KDC Theatre Festival of New Writing

Website

Deadline: May 18, 2024

SUBMISSION FORM

Summer 2024 show: Full stack – writers needed!

Full Stack is back! KDC Theatre’s new writing competition and summer show returns as a Festival of New Writing of rehearsed readings, and we need YOU!

The Festival of New Writing, “The Plan”, will take place on Tuesday 25 June and Wednesday 26 June at the Drayton Arms Theatre and we are looking for script submissions . Below is all the information you need, so read on.Calling all writers!

We are asking you to submit your short plays, with the winning scripts making up our Festival of New Writing show, “The Plan”; a great opportunity to see directors and actors bring your words to life.

This year we’re asking for submissions with the same opening line:

“It’s not like we planned it.”

Any genre is welcome, and we’re not looking for identikit plays to a theme. Be as creative as you like with where your story goes from that first line!

Each winning play will be performed as a rehearsed reading, with directors and actors drawn from a company created for the festival. The actors will sit in a line on chairs on stage, and have their scripts in their hands to read from. There will be no moving around (blocking), no costumes, and no props – unless extremely necessary and/or easy, which will have to be approved by the showrunner.

We want this to showcase as much new writing as we can fit into an evening so plays should be limited to a maximum of 8 minutes (6-7 pages) but you can submit as many scripts as you like. We will time each script and if they’re too long, we won’t be able to accept!

Be as flexible as you can with gender so we can assign both male and female presenting actors to your characters.

Write for at least 2 characters (no monologues) and a maximum of 8 characters (doubling up is possible).

The deadline for submissions is 18 May 2024 and you can submit your scripts HERE. The selection committee will read all plays once the submission window closes and then get back to each writer with the outcome of the selection process.

Once we have our selection of short plays, we of course need directors and actors! This is an excellent show for new and starting directors and actors to get stuck in without the commitment and pressure of a full-length play. If you come on board, you will work on multiple short plays over the course of the rehearsal period.

Thank you to all those who applied to direct or act in the show – we have already received enough applications and are finalizing the line-ups.

Tickets will go on sale very soon, please sign up for our newsletter or keep an eye on our social media for the announcements!

Second Annual Fern Street Play Festival

Website

Deadline: June 1, 2024 11:59 p.m

ACCEPTING FIRST 200 SUBMISSIONS ONLY

Send to: LRE@westhartforduu.org

Second Annual Fern Street Play Festival ~ November 1 and 2, 2024

NO FEE

Familiar in the neighborhood as the church on Fern Street, The Universalist Church of West Hartford, Connecticut has a history of using theatre to build connections across our own progressive congregation and the local community. We continue to widen the circle of this tradition by inviting voices from far and wide to be part of our second annual play festival. Our mission is to uplift and examine the human condition through theatre. To that end, we invite playwrights to submit plays, new or old, published or unpublished, to our no-fee juried play festival. 

Our inaugural Festival in 2023 was a grand success, attracting more than 130 submissions from around the United States and several other countries. From those, eight plays were chosen for seated readings and were performed by outstanding actors from the community. The Festival attracted an enthusiastic audience over two nights.

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This year, selected plays will receive a $100 honorarium. One grand prize will be awarded in the amount of $250. Each selected play will be professionally produced as a seated reading for a live audience. We plan to make a video recording of each individual play reading and make those available to the playwrights, to be used at their discretion, excluding commercial purposes.

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INSTRUCTIONS – PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY

Submit a properly formatted playscript for the stage. For formatting guidance, see: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/.../General-SFI...

***
Make the script itself “blind” by removing any reference to the playwright’s name, address, bio, past performances, or awards. You may, of course, identify yourself in the body of the cover email. 

***

The play may be from any genre – drama, comedy, musical, etc. It should be a complete, short play – no longer than 25 pages.

***
Email your script as a PDF document to lre@westhartforduu.org by 11:59 p.m. on June 1, 2024. No late submissions will be accepted.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Plays will be chosen for performance based on the following criteria:

1. Dramatic literary skill
We will especially appreciate submissions that use drama as the main literary device. Plays that rely too heavily on exposition or are written in a didactic style will not meet the criteria for dramatic literary skill.

2. A performance time of no more than 20 minutes.

3. Illustrative (in any significant way) of at least one of the Unitarian Universalist Seven Principles or Shared Values.1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
The Shared Values are: Love, Interdependence, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Generosity, and Justice.

Although illustrating these principles or values can be conceived in myriad ways, we will select plays we can discuss with audiences using one or more of the principles or values as a lens for interpretation.

REVIEW AND NOTIFICATION
A group of qualified readers will begin a blind review of scripts immediately. We plan to notify all writers of the outcome of the selection process by no later than Oct. 5, 2024.

PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED PLAYS
If selected, your play will be produced as a seated or minimally staged reading for a one or two-night run, depending on the number of plays selected. Performances will be held in the sanctuary of the historic Universalist Church of West Hartford and videorecorded by a state-of-the-art system. Performance dates are slated for November 1 and 2, in the evening.

***

Productions will use a mix of qualified professional and amateur actors. The director(s) have extensive theatre backgrounds.

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The Festival will be marketed and advertised throughout the greater Hartford area.

***

Playwrights will be invited to attend one rehearsal to collaborate and consult with directors and cast. If traveling from afar, writers will need to cover their own travel and lodging expenses.

Chestnut Street Playhouse’s Fourth Annual Local Playwrights Festival

Website

Deadline: May 15, 2024

NOTE: writers from Connecticut and Rhode Island communities. NYC playwrights with ties to Connecticut or Rhode Island.

