The ETC List

Read. Produce. Expand the Canon.

Expand the Canon is both a celebration and a challenge: a call to include powerful, underproduced plays by women and gender-expansive writers in classrooms, production seasons, and bookshelves.

To facilitate this, we equip theatre professionals with bold, underproduced works in the form of an annual list with detailed production info, rights information and synopses so our community can easily incorporate these works in their production seasons, publications, classrooms, and beyond. 

Classics You’ll Love

The ETC List

Discover 52 groundbreaking plays ready to be read, taught, and produced, and power the movement to expand the canon. Plus, new additions annually. All for $25/year.

A woman dressed in a pink historical costume with lace details, holding a piece of paper and appearing emotional, outdoors during the daytime.

What’s Included?

Each year, we release a curated list of classic plays by women and gender expansive writers, spanning 1600-1990, 16 countries, and 11 languages of origin, with cast sizes ranging from 1 to 25 that are all in an online catalogue that includes:

  • Detailed synopses

  • Rights and production information

  • Cast breakdowns

  • Teaching & programming notes

These plays are all excellent, but under-read, studied, and produced.

Use The ETC List to diversify your next season, your syllabus, or your personal reading list. This is just the beginning of the movement to Expand the Canon. 

A group of people jumping in the air, smiling, with a large tree and autumn foliage in the background.

Who’s The List For?

Educators. Directors. Dramaturgs. Students. Readers & Lovers of Theater.

All are welcome in the movement. Join Expand the Canon and become a champion for historic women and gender-expansive playwrights and help cement their legacy. Your membership isn’t just access — it’s action. You’ll be fueling a movement to reshape theater’s past, present, and future, one extraordinary story at a time.

Sold?

A Peek Inside The List

The 2024 ETC List features short and one-act plays that will surprise, delight, and challenge audiences. So, if you’re looking for…

  • Lady Macbeth takes on Don Juan?

  • An 18th-century Arrested Development?

  • The German Jane Austen?

  • A fun rom-com where your wingman is a flock of wingwomen…?

  • A love octagon inspired by Twelfth Night?

  • Musical folklore with echoes of Hadestown and Oklahoma?

  • Twelfth Night’s love triangle as a love octagon

We’ve got you.

A woman with earrings and a headband sits on a bed, looking into a mirror in a red-lit room, with curtains and framed pictures on the wall.
A man smiling confidently with clenched fists raised, standing on a stage with dark curtains and a portrait in the background.
Four women dressed in colorful, vintage-style dresses performing a dance outdoors on a stage with green foliage and a bed in the background.

Want to Expand the Canon?

Become an Expand the Canon Member for just $25/year — gain exclusive access to our curated library of 52 powerful plays — complete with playwright bios, production info, and downloadable scripts.

It’s not just a membership. It’s a movement. Ready to revive the classics?

Subscribe to Expand the Canon

*

Subscribe to Expand the Canon *

$0

The 2024 List

Discover our 2024 list of 16 brilliant short and one-act plays with full production details.

$25

Annual Access

Explore the full ETC Library, complete with short & full length plays, downloadable scripts, and production details, with new plays added each year.

Get a consultation!

Get a consultation!

A collage of colorful images featuring women from different cultural and historical backgrounds, including modern and traditional attire, in various poses and expressions.

Need to find the perfect play, fast?
We can help identify which play is right for you, your company, or your students!
We offer:

  • a 1 hour meeting discussing the plays on our list ($75)

  • a full three-play package from our list and 9,000+ title databases. ($200)

Three performers in 18th-century costumes and feathered hats, sitting backstage, with one holding a decorative fan and a rose, engaged in a scene from a theatrical performance.
Promotional poster for the play "Bold Stroke for a Husband" featuring a stylized portrait of a woman with curly hair, with text about partnership, the genre, and the director.

See ETC In Action! 

These plays are coming to life at theaters across the country. Check out past partnership events or our upcoming events page:

Partner Theatres Include

Abstract graffiti art of a woman with purple and orange skin tone, blowing a cloud of pink and red spray paint, with blue and purple circles and lines in the background.
Poster for play titled "Los emperors de una casa," directed by Kathleen Capdesuñer. The poster features a woman with a painted face and a collage image in the background. The event is scheduled for July 14-16 and 22-23 at Repertorio Español, with a QR code for tickets.