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Saturday, July 5, 2025

The Dramatic Question - American Woman 2025-26

Website

Deadline: September 2, 2025

SUBMISSION FORM

American Woman (AW) is a solo show development and public engagement program for Female-identifying writers living in the United States.

AW is conducted online and uses an instructor-led curated classroom format to advance each matriculant’s vision of their solo show.

Since public engagement is an equally important component of both the AW experience and the DQT mission, up to three excerpts of pieces developed in AW are chosen by the artistic and executive directors for presentation in an online showcase.

To be eligible for AW, you must be Female-identifying, have an early draft of a solo piece, and submit the required materials by the deadline. Additionally, participants must be able to attend all 8 sessions in their entirety.

Up to 12 matriculants will be selected based on early drafts of their solo pieces, interviews, and other submission materials (i.e., artistic statements, resumes, etc.).

American Woman will be conducted via Zoom for 8-consecutive weeks 12:00-2:30pm EST, Sundays, October 12 - November 30.

DQT is proud to announce this season's PT instructor will once again be Raquel Almazan.

Like all our programs, American Woman is free of charge.

M. T. Pockets Theatre open for season submissions

 Website

Deadline: September 30, 2025 11:59 PM

Submit on the online form

Submissions are open for our 2026 season. 

We will continue taking submissions after this date for our 2027 season. 

Up to 4 selections will be made from the submissions, and authors will be notified by email on November 15, 2025. Announcement of the 2026 season will be made on Dec. 2, 2025 - the National Day of Giving.

Mission

To enhance the theatre community in Morgantown, West Virginia and surrounding regions by presenting live performances of classic, contemporary and new works that promote women and minorities in the arts; provide a venue for alternative theatre that addresses contemporary and sensitive issues through performance; provide a venue for new works and support the work of emerging playwrights and artists without bias; provide theatre accessible to those whom otherwise might not have the opportunity to experience live theatre due to physical, financial or geographical limitations.


Friday, July 4, 2025

Radcliffe Institute Fellowship 2025

Website

Deadline: September 11, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

REGISTRATION REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION

Applicants may apply as individuals or in groups of two people working on the same project. We seek diversity across discipline, career stage, race and ethnicity, country of origin, gender and sexual orientation, and ideological perspective. Although our fellows come from many different backgrounds, they are united by their demonstrated excellence, collegiality, and creativity.
About the Fellowship Program

The Radcliffe Fellowship Program supports 50 scholars, artists, and public intellectuals who have demonstrated records of achievement in their respective fields and show great promise for future contributions.

Throughout the year, fellows convene regularly to share their work in progress, supporting one another in various intellectual groups and building connections through social events. They benefit from access to Harvard’s libraries and archives, to professional development opportunities, and to Harvard college students through participating in the Radcliffe Research Partnership Program. In this program, students intellectually engage with fellows and their projects by researching sources, reviewing book chapters, discussing new approaches to projects, and more.

Lost Lake Folk Opera is open for short play submissions

Website

Deadline: August 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

We are accepting submissions of short stories, short plays, poetry and opinion essays for the Fall 2025 issue of Lost Lake Folk Opera from April 1-August 1, 2025. 

Lost Lake Folk Opera is proud to announce that Submissions are Open for its fifteenth issue, Volume 10, with the special theme, United We Write. LLFO v10 will feature a guest editorial team led by Joshua Davies serving as Managing editor. 

LLFO will feature poetry, fiction, short plays and essays responding to the socio-economic and political realities in the United States, writing that identifies political crises, societal grief, economic shocks, social injustice. We are not looking for political writing per se, but rather literary art that address the struggle we individuals face collectively to maintain a grip on reality and a firm foothold safe from the sinkholes, ruptures, and buried ordnance littering the landscape of our lives. 

Suffering is endemic to human existence. It is shaped by the times, by race and culture, by politics, war, economics—and by each person’s experience. The ancient Hebrew concept of Tikkun Olam captures this reality: that this world is made by brokenness, by disconnections. Or the Japanese art of kintsugi, where broken pottery is soldered back together with gold – not to disguise the breakage, but to illuminate it. To witness the sacredness each being carries, to honor the interconnection in life, and art, and one’s conduct is to aid in mending of the world. With this in mind, please submit up to five poems or maximum 2500 words of fiction, essay or short play. Rough maximum of ten pages. Submissions deadline is August 1, 2025.