We are thrilled to announce Chestnut Street Playhouse’s Fourth Annual Local Playwrights Festival September 6-8, 2024.

Playwrights of all ethnicities, gender identities, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), and people with disabilities from Connecticut and Rhode Island are invited to submit.

Submission guidelines/requirements are as follows:

All scripts must be submitted April 15th until May 15th.

Submissions will be limited to writers from Connecticut and Rhode Island communities. NYC playwrights with ties to Connecticut or Rhode Island.

One acts, children’s plays, and full-length plays (60-100 pages) will be accepted. Pages must be numbered. Submissions must be in standard playwriting format. Word or pdf.

Include a character description page, including pertinent information for casting.

Please include a brief synopsis of your play.

All scripts must have the author’s name, address and contact information on the title page of the script including email address and cell number.

A short personal Bio should be submitted with the script.

ONLY ONE submission per category (one act, children’s play, full length) per writer will be accepted.

Submit your scripts to: submissions@chestnutstreetplayhouse.org

Chestnutstreetolayhouse.org

All submissions will be acknowledged.

If your play is chosen to present in the Festival:

• Experienced directors will be provided for each playwright for the plays chosen. Directors and playwrights will have the opportunity to collaborate. Playwrights are encouraged to participate in the rehearsal process.
• The plays will be presented as staged readings.
• There will be a brief talkback session after each play with the writer, actors anddirector.
• One of the plays chosen will be produced as part of CSP’s 2025 Season.

All proceeds from the Festival to benefit Chestnut Street Playhouse.
Auditions for actors will be scheduled once the committee has selected the 2024 works to be presented.

Thank you!!!

Exist Otherwise Issue 12 open for submissions

Website

Deadline: May 31, 2024

SUBMISSION FORM

We accept any kind of written work: poetry, prose, essays, fiction, creative non-fiction, scripts, hybrid, experimental writing, whatever. The amount of work you may submit each month is determined by length. Maximum word count is 1000.

500 Words or Less: You may submit up to three (3) per month.

500-1000 Words: You may submit up to one (1) per month.

Please only submit original, works.

We accept work that has been previously published, but please let us know.

Simultaneous submissions are fine.

If we publish original work, we ask you to acknowledge that the work was first published with Exist Otherwise, but we do not require this.

We pay $15 per published work. Payment is issued within 1-3 days of publishing.

We can only guarantee payment through Paypal or Venmo. If you are unable to use either of those, let us know ahead of time and we’ll try to work something out.

We prefer all work to be submitted through our Submission Form.Theme/Prompt

“In everyday life, we waste words and gestures because we have time to lose and no one is looking, but the actor, a thousand eyes follow his movements and he has only an hour or two to transmit the drama that he performs, it is therefore indispensible that he act and speak with the greatest economy, on stage no waste, nothing must be lost.”

—Claude Cahun

Submission Tips

• Don’t be literal! We do not want work that explicitly mentions, or refers to, our theme or prompt. These are meant to be inspirational, not directional. Submitted work does not have to respond to the Issue Theme or Prompt. We give preference to responses, but all work will be considered.
• You may respond to either the Theme or the Prompt, or both (or neither).
• You don’t have to tell us you’re responding, but you may (we can usually tell).
• If responding, use the Theme or Prompt as a gentle suggestion for the mood, style, or content of your work. Does the Theme or Prompt evoke anything in you? If so, try to submit work that may have similar associations or inferences.
• Prompts exist to inspire. If ours don’t inspire you, ignore them.

PlayGround-NY Writers Pool 2024

Website

Deadline:  June 30, 2024 11:59pm ET

Are you a New York-based early-career or aspiring professional playwright? Have you ever wanted to see your plays performed on stage by leading local professional actors? Do you respond well to deadlines?

PlayGround is seeking applications for the fourth PlayGround-NY Writers Pool. Only members of the Writers Pool are invited to submit for the Monday Night PlayGround short play staged reading series, from which each year’s Best of PlayGround are selected. PlayGround releases a prompt on a Friday morning and writers have just four-and-a-half days to write an original ten-minute play inspired by the prompt. Of the submitted scripts, 6 get chosen for a fully-staged, partly-teched, script-in-hand reading led by leading local directors and actors, on fourth Mondays, October-March. Writers not chosen in any given month can participate in PlayGround Recess, with the opportunity to hear their work read aloud by professional actors and receive peer feedback in a private setting.

The PlayGround Writers Pool has featured some of the nation’s most distinguished new writers of the past two decades, including Lauren Yee, Christopher Chen, Jonathan Spector, Geetha Reddy, Vincent Terrell Durham, and Diana Burbano, among others.

POOL REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible, writers must reside within the five burroughs of New York City.

Writers Pool members must commit to submitting for at least four of the six Monday Night PlayGrounds in any season. The submission of a script to Monday Night PlayGround grants PlayGround the exclusive option to stage the play as part of the Monday Night PlayGround and, should it be so selected, to present the world premiere as part of Best of PlayGround and the non-exclusive right to publish the script in the “Best of PlayGround” anthology.

All selected writers must attend a mandatory meeting for the Writers Pool on Monday evening, August 26, 2024.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

To apply for a place in the 2024-25 writers pool, please submit a 10-page max, double-spaced script as a Portable Document Format (.pdf) attachment. Both previously produced and unproduced scripts are eligible. The script must have the playwright’s name, address, email and phone number at the top of the first page and include a detailed cast breakdown, and all pages must be numbered. The script title must be labeled by Lastname_Firstname_Title.

