Our Mission
MUSE COLLECTIVE is an all-women playwriting collective committed to shifting the narrative, placing women not as inspiration, but as creators at the center of the stage. By championing new work and curating a dynamic catalog of monologues, short plays, one-acts, full-lengths, and musicals, MUSE ensures that women’s stories are not only written, but accessible, discoverable, and produced.
NINE MUSES - An Anthology
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The Muse Collective, founded by Debra A. Cole, Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend, Dana Hall, Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn, Arianna Rose, Nora Louise Syran, Rachel Feeney-Williams, and Danielle Wirsansky, is seeking additional female-identifying playwrights to join us as founding collaborators in an exciting new anthology project: Nine Muses. What happens when female voices channel the timeless power of the nine Muses?
Nine Muses will be a vibrant collection of monologues and 5–10-minute plays, each inspired by one of the legendary Greek Muses and brought to life by dynamic female playwrights. From comedy to drama, from poignant reflection to bold theatricality, each piece will capture the spirit of creativity, storytelling, and artistic inspiration through a fresh, contemporary lens.
Designed with flexibility in mind, these plays can be performed individually or woven together in any combination for a full evening of theatre, making the collection ideal for theatre groups of all sizes. We are building this collective with a shared vision: to support one another’s voices while creating high-quality, accessible work, and to grow a sustainable platform for our plays beyond this initial collection.
We are seeking collaborators who are:
- Passionate about new work and theatrical storytelling
- Excited to be part of a collaborative, supportive collective
- Interested in creating one original monologues or 5–10-minute play inspired by one of the nine Muses
Important Note: Your chosen Muse is simply a creative catalyst for this collection. It does not limit your genre, voice, or style for your submission.
Compensation & Collective Vision:
At this time, there is no fee for the play included in this anthology. Instead, all proceeds from the Nine Muses collection will be reinvested into building and maintaining a dedicated Muse Collective website. This platform will serve as a promotional hub for all participating playwrights, featuring:
- Founding and contributing member playwright profiles
- Direct links to personal websites (if available)
- Connections to purchasable works through publishers, NPX, and other platforms
Our goal is to create a sustainable, long-term resource that amplifies each playwright’s visibility and supports ongoing opportunities for production and publication. This anthology is just the beginning. The Muse Collective is envisioned as an artistic home... one that fosters continued collaboration, future collections, and the amplification of women’s voices in theatre. We would be honored to have you submit for this inaugural project. If this opportunity speaks to you, we would love to share more details and answer any questions you may have.
Warmly,
Debra, Lisa, Dana, Jacquie, Arianna, Nora, Rachel, and Danielle
MUSE COLLECTIVE.NET
CRITERIA:
- To be eligible for the Nine Muses you must be female identifying.
- There is no submission fee for this script call; however, please only send one submission per writer.
- Monologues or 5-10-minute plays are accepted inspired by one of the nine muses or be creative and write a piece that includes all of the muses.
- Short Plays should no longer than 10 pages (less than 1500 words not including title page.
- Plays MUST be original and unproduced.
- Entries must be submitted in a BLIND PDF Document format.
- Plays may not be written using any generative AI.
New muses will be notified by XXXXXXX if their play has been selected. Playwrights will retain all rights to their work. Click the link below to submit.
THE 9 MUSES
Calliope: muse of eloquence and heroic poetry. Represented crowned with laurel wreaths, head resting on one hand, meditating.
Clio: muse of history. Goddess of Memory. Represented crowned with laurels, with a trumpet and the book Thucydide.
Erato: muse of Lyric or Erotic Poetry. Represented with lyre, hymns and sometimes a wreath of roses.
Euterpe: muse of the music. Giver of Pleasure. Represented with the flute.
Melpomene: muse of the Tragedy. Represented with a tragic mask, leather boots and knife or stick.
Polymnia: muse of Sacred Poetry, geometry, meditation and agriculture. Thoughtful, wearing tunic and veil.
Terpsichore: muse of the Dance. Represented sitting with a lyre. Mother of mermaids.
Thalia: muse of the Comedy. Festive. Represented with a comic mask and crown of ivy.
Urania: muse of Astronomy and Astrology. Mathematics and exact sciences. Dressed in blue with globe and compass.
The Founding Collective
Playwright
Debra A. Cole writes heartfelt, character-driven plays that blend humor and humanity to explore family, aging, memory, identity, and the moments that connect us. Her work celebrates ordinary people navigating extraordinary emotional landscapes, creating stories that have been produced all over the world.
Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend
Playwright
Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend is an American expat living in Singapore who writes comedies - often with a political bent - and loves cheese.
Dana Hall
Playwright
Award-winning playwright Dana Hall (she/her) creates bold, character-driven stories that find humor in the hardest places and hope in the most unexpected ones. A Chicago-based playwright, actor, and licensed mental health therapist, her work has received national and international recognition from the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival, AACT NewPlayFest, and the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest.
Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn
Playwright
Jacquelyn Priskorn has been writing plays since she took her first class with playwright Kitty Dubin in 1997. She is now a member of The Dramatists Guild and has had several plays and screenplays produced and published since that first class, including the movie  Love & Plutonium, which is currently available on Amazon. Also a member of Actor’s Equity, Ms. Priskorn began writing to create fun and exciting roles for anyone and everyone.
Arianna Rose
Playwright
Arianna Rose writes plays and musicals drawn from historical narrative and personal experience, swimming in theatricality and metaphor. Whether comedy or tragedy, personal or imaginary, her characters grapple with the complexities of being human and the emotional minefield, resonating with audiences worldwide.Â
Nora Louise Syran
Playwright
Poet, playwright, lyricist, songwriter, translator, and educator. Nora, a child of immigrants, developed her own wanderlust and has spent years teaching, traveling and creating on four different continents. She is a member of the SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques), the Dramatists Guild, the Honor Roll! and Playwrights Thriving. She studied under poet Brigit P. Kelly and mezzo-soprano Sylvia Stone at the University of Illinois. She is at home in the USA and France.
Rachel Feeney-Williams
Playwright
Claire's lyrical approach brings a unique rhythmic quality to our scripts, blending timeless poetry with modern drama.
Danielle Wirsansky
Playwright
Danielle Wirsansky is a playwright, librettist, lyricist, historian, and PhD candidate in Modern European History whose work bridges scholarship and the stage. A Fulbright Scholar, her plays and musicals have been produced nationwide, including Off-Broadway, and published by Next Stage Press, Smith & Kraus, and TinyScripted. She is the founder of White Mouse Theatre Productions, serves as the North Florida Regional Representative for the Dramatists Guild, and is a founding member of MUSE COLLECTIVE. Her work explores history, memory, and social change, using theatre to illuminate overlooked stories and inspire dialogue.
YOU!
You're the final piece of the collective.
Olivia connects our work with the community, ensuring our stories reach new and underserved theater audiences worldwide.
Muse Collective Contributors
Numerous Female Playwrights. Numerous Unique Voices. One Vibrant Stage.