and the fellow feels that this relationship is productive for both parties, we will do our best to bring back the works created through LABA for a workshop or a run at the Y. Anyone who is interested in this need only approach us, and we will brainstorm to see if we can make it work together.