Excerpts from longer works are not accepted but short plays that meet the above requirements and are derived from a longer work are accepted. BIPOC, trans/gender-non-conforming & differently-abled playwrights are encouraged to apply.

Applications must be received by 11:59pm ET on Sunday, June 30, 2024. The 2024-25 PlayGround Writers Pool will be announced on or before August 1, 2024.

The submission form can be found HERE.

For any questions not answered above, email to info@playground-ny.org.

NY THEATER FESTIVAL SPRING/SUMMER and FALL/WINTER 2024

 NY THEATER FESTIVAL

SPRING/SUMMER and FALL/WINTER 2024

25TH CONTINUOUS SEASON

 

THE NEW YORK THEATER FESTIVAL COMPETITION 

for PLAYS and MUSICALS

 TOTAL PRIZES $8,000 • FIRST PRIZE $3,500 • FULL LENGTHS • ONE ACTS • SHORTS • SOLOS

Producing your play or musical is the best way to review and develop your work.

 

TESTIMONIALS

https://newyorktheaterfestival.com/testimonials/

 

ALL PRODUCTIONS CAN OBTAIN A VIDEO RECORDING OF THEIR SHOWS

 

 

WE MAKE A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE PRODUCTION AVAILABLE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS – WE USE FOUR CAMERAS SO PARTICIPANTS HAVE FOUR CAMERAS ANGLES WITH WHICH TO EDIT INTO A COHESIVE CUT.

 

THE FESTIVAL OFFERS RAW FOOTAGE FROM 4 CAMERAS OR CAN SIMPLY DELIVER THE RAW FOOTAGE FROM THE CENTRAL CAMERA’S WIDE ANGLE WHICH CAN FUNCTION AS A RECORDING WITHOUT ANY EDITING REQUIRED.

 

PARTICIPANTS CAN USE THE RECORDING OF THEIR SHOWS AS AN ASSET FOR FUTURE MARKETING AND TO PROVIDE REEL MATERIAL FOR FUTURE INDUSTRY MANAGERS 

 

FURTHERMORE, FILMING THE SHOW MEANS THAT FRIENDS AND FAMILY CAN PURCHASE TICKETS TO ATTEND OVER ZOOM - SPECIFICALLY THOSE WHO CAN'T TRAVEL TO SEE THE PERFORMANCES. THIS MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO ANYONE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY OR THE WORLD

 

When you stage your work, you discover ways to enhance and improve your presentation and story.

This is a unique opportunity to invite people from the industry to see your production! People are more likely to go see a show than to read an unsolicited script - some industry people receive on average thousands of submissions per month. They understand that the journey for a show to be successful often goes through several productions and this is your chance to show that you can start that process! 

Our dedicated team is here to help you get your work out. We are with you from the moment you begin tech rehearsals, all the way through to your closing performance.

You will never be left alone during the process. We will help you choose from the 85 set/furniture pieces we offer to dress your stage for your run, and we will give you a complete crash course on how to use the audio/light/video system in just 3 minutes, which are intentionally designed to be very user friendly. 

 

After we show you how to use the tools we provide and how to best utilize the space, The Festival’s team will provide prime responses to every inquiry, as well as a telephone # you can call anytime during relevant hours throughout the run of your show

 

In 12 years and 22 seasons we have successfully hosted 1,400 plays and 300 musicals, as well as rewarding over 300 participating artists cash prizes.

 

Yours could be the next production onstage!

 

AMERICA'S LARGEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS PLAYWRIGHT-MUSICAL FESTIVAL-COMPETITION

 

To submit to the Festival, go to:

https://NewYorkTheaterFestival.com/ 

Send your submissions now – we only accept submissions from playwrights who lives within 30 miles of Manhattan.

 

Ghost City Review submission guidelines

Website

Deadline: none listed

Ghost City Review welcomes submissions of poems, short stories, flash fiction, personal essays, adventure narratives, journal entries, short plays, monologues, translations, photographs, oil paintings, watercolors, sculptures, dioramas…. pretty much anything you can think of. We want to see it all. Show us what you’ve created. We’re looking for new work from both emerging and established authors and artists. To get an idea of what kind of work we tend to publish, look through our previous issues and decide whether your work would be a good fit. We do not believe in silent rejections, so you're sure to receive a response to all submissions. Our response time is around 1—3 months, but we usually get to the submissions sooner. If you don't hear from us within 3 months, please feel free to reach out to us at ghostcityreview@gmail.com.


GENERAL GUIDELINES

We DO NOT accept any work that has been previously published in a literary & arts journal or on an online blog. This does not include your personal blogs and social media sites, however, we do ask that you take the work down before you submit it to us for consideration.


We do accept simultaneous submissions. We even encourage them and wish you luck in getting your work published, but please notify our editors of this when submitting. Also be sure to immediately notify us if accepted elsewhere.

You can submit to different categories but please email each submission with different categories in separate emails (i.e., poetry in one email and a short story in a second email).

Ghost City Review runs on a rolling submissions schedule, so feel free to submit your work at any time. DO NOT submit again until you’ve heard a response.

Please include a short 2-3 sentence author bio with your submission (written in third person).

In the subject line of your email, please include your LAST NAME, FIRST NAME - SUBMISSION CATEGORY. For example: Smith, Joe - Poetry.

