Each summer playwrights, directors, dramaturges, and other theatre professionals gather in Ojai for a two-week conference culminating in a New Works Festival, in which new plays are presented in staged readings, and audiences are invited to join in post-play discussions.
[citation needed] The readings, performed by professional actors, generally occur at Zalk Theater on the campus of Ojai's Besant Hill School.
Founded in 1998, the not-for-profit arts organization was led by artistic director and producer Robert Egan from 2001 until 2022.
[citation needed] Plays developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference have been performed on Broadway, in the West End, off-Broadway, and at regional theatres.
[citation needed] Both "Fun Home" and "Other Desert Cities" were workshopped at the Ojai Playwrights Conference[2][3] and were Pulitzer Finalists;[4][5] "Fun Home" won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Caroline, or Change won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.