Line by line, word by word, at Lost Lake Folk Opera, we aim to stitch each broken seam together. Voice by voice and ear by ear, we seek to honor all that’s most precious in each other. In our own small way to work towards repair and healing, in community: United, We Write.

Thursday, July 3, 2025

ASF Translation Award 2026

Website

Deadline: September 15, 2025 by 11:59 PM EDT

SUBMISSION FORM

The American-Scandinavian Foundation annually awards four translation prizes for outstanding translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose written by a 20th or 21st-century Nordic author.

The Nadia Christensen Prize, which recognizes an outstanding translation of a literary text from a Nordic language into English and includes a $2,500 award, publication of an excerpt in Scandinavian Review, and a commemorative bronze medallion.
  • The prizes are for outstanding English translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose originally written in a Nordic language.
  • Translations must be from the writing of one author, although not necessarily from a single work.
  • The online application will require the following materials:
  • Your CV
  • A brief description of the author whose work you are translating and the significance of the original work
  • One copy of the translation, including a title page and a table of contents for the proposed book of which the submitted manuscript is a part. If prose, manuscripts must be 25-50 pages, double-spaced; if poetry, 15-25 pages. *Note: Manuscripts must have numbered pages, and the translator’s name should not appear on any page of the translation manuscript. Submissions containing the translator’s name will be disqualified
  • A letter or other document signed by the author, the author’s agent, or the author’s estate granting permission for the translation to be entered in this competition and published in Scandinavian Review

Getchell New Play Award 2025

Website

Deadline: September 15, 2025

SUBMISSION FORM

Dedicated to the discovery, development and publicizing of worthy new plays and playwrights.

NOTE: some of their online documentation might still say submissions are only open to SETC members, but that is no longer correct.

The awardee receives:
  • $1,000 honorarium
  • Certificate at Recognition
  • Acknowledgement at the Saturday evening Gala
  • Staged Play Reading at the annual SETC Convention
  • Travel and hotel accommodations.
  • Acknowledgement in an SETC publication
The Charles M. Getchell New Play Contest considers only plays that meet the following requirements:

1. Submitted work must be by one playwright only. No collaborations or adaptations will be considered.
Submitting a jointly written play under the name of only one author, or a play that was developed in
collaboration with other artists such as a collaboratively produced devised work, adaptation of
another writer's work, or in conjunction with librettists and/or composers will not be considered.

2. Submitted work must be either a full-length play or thematically related one acts which constitute a
full-length play when performed together. No musicals or children's plays will be considered.

3. Plays must be unproduced (no professional productions) and unpublished. Readings and workshops
are acceptable. Any play which has had more than one consecutive performance by a non-college or
university theatre which charged admission and/or had a review will not be considered.

4. Plays submitted in prior years may not be resubmitted.

Submission Guidelines

1. Only one play submission is allowed per playwright.

2. Plays must be submitted via our online application in Microsoft Word or PDF format under the
following guidelines:
  • Scripts should be in a standard format, such as Dramatists Guild Modern Stage Play.
  • Text should be in 12 pt type and in a standard font such as Times New Roman.
  • Script must include page numbers at the bottom of each page.
  • The author's name MUST NOT appear anywhere in the script.
  • DO NOT include resumes, playwright biographies or a history of the play.

Winning Playwright:

1. The winner, selected by a panel of readers, will be announced in November of each year.

2. The playwright will retain all copyright to the submitted material.

3. The playwright will be expected to attend the SETC convention (Chattanooga, Tennessee March 3–7, 2026) at the expense of SETC, attend the response session, and receive the cash award at the annual banquet.

4. The winning play will be considered for publication online via the SETC website*. Promotional
information will be published in an issue of Southern Theatre magazine, including:
  • Profile of the playwright/winner
  • Short abstract of the play
  • A powerful “snippet” from the play to gather attention and interest
  • A sidebar noting that the whole play can found on the SETC website, with a link to the play.
*Posting the play online would be upon agreement with the author and would include a disclaimer about not using it for production.