Ghost City Review will nominate for The Pushcart Prize beginning in 2023.

CATEGORIES

POETRY: Please send up to three poems in a single Microsoft Word document. Please do not send PDFs or links.

PROSE: Please send up to 3 prose pieces per submission in a single Microsoft Word document — no more than 3,000 words per submission (for the entire document). Please do not send PDFs or links.

ART: Please send up to three pieces as high quality JPGs.

REVIEWS: Please send us an email with a proposal for the title you would like to review.

OTHER: Please feel free to submit anything that falls outside of the categories listed above. This might include journal entries, short plays, monologues, translations, etc. Be creative. We like this category.


PLEASE SEND YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO GHOSTCITYREVIEW@GMAIL.COM

A+ Playwriting Contest for Teachers

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2024

Sixty years as one of the leading play publishers for the educational market has taught us that some of our best-selling shows are written not by professional playwrights, but by teachers who create a play based on the specific needs of their drama program. Once published, these plays are quickly embraced by other teachers who share the same opportunities, challenges and limitations that seem universal in schools.

We want to encourage the development and publication of quality plays written specifically by teachers and other educators. Our A+ Playwriting Contest for Teachers is open to all teachers employed at an accredited K-12 public or private school in the US or Canada. All plays submitted for publication through this contest must have been produced within the past two years at the school where the playwright teaches.

Submissions will be accepted on an on-going basis with a June 30 cutoff each year. All qualifying manuscripts accepted for publication will be considered contest finalists. Pioneer Drama Service reserves the right to forego naming a winner from the finalists, at its discretion.

The contest winner, selected from contest finalists and announced no later than October 31 each year, will receive a $500 royalty advance and a one-time $500 donation to the school theatre program where the play was first produced.

Contest Rules

Only entries submitted in accordance with all rules will be eligible for consideration.
Playwright must be a current or retired faculty member at an accredited K-12 public or private school in the US or Canada.

Only entries submitted with an Official Contest Entry Form will be considered.

Only entries that have been fully staged at the teacher’s school no more than two years prior to the submission date will be considered. We encourage you to take advantage of this production to revise your script as needed before submitting your manuscript.

All entries must be accompanied by proof of production in the form of a copy of the program, a newsletter or newspaper article, a review, a photo or a letter from the school principal.

Contest entries must meet all Pioneer Drama general guidelines and requirements for play submission, which can be found at pioneerdrama.com/playwrights/submit.asp.

Individuals currently published by Pioneer Drama Service are not eligible for this contest. Pioneer Drama Service employees and their families are also excluded.

All manuscripts submitted for this contest will automatically be simultaneously considered for our annual Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest, which is open to all individuals not previously published by Pioneer Drama Service. See pioneerdrama.com for more details.

Questions? Contact us by email or by calling 800-333-7262.

Masque & Spectacle open for submissions

Website

Deadline: July 31, 2024

Masque & Spectacle reads submissions for its bi-annual issues November 1 – January 31 and May 1 – July 31. Submissions received outside of this time period will be automatically deleted. Responses can be expected within a month. Acceptance rate is around 10%. Submissions not titled/tagged or formatted or properly under the Submissions Guidelines will not be considered for publication.

We do not accept previously published work, and we ask for First Electronic Rights and Non-Exclusive Archival Rights upon acceptance. Unfortunately, we are unable to pay contributors at this time.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere.

For any queries, please contact us at masqueandspectacle@gmail.com.

We welcome 10-minute plays (up to approximately 10 pages in length). No full-length plays will be considered at this time.

While traditional plays are welcome, we are particularly interested in innovative and/or interdisciplinary texts that break new ground, either in relation to their subject matter, or in how the text itself is performed/written/represented on stage.

Playwrights may submit one previously unpublished 10-minute play for consideration. The script should be accompanied by a cover letter, which includes your name, address, phone number, and email address. Proper playwriting format should be used.  If you are uncertain about this format, several examples can be found online.

Send drama submissions to masqueandspectacle@gmail.com. Attach written submissions in a single Word doc or docx file, and include the word “DRAMA” in the email subject line.

Boise Contemporary Theater fourth annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival

Website

Deadline: May 5, 2024 at 11:59pm MDT

SUBMISSION FORM VIA GOOGLE DOCS

Boise Contemporary Theater is now accepting submissions for its fourth annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival. Founded in 2021 with assistance from the Idaho Women’s Charitable Foundation, the festival seeks to champion emerging and mid-career playwrights from marginalized communities by connecting exceptional works with professional actors, directors and technicians.

2024 also marks the launch of the Young Playwrights Initiative, which will select one unproduced work by a writer between 18 and 25 years old for inclusion in the lineup.

BCT has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $25,000 to support BCT’s 4th Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival.

Writers will have four days of rehearsal to workshop their piece with a director and cast, followed by two

(2) staged readings of their work on the BCT mainstage.

Festival dates: August 14th - 25th, 2024

Playwrights will arrive on Thursday, August 14th.

Workshop will take place August 15th - 19th.

Readings will take place August 20th - 24th.

Playwrights will depart Sunday, August 25th

PLEASE NOTE: Exact travel and reading schedule will be confirmed in early June. Please apply with the intention of being in Boise for 10 days. However, artists may be able to leave earlier, depending on their placement in the lineup.

Travel, lodging, and a $1,000 artist stipend will be provided.

To apply for BIPOC 2024, please fill out this Google Form, no later than Sunday, May 5th at 11:59pm MDT.

