In 1980 Sondheim invited Chapman to New York to start a similar project in the United States as the Foundation of the Dramatists Guild and now known as Young Playwrights Inc. Chapman founded and directed the acclaimed New York Young Playwrights Festival, which won a Drama Critics Circle Award in 1983. In 1984 he directed the world premiere of the play "Holy Wars – Morocco and The Road to Jerusalem" by Allan Havis, at the American Repertory Theatre. He also taught at New York University, worked in New York City schools, and directed productions at the American Repertory Theatre, the Circle Repertory Company, and the Double Image Theatre.