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Molecule open for submissions for its Fall 2025 issue

Website

Deadline: July 15, 2025 by 11:59 PM

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

Molecule accepts submissions of poetry, prose (fiction & non-fiction) plays, reviews and interviews in 50 words or less (including titles and interview questions). Visual artwork of tiny things like tea bags and toothpicks, or tiny paintings, also wanted: no skyscrapers please!

We have a strict word count. Don’t try and trick us we have tiny minds. All submissions should be previously unpublished work.

Send submissions via submittable, along with a 3rd person bio of no more than 24 words (including name). Please send no more than 5 pieces.

24 words or less for a whole bio, seems random, where did you come up with that?

There are 24 atoms in a molecule of caffeine. What more do you want from us?

We are open for submissions for our spring issues from December 1 to January 15. Replies will be sent by February 15. Please do not query before February 15. Fall submissions are open June 1 to July 15, replies by August 15.

If your work is accepted we ask for first rights (to publish in our print and online issue) and non-exclusive electronic and archival rights (so we can keep using it). All rights revert to the author upon publication.

There is no fee to submit your work to Molecule, and the magazine is always available for free to download or view to contributors and the public. There is an optional tip jar submission, to help us offset our costs. Whether or not a contributor makes a tip does not factor into our decision process. Recently, we have launched a print issue available for purchase online. We are not able to provide free print copies to contributors. 

Masque and Spectacle seeks short plays for its September 2025 issue

Website

Deadline: July 31, 2025

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.

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 only consider one submission per author/format during any given reading period.

The theme for our September Issue is magic.

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. Additionally, we do not typically publish the same authors in back-to-back issues.

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

Drama

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

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.


Tuesday, July 1, 2025

2025 Fifteen Minutes of Frame Play Submission

Website

Deadline: July 14, 2025 at 9AM (extended from July 7)

option to send via email: lucky@luckyslightinginc.com

15 Minutes of Frame 2025 is seeking 15-minute plays to enter our competition. This is a highly competitive Festival, the audience votes for the winner,  so we are looking for playwrights in the TriState area. 

Please submit your 15-minute play or scene (maximum of 5 actors) to be considered.

7 short plays will be selected to compete.

The competition takes place over 3 nights: August 21, 22, and 23 at 7 PM.

Dark comedy, drama, dance, musicals, and operas are accepted.

Submit a PDF including:
  • Playwright’s name
  • Email
  • Mobile-phone number
  • Zip code
  • Title of play
  • Character list
  • A one-paragraph description of the scene and set
  • Numbered pages
Winner wins a full two week production. Winner is announced August 23rd and moves on to develop their 15-minute short play into a full production to be presented and produced by Lucky’s Lighting Inc and 24 Bond Arts Center at the Gene Frankel Theatre. 

This is our 3rd year of 15 Minutes of Frame, a playwrights’ competition held in August at the Gene Frankel Theatre. There is a gala party to celebrate our contestants and winner. 

If there is a restriction on plays that have previously been produced and/or published - never produced. This competition is to develop a short play to be premiered. 

Winning play is fully produced by Lucky’s Lighting Inc

Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry 2025

Website

Deadline: September 15, 2025

Sundog Theatre in NYC is seeking one-act plays for “Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry 2025”

This is Sundog Theatre’s 24th presentation of
new and original, one-act plays about our favorite boats.
This year’s theme: It’s About Time!

Plays can be comedies or dramas. However, humor is always appreciated.

-Original plays not previously produced or published, with a signed note affirming that.

-10-25 minutes in length and set on the Staten Island Ferry.

-Set in a contemporary time period. Strong priority will be given to plays with 2 characters, however, 3-character plays will be considered. No special set pieces other than benches or railings found on the Ferry, as well as limited and easily accessible props/costumes, and no unusual sound or lighting effects.

-Avoid overt and unnecessary sexual/violence situations and language since we cater to a broad audience.

-No musicals, long monologues, poetry, rants or verse

–Theme: It’s About Time!