A completed application includes:

● Script

● Logline

● Resume/CV

● Artist statement (<200 words) describing why you would like to participate and how your play would benefit from a workshop experience.

Please note that all plays must meet the following criteria:

● Submissions must be full-length stage plays (no short or incomplete scripts, screenplays or teleplays).

● Submissions must be unproduced, original works.

● Submissions may have been previously developed or workshopped in conjunction with a theater, arts nonprofit or school, so long as they have not been fully produced.

● Submissions are encouraged to include NO MORE than 5 actors. Larger casts will be considered, but smaller shows are preferred.

Any questions can be directed to Festival Director Lily Yasuda at: ly@bctheater.org

For general information on the festival, visit bctheater.org/bipoc

DRURY UNIVERSITY ONE-ACT PLAY COMPETITION

Website

Deadline: December 1, 2024

FIRST PRIZE: $300 TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS: $150 each
Winning plays will be considered for production by Drury University.
* * *
COMPETITION RULES: 

1. Competition is open to all playwrights. Scripts are to be original, unpublished, and unproduced. Staged readings or workshop productions will not disqualify a script. Musicals, monologues, adaptations, film and TV scripts are ineligible.

2. Preference will be given to small cast, one-set shows with running times of no less than twenty and no more than forty-five minutes.

3. No more than one script from any playwright. Scripts entered in this contest in previous years are ineligible for re-submission.

4. All scripts are to be typewritten and firmly bound (staple, clips, etc). Because of the nature of distributing scripts to readers, we do NOT accept electronic submissions.

5. Scripts cannot be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage. For confirmation of receipt, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. For results of your script, please include self-addressed stamped envelope. If possible, please include an e-mail address.

6. No written or verbal critiques will be tendered.

7. The decisions of the judges are final. Drury University reserves the right to produce any of the three winning plays royalty-free during our 2025-2026, 2026-2027 or 2027-2028 seasons, to withhold production, and to modify cash awards as deemed necessary by the judges.

8. Drury University does not assume any responsibility for the loss, damage, or return of scripts. All reasonable care will be taken.

9. Deadline for entries is a postmark of December 1, 2024. PLAYS SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED BEFORE MAY 1, 2024.

10. Address scripts to Drury University One-Act Play Competition
c/o Dr. Mick Sokol, Professor of Theatre
900 North Benton Avenue
Springfield, MO 65802

11. Winners will be notified by mail (or e-mail) no later than April 1, 2025.

Boise Contemporary Theater is now accepting submissions for its fourth annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival

Website

Deadline: May 5, 2024 at 11:59pm MST

Festival dates: August 14th - 25th, 2024
Playwrights will arrive on Thursday, August 14th.
Workshop will take place August 15th - 19th.
Readings will take place August 20th - 24th.
Playwrights will depart Sunday, August 25th

PLEASE NOTE: Exact travel and reading schedule will be confirmed in early June. Please apply with the intention of being in Boise for 10 days. However, artists may be able to leave earlier, depending on their placement in the lineup.

Travel, lodging, and a $1,000 artist stipend will be provided.

To apply for BIPOC 2024, please fill out this Google Form, no later than

Sunday, May 5th at 11:59pm MST.

A completed application includes:

● Script
● Logline
● Resume/CV
● Artist statement (<200 words) describing why you would like to participate and how your play would benefit from a workshop experience.

Please note that all plays must meet the following criteria:

• Submissions must be full-length stage plays (no short or incomplete scripts, screenplays or teleplays).
• Submissions must be unproduced, original works.
• Submissions may have been previously developed or workshopped in conjunction with a theater, arts nonprofit or school, so long as they have not been fully produced.
• Submissions are encouraged to include NO MORE than 5 actors. Larger casts will be considered, but smaller shows are preferred.

Any questions can be directed to Festival Director Lily Yasuda at: ly@bctheater.org

For general information on the festival, visit bctheater.org/bipoc

Upcoming Zoomers sessions in May

 

Memberships are available for NYCPlaywrights Zoomers - we meet on Zoom each Monday at 7PM to do readings of our work. 

Workshops are a great way to meet fellow playwrights, commiserate about the challenges of crafting a good play and celebrate victories, whether getting a full-blown production or finally getting a tricky scene to work. 

👉 You can sit in on a Monday session for free - email nancy@nycplaywrights.org to request a spot.

Check out our website here

 ~ https://nycp-zoomers.blogspot.com

How do our meetings work? Find out here 

~ https://nycp-zoomers.blogspot.com/2023/12/welcome-to-nycplaywrights-zoomers-some.html

Here are Frequently Asked Questions 

~ https://nycp-zoomers.blogspot.com/p/zoomers-frequently-asked-questions-faq.html

Would you like more information? Email nancy@nycplaywrights.org

CATastrophe 10-minute Play Festival

Website

Deadline: July 1, 2024

Or until 200 plays received


Welcome to the CATastrophe Play Festival! We're thrilled to invite you to submit your short play for consideration.

The festival theme requires the inclusion of a cat in some form. We're seeking plays that are dramatic, absurd, comedic, or any combination of all three.

Submission Guidelines:

Plays must include a cat in the background, as a character, on the cover, or through another reference.

All plays must have a single author.

Each playwright may submit up to two plays.

Maximum length: 10 pages.

Maximum cast size: 4 actors.

No sound or visual requirements.

Plays already produced are acceptable.

Submission Process:

Mail your printed script(s) to:

Pan Theater
3871 Piedmont Avenue #323
Oakland, CA 94611


Include a reading copy for each major character in the play, along with a cover letter containing your contact information and a brief synopsis of the play(s).


