The Playwrights Union is a collective of dramatists who provide a community of professional and personal support for each other in Los Angeles. It was founded in 2009 by Jennifer Haley, a playwright who had been living in LA for two years and felt the need to connect with local writers.

Early members of the group discovered they had commonality in that they considered themselves playwrights, but were living in LA because they either wrote for, or aspired to write for, television and film. “We identified ourselves as dramatic writers building our chops and contacts in all genres, determined to remain artists even as we seek to make a living in our field,” says Haley.

Members meet regularly, often run an internal writing workshop, create various writing challenges open to members and alumni, attend each other’s readings, workshops and premieres and maintain an active community of friendship and professional dialogue. Membership is limited to thirty-five playwrights, based on internal recommendation.

Each May or June, the Playwrights Union produces the FIRST PEEK reading series, showcasing brand new work created during February’s “write a full length play in a month” challenge.