Some ideas for the theme are: time travel; lost time you can’t get back; something dreadful looms in your future and time is racing by; you’re looking forward to a special event and time slows to a crawl; or…?

Submission Guidelines:

Please send two hard copies, bound or stapled, blind submission (removable cover page with title, author and all contact information) with page numbers and the name of the play on each page to:

Sundog Theatre, “Scenes 2025” PO Box 10183, Staten Island, NY 10301.

-Submissions should include a brief play synopsis (2-3 sentences at most), a 70-word bio, and a full resume of the writer.

–DEADLINE: Must be postmarked from now through September 15, 2025.

-We are not accepting plays electronically. Reasons: hard copies are easier to pass around/make notes on; protects your work; can’t get lost in email chains; and…easier on reading eyes. We will let you know by email that we have received it.

-NO SUBMISSION FEE

-Questions: info@sundogtheatre.org/Susan Fenley, Producer.

6 plays are chosen by a reading team; writers each receive $200 and plays are produced in five November 2025 performances in Staten Island, NY. Plays are cast in NYC, rehearsed, and performed on stage.

Playwrights of selected plays will be contacted in September and their names/play titles listed on Sundog’s website in Fall 2025.

Monday, June 30, 2025

A Slice of Time in Quincy: Call for Submissions

Website

Deadline: July 14, 2025

One-Act Plays (15-30 min in length)

Playwrights of all ages, new or experienced, we invite you to capture something unique in Quincy (Massachusetts)'s 400 year history (from 1625 to today). Have fun, get creative, & blow us away!

Email play to: info@friendsofrga.org

Cc to: saratcallard@gmail.com and  anntdanby@gmail.com

- selected plays may be performed on the open air stage at the Ruth Gordon Amphitheater

- plays can tackle “challenging themes” with sensitivity, but please keep topics and language unoffensive for all audiences.

- plays can be funny, heartfelt, musical or anything you can dream up (minus any elaborate sets or expensive costumes)

- consider adding an intro or some narration from a “time travelling” observer (optional)

Here are just a few thoughts about Quincy, from 1625 to the present, to use as possible “jumping off points”:
  • Native American life in Quincy
  • First founders and settlers
  • John, John Quincy, & Abigail Adams
  • Waves of immigrants
  • The Quarries (granite industry, swimming fun that ending tragically)
  • Shipbuilding & SS Salem
  • The unique neighborhoods
  • Shops (Remicks, Bargain Center, well-loved “sidewalk sales,” Child World etc)
  • Restaurants - Howard Johnson’s, 1st-ever Dunkin’s, Clam box, Beach Comber &more!
  • Celebrities (Ruth Gordon, Lee Remick, Dropkick Murphies and more!)
  • The beaches, the schools, the sports!
  • Marina Bay, the Commons, new restaurants and night life

Submissions for SPF BOO! 2025

Website

Deadline: July 25, 2025

Things that go bump in the night? Ghost, goblins, and monsters? Nightmares of showing up to work naked? What puts the SCARE in you? We are seeking plays that have an element – or a heaping cup – of fear. Scare us or force us to laugh till we die with horror plays and musicals, including a great spoof. Plays must be BOO–themed, which means scary, eerie, or horrifying in some way. 

Plays must have a running time of 15 minutes or less (which roughly translates to 15 pages) to qualify for the weekly contest. Each week a winner – selected by audience vote – receives the honor of “Best of the Week” and $100 prize.

The shows are produced entirely by the playwright and their team, are non union, and are presented at the Steve & Marie Sgouros Black Box Theatre – located on the 3rd floor of the historic Players Theatre in the heart of Greenwich Village – NYC. There is one-time $50 tech fee for any play that is chosen and decides to participate. There is NO submission fee.

Please DO NOT submit plays that are for LUV or NYC. They will be rejected automatically–remember, this is for SPF BOO so we are looking for things that send a chill or thrill up your spine!

Please also check out this page for details that will improve your play’s chance on getting selected. You can also find our handbook click here: SPF TIPS

Sunday, June 29, 2025

Native Voices Short Play Festival 2026 seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2025

SUBMISSION FORM

With the upcoming 250th anniversary of 1776 and the Declaration of Independence, it is only appropriate that our theme for the 16th Annual Short Play Festival addresses this historical event.