Submissions must be postmarked by July 1st.

Submissions Accepted, until 200 plays received.

Prizes:

All winning playwrights will receive a $100 prize.

Winning playwrights agree to up to 4 performances of their play.

Recordings of winning plays may be posted to social media with playwrights' consent.


Important Dates:

Submission Deadline: July 1st, 2024

Notification of Acceptance: July 30th, 2024

Festival Dates: Tentatively scheduled for October 2024

Identity Theater Company seeks new plays for reading series

Website

Deadline: May 1, 2024

Send script to theateridentity@gmail.com

Identity Theater is looking for new plays for its upcoming reading series "Self-Expression." 

Plays can be of any length and should explore the themes of gender, sexuality, pronouns, etc. 

The series will be held over 3 consecutive Sundays: June 23, 30 and July 7th, 2024 from 5-9 pm at 215 E 99th St Underground Theater (ADA accessible). 

At Identity Theater, we strive to promote community, therefore we ask/require that all directors AND casts stay for the ENTIRE evening of festivities (not just their own reading). 

The playwrights selected will be required to produce their show to whatever extent they want (technical requirements are limited but should be directed to us before you agree to participate.) Identity can try to give you names of directors and actors, but ultimately it is the playwright's resposibility to do this Also, we don't require submission fees, but if you are selected and agree to be in the series there is a $60 participation fee. But you have the opportunity to make your money back (up to $60). We charge $10 a ticket (No comps) you get $3 for every person YOU bring to the show, meaning you do NOT get paid for audience members that are there to support the company at large. T

The deadline for submissions is May 1st. 

Selected playwrights will be notified by June 1st. 

DISABLED PLAYWRIGHTS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT! 

So get writing and we cant wait to read your work!

The Playwrights Group ~ Join our nationwide community of playwrights

 The Weekly Workshop

Join our nationwide community of playwrights on Zoom. 

It’s a great way to stay connected and motivated.

 

Participating in a weekly workshop can give you the kick you need to see your script through from beginning to end.  You can bring in anything you’re working on — a full length script, a musical, a TV pilot, whatever. And when your script is ready — we’ll present it in a Public Reading. We also bring in Guest Speakers, like Pulitzer Prize winner Margaret Edson (Wit). 

 

 

Sit in on a session and see for yourself!

Tuesdays or Thursdays 7 - 9:30pm EDT

 

Check out our website for more details and rates. 

 

Script Consultations

 

If you don’t have time for the workshop but have a script you’d like some feedback on — just send a PDF of your script and you’ll get a critique via email and/or video conference. See website for rates.

 

Richard Caliban has worked with  individuals on their scripts from all over the world — Indonesia, China, Greece, Australia, Serbia, as well as right here in New York. A script consultation will provide you with feedback on the structural soundness of your story, the dramatic arc of your protagonist, thematic unity and much more.

 

Online One-on-One Courses

 

If you’re looking for more, check out our One on One Online Playwriting Courses:

 

•       The Art of Playwriting

•       Write a Play in 10 Weeks

 

Both are with instructor Richard Caliban, and since it’s One on One, the courses can be adjusted to fit your level of experience. 

 

Please visit our website for further Info and Rates: 

 

www.theplaywrightsgroup.com

 

Contact us at 

scripts@theplaywrightsgroup.com

Woodward/Newman Award 2025

Website

Deadline: September 1, 2024

SUBMISSION FORM

The Woodward/Newman Award is an exclusive honor offered by Constellation Stage & Screen, started through the support of Joanne Woodward, Newman’s Own Foundation, and the Newman family, celebrating Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward’s tremendous history of work on stage and screen. It presents the best unpublished play of the year with a cash prize of $3,000 and a full production as part of Constellation’s Mainstage season.

Please note that there are significant changes to our submission and selection process from previous years. In order to make the Woodward/Newman Award accessible to all, we have eliminated submission fees as well as the contest format. The Woodward/Newman Award will continue to be awarded to an unpublished new play once per year and come with a $3,000 cash prize and a full production. 

Submissions will be accepted and reviewed by our literary team on an ongoing basis, and will be considered for the award as well as for all 8 production slots in our season. So a play that is not selected for the Woodward/Newman slot in our season, may still be considered and selected for production. This will allow us to now accept open submissions for all types of plays (including TYA shows). Plays submitted prior to September 1 will be considered for the 2025-26 season, while plays submitted beyond that date will be considered for the 2026-27 Season. All submissions will be kept on file for 2 years after submission.

If you have questions regarding submissions to the Constellation Stage & Screen, please contact the Literary Manager at literary@seeconstellation.org.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are currently accepting submissions for the 2025-26 Woodward/Newman Award. 

The award recipient will be announced by May 15, 2025. The winner will be awarded $3,000 and a full production.“Full-length” plays should have a complete running time of between 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes) to 2 hours 15 minutes (135 minutes). TYA shows should have a complete running time of over 40 minutes.

Plays submitted must be unpublished at the time of submission (independently published is acceptable).
Each play should be individually submitted at the following link: CONSTELLATION STAGE & SCREEN PLAY SUBMISSION.

You will be asked to submit your play as an attachment and all other information (bio, history, synopsis, character breakdown) will be entered into a form. Musical submissions may upload demos as an attachment or include a link to a shared folder.

Limit of 2 play submissions per year.
$3,000 cash prize is in lieu of royalties for the full production. Housing & transportation will also be provided.