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal..."

Many Americans learned the preamble of the Declaration of Independence while in elementary school and proudly recited it from memory. However, most are unaware that in this same document about the importance of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is the following phrase: “Merciless Indian Savages.”

("He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.")

Native Playwrights, tell us about what this country does (or does not) teach about the original Inhabitants. This is your opportunity to create your own "Idiot's Guide to Native American History" through storytelling. Correct wrongs, offer counter-narratives, share crazy encounters you have had with the US and Canada’s warped sense of Native people, or just poke fun at all the misinformation about our people.

We are not asking you to be merciless or savage, but we do ask that you be unapologetically Native!

Selected short plays will be performed in an afternoon of staged readings, where playwrights have a chance to win the Thomas Studie Gadugi Audience Prize of $500 and the Von Marie Atchley Playwright Award of $1,000.

We ask that each play be 10 minutes in length or shorter. From our experience and the recorded history of past winners, the audiences and judges prefer comedies! Fresh, surprising perspectives are welcome. Originality is key!!

Playwrights will be notified in November 2025 of the final status of their script.

*Scripts longer than 15 pages or read aloud at longer than 10 minutes, or with the playwright’s name appearing anywhere on the script, will not be accepted.

*A maximum of 5 characters is recommended. Doubling is encouraged, should it be necessary to complete your vision.

North Park Playwright Festival 2025

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2025

Our goal in building the North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe was to provide a small theater to produce new, untested plays. In support of this goal we have produced the North Park Playwright Festival each October. The festival provides a platform for brand new, short (ten minute), plays written by playwrights from around the world. Over the past seventeen years more than 600 new plays have been produced. We encourage new directors and actors to become involved in theater through the festival as well. Through the North Park Playwright Festival over ninety playwrights, directors, and actors each year are able to showcase their talents. We invite interested playwrights to submit work to the festival. Please follow the guidelines below.

We are looking for:

1. Short new plays (no more than 12 pages, less is fine) that are easily staged and have casts with no more than four people. Our theater is very small and we normally use a minimal set concept in this festival. We have to be able to change sets in just a few minutes as we do six to seven plays each evening of the festival. We don't have space for large casts.

2. We request new work. A play that has had workshops or one or two previous productions is OK, but we are not interested in work that has been produced in numerous other places. Our goal in building the theater was to have a place to produce brand new work and let playwrights have a chance to see their work done for the first time.

3. We seek complete plays rather than excerpts from a larger work.

4. Work will be chosen by the directors we have in the festival. It is not a "contest" and we are not really judging plays in the formal sense. The directors choose the plays we will produce, within the production budget guidelines we give them.

5. Most subject matter is OK. We don't do nudity or off color humor.

6. We ask that all submissions be sent to us via snail mail at the theater. Address is: North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe, 2031 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, CA 92104, Attn Summer Golden, Artistic Director. We have too much trouble with differing email, word processing, and computer platform issues to take them via email. Additionally, our selection process requires the directors read the plays submitted and the cost of printing all the plays we receive each year is prohibitive. Please insure submissions have a title page with complete contact information (including email), a character summary, and are in proper script form. There is no charge to enter. No need to go to the post office. You can just staple your play together, put in a business size envelope and drop in the mail. You can print on both sides if you want to save postage.

7. Submissions must be postmarked by June 30, 2025. Please do not send plays by any method that requires a signature from us. We are not often at the theater when delivery occurs. We will email notice of receipt to all playwrights submitting plays.

8. Send only one script. Multiple submissions do not increase chances of production.

General information:

We are trying to support new work and involve actors, playwrights, and directors of all experience levels. We have had a wide variety of artists involved from very experienced to first time directors and actors, to an 8 year old playwright (very short, well received play). We feel having a wide range of experience involved helps the new people learn from the more experienced.

We really appreciate your interest in our theater.

Jeff Bushnell and Summer Golden
North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe
2031 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92104
www.northparkvaudeville.com

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Little Plays Big Murder short play festival

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2025
Email a Word or PDF file of your script to producer@westchesterplays.com. We will respond that we have received the script. All communications will be via email. Read the format section above for what to include.

Westchester Civic Theater (WCT) is holding another round of our 8x10 Play Festival. It will include 8, ten-minute scripts that are new. We hope one (or more) will be written by you!

WHO KILLED THE DIRECTOR?
Your job as the writer is to come up with a 10 min play using the characters provided in the opening as well as any other characters you feel you may want to add to enhance the play and solve the crime as to who killed the director and why. One catch, the opening of your play must have a character start your play by saying, "This is what happened."

At the start of the show, the attached scene: view here will provide the setup your play will be one of the 8 short plays that follow.

GRACE GODPLOP, 20's, young and a bit naive when it comes to the theatre world, originally from the south and acts like a Southern Belle. Many eyes are on her due to her charm and looks.

DONALD SPEAR, 50's, older actor and a bit of a grump, seems to be stuck doing Community Theatre and wants to some day breakout, he does not suffer fools

MORRIS CATROPHY, also in 50's, this guy IS a fool, nice man but clueless to the point where others think he cannot be that dumb

DEBBIE LITTLE, 50's-60's, loud mouth and intelligent but puts her foot in her mouth too many times, is never afraid to speak her mind and one not to mess with

KAT CROTHERS, older than 40, female, all business and no pleasure make this person a dullard

JOHNNY NICER, 30's, works with the lights and has the hots for Grace, he knows his job well and hopes to someday break away from lighting and maybe direct his own show one day

You must incorporate the theme but feel free to color outside the lines.

From script submission to performance - the process:

Phase 1: Script Submission - Due by June 30

Requirements
Ten Minutes - This is about 8 pages of dialogue in 12 pt font. While we will read all scripts, if they are much over 8 pages they will not be considered for production. 

Subject Matter - Write the best story that incorporates the theme in some way. 

Cast Size - No requirement.​ If your script is on the convention hall floor, know that we'll add in extras as appropriate to pass by in the background. 

Playwright Location - We don't care where you're from. Have an amazing script, submit it!

**Format - PDF or Word. On the title page include your Name, location and email address. Do not include your name on the script pages.

Never Performed Material - We want scripts that have never been performed with set, cast and all the drama. If it went through a stage reading or two, okey doke.

Set - When writing your script, know that we have limited space, tech, and no projection. Single set works best but if things need to come in and out, that's cool we'll figure it out. We use chairs and simple items to represent the area.

You can submit as many scripts as you'd like! More the merrier

**SPECIAL OPTION - Feel like submitting 3, 2-3 minute scripts that are vignettes telling one story? Do that. We will weave each of the 2 minute scripts in-between the other 7 scripts. You can submit them in one document.

Scripts remain your property. If selected, we will produce them, perform them, take production pictures, and record them in production. The pictures will be shared and the recordings will live on our YouTube page. Beyond that, they are yours.

We look forward to reading your scripts! 

Phase 2 - July 1 - July 20, 2025
We have an awesome group of people who will read all the scripts to determine which are the best fit for WCT and the production. Keeping to the ten minutes is critical! This team will reduce the submitted scripts down to 15-20. These scripts will enter Phase 3 - director matching.

Phase 3 - Script/Director Matching - July 21 - 30
8 Scripts, 8 Directors
The narrowed down selections will be shared with 8 directors (director spots still open). The directors will read the scripts and determine which they would like to direct. The core WCT team will do some fancy analysis of the 8 director's responses and complete the final matching. From there...on to casting.

Phase 4 - Three Performances
Friday, September 5, 7:00pm
Saturday, September 6, 2:00pm
Saturday, September 6, 7:00pm

23rd Annual New Play Festival at Centre Stage

Website

Deadline: June 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM 

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE
  • Submissions are open to any playwright whether from South Carolina, the region, country, or from around the world! 
  • Only one entry per playwright/playwright’s representative is permitted.
  • NO entries may be previously published.
  • Likewise, NO entries may have previously fully realized, regionally produced performances through the dates of the Centre Stage New Play Festival 2025 (previous readings and workshops are acceptable).
  • Entries may have NO more than seven (7) actors required.
  • All entries must be no more than 120 pages, but one-act and full-length plays are welcome