Any unpublished play submitted to Constellation regardless of method (e.g. online form, agent submission, direct contact) may be considered for the Woodward/Newman Award.
Please note that we are moving away from a “finalists” model in lieu of keeping all plays under consideration for extended periods (2yrs). In 2025-26 we will no longer announce finalists and only announce a winner.

If you have any questions, please email literary@seeconstellation.org.

The Gallery Players 28th Annual Black Box New Play Festival

Website

Deadline: April 30, 2024

The Gallery Players in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, is seeking plays for its 28th Annual Black Box New Play Festival to be held in January/February (exact dates to be determined) 2025. Each play selected will be given a black box production with non-equity actors. Playwrights must be available, if not in person, via Zoom or other virtual venue for some rehearsals and use this as an opportunity to continue work on their play.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: RECEIVED AT GALLERY PLAYERS BY April 30th, 2024. NOTE the received date. Mail your submissions accordingly.

Submission guidelines: 

 1). Plays must be un-produced (readings are ok); must be the play’s world premier

2) Length of Plays: Plays should be 30 - 60 minutes. Plays must have at least 4 characters, more is even better. No monologues. No period costume pieces.You may only submit two (2) plays.

3). Format: Pages must be numbered; A cover page with Title of the play and playwrights contact information is required, along with a page that gives plot synopsis of the play and a character breakdown

4). Submit a copy of your playwriting resume.

5). Playwrights cannot direct their own work

6). Send two copies of your play(s), along with your resume, to:

The Gallery Players
Black Box New Play Festival
199 14th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215.

We will only contact you if your play has been accepted into the Festival. If you want confirmation that your mailing was received by us, please include a self-addressed stamped return postcard.

We do not accept email submissions.

We do not return scripts. Any scripts not chosen for the Festival will be destroyed to protect the copyright.

Exhume submissions for Fall 2024

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2024

We strive to publish visual art, poetry, prose, and drama in order to help writers who discuss queerness and trauma find a home for their works. Though we especially seek submissions that discuss these topics, we accept good writing across the board. We appreciate work that speaks to the human experience on a raw level. Consider works like Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl,” Jo Ann Beard’s “The Fourth State of Matter,” and John Cheever’s “The Swimmer.” Above all else, we want writing that makes us feel something. Writing can be traditional, experimental, or a hybrid of the two. Surprise us!

We accept both established and emerging artists and writers across the board. We welcome simultaneous submissions, though we ask that you let us know immediately should your submission be accepted somewhere else. At this time we do not accept previously published work.

All submissions should be emailed to exhumeliteraryjournal@gmail.com. 

Please list the genre you’re submitting under in the subject of your email, as well as your first and last name. Please paste your third-person bio, maximum 75 words, in the body of your email and submit your works as attachments in .doc or .docx format. All documents should be submitted in 12 point fonts.

Submit up to 3,500 words of prose in one double-spaced document.

YouthPlays accepting new work

Website

Deadline: May 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific

Submission form on the webpage

Welcome! We seek challenging, entertaining plays and musicals that are appropriate for teen and younger actors and/or audiences, as well as shows that have the potential to cross over to universities or community theatres. Please read all guidelines on this page carefully and browse our website to learn more about us before submitting.

Prospective Authors (19 and Under): You may submit one play only through our New Voices One-Act Competition. Submissions run from January 1, 2024 through May 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Prospective Authors: US-based BIPOC playwrights only may submit full scripts. Other authors may email a query (instructions below) about a single play. You may query again when you've heard back from us on your current query or submission.

Current YouthPLAYS Authors: Log in first and then submit as many scripts as you like.

We accept unsolicited submissions of full scripts only from current YouthPLAYS authors, US-based BIPOC authors age 20 or older (please identify yourself as BIPOC in the Note the Publisher) and for the New Voices One-Act Competition for Young Playwrights.

All other authors may email a query (no scripts, please) about a single play to submissions@youthplays.com. 

Please make sure the query includes all of the following in the body of the email (no attachments): The play's title.

A brief synopsis.

The approximate running time.

A cast breakdown (e.g. 2 males, 4 females, 8+ any gender). Please address specifically whether the play contains any significant young (teen or younger) characters.

The producing groups for which you think the play is most appropriate (e.g. high schools, middle schools, TYA theatres, etc.).

Production/development history.

Any encumbrances (e.g. some part of it is published in a non-exclusive anthology). Also, please disclose any agency representation at this time.

Why you believe this play is a fit for our mission.

Again, do NOT include the script, in whole or in part, with your query.

Other Important Submission Notes

If invited/eligible to submit a full script, please make sure it has complete contact information (full name, mailing address, phone number, email address) on the title page, as well as a Cast of Characters page with a full cast breakdown. Please make sure the body of your script contains page numbers.
We only consider previously produced musicals, and they must have a completed, digitized (i.e., PDF) score (with orchestrations, if applicable). Musicals for which musical tracks (both for performance and with vocals for rehearsal) are available are strongly preferred.
While we will accept unproduced non-musical plays, we recommend that all works be produced prior to publication so that they can be road tested. At minimum, the play must have had a developmental reading or workshop.

Should your play have any encumbrances (e.g., some part of it is published in an non-exclusive anthology), or if it being simultaneously submitted to other publishers, please note that in the "Author's Note to the Publisher" section. Be advised that we only represent material for which we can be the exclusive licensing agent.

Script submissions through this page only. No emailed scripts (and, of course, no snail mailed scripts.)
Please, no phone calls.

We do not publish screenplays, short stories, novels or poetry.

Response time is typically 6-9 months on scripts (less on queries), but may take up to 9-12 months or longer (and sometimes it's much quicker!). We ask that you only follow up if you have another publication offer to report. In that case, we are happy to expedite consideration of your play so that you may potentially consider both offers.

If at any point your material becomes unavailable (e.g. because you accept another publication offer), please email us immediately so that we can devote our resources to material that is still available to us.
We do not accept submissions of previously submitted plays (either in whole or in part) unless we have specifically requested the resubmission.

Types of MaterialScripts with at least some age-appropriate roles for young actors, even if those roles are likely to be played by adults. We also consider scripts with strongly youth-friendly content and that have a youthful spirit (e.g., Melodramatics, which is an educationally valuable example of melodrama), even if there are no discernibly young characters.

One-act or full-length plays and musicals for schools and youth theatres. We particularly need one-act (and full-length) comedies for high school and middle school performers with large or flexible casts and lots of female roles, as well as mysteries and/or murder mysteries for that age group. One-acts that run 30-35 minutes and are suitable for competition are highly encouraged. We are not particularly looking for more fractured fairy tales unless they offer a very different spin from what we already represent.
BIPOC plays and playwrights. We particularly seek plays that speak to BIPOC teens and youth, plays that deal with the concerns and interests of the Latinx, Black and Indigenous communities, and bilingual plays (particularly English/Spanish) written by BIPOC playwrights. But we are interested in diversity of all kinds!

One-act or full-length plays and musicals in which adult actors or mixed-age casts perform for young audiences (TYA). It is important that the protagonist and preferably other important roles be young characters, even if they are played by older actors.

Short monologues (6-8 minutes) and plays for 2 or more actors (8-10 minutes) with teen/youth characters, particularly comedies.

Adaptations and parodies of well-known titles (please check our site to make sure we don't already have your chosen title). In the case of adaptations, please be sure you have all appropriate permissions (i.e., a written agreement with the underlying rights holder, if the material is not in the public domain) before submitting.

We typically do not accept collections of unrelated stand-alone monologues, as we believe monologues should exist within the larger context of a play.

Spellbinder Magazine seeks short plays for Summer 2024 issue

Website

Deadline: May 1, 2024

SUBMISSION FORM

Once you have read the guidelines below, you can submit your work through our submission form. We pay a £3 honorarium to each accepted contributor after print publication.

An Affirmation of Welcome to All Writers and Artists

We affirm our desire to welcome writers and artists of all countries, backgrounds, traditions and religions to our pages, and our willingness to fairly consider their work.

As creatives, we believe that our ability to confront complex issues with curiosity, nuance, and care binds us together. We are unequivocal in our support of the fact that bigotry against any group – be it Islamophobia or antisemitism – harms our literary and artistic community as a whole. Likewise, we do not condone discrimination and/or bigotry of any kind, including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, transphobia, and homophobia.

Compulsory Submission Guidelines:

Your submission will be considered invalid if you do not adhere to the following guidelines.

One submission is permitted per quarterly. This means that you may only enter your work into one category. Your submission will be considered for the upcoming issue only.

Within each category, you may only submit one piece of work, unless you are submitting poetry or artwork. Please note that we are unlikely to accept more than one work per poet or artist.

We do not consider previously published or self-published submissions. This includes work that is and/or has been on sale and/or displayed on websites, social media channels, and personal blogs. The one exception to this is if you have previously been published by a magazine which has now ceased to exist. Importantly, there must be no website for this publication still available.

We do consider simultaneous submissions. However, you must inform us immediately if your work gets published anywhere else so that we can withdraw your submission.

We do not accept work containing offensive language (anything containing racist, sexist or otherwise derogatory language), graphic erotic detail, and/or radical religious or political commentary.

We do not accept work which is AI-generated or AI-assisted.

Written Work Guidelines:

Compulsory:

Your submission will be considered invalid if you do not adhere to the following guidelines.

Works must be written primarily in English. Translations are acceptable and should be accompanied by a copy of the original text. Before submitting, please confirm with the original rights holder that the translation rights are available for purchase. We will ask for a letter than asserts the above if the translation is accepted.

Submit all written work as a singular .doc/.docx/.odf attachment. Do not send your work as a .pdf.

Please name your file names as the title of your work, regardless of the file extension.

Optional:

We really appreciate it if you adhere to the following instructions, but it is not essential for you to do so.

All works should be typed in 12 point font and single-spacing.

Centre your title and number the pages of your document.

Compulsory Category Guidelines:

Your submission will be considered invalid if you do not adhere to the following guidelines.

Your work should not exceed more than 10% of the maximum total word/ line/ page count, as detailed below.

Stage plays: Maximum of 5 A4 pages.

• If your work is accepted, we may make editorial changes. We will inform you of any changes that are made so that you can approve these prior to publication.

• If your work is accepted, please note that we are unlikely to accept more than one work per writer or artist within one calendar year.

• If your work is rejected, please wait for two submission cycles before submitting again. 

• Our print magazine is published in A5. Please consider this if you have a specific intention regarding the formatting of your work.

• Please wait for our response regarding your submission before submitting another one. We read all submissions once our submission window closes, and we aim to respond within a month after that.

• We ask for first-time publication rights, but all rights revert back to the author after publication. We kindly ask that if your piece is published elsewhere in the future, that you please credit Spellbinder with its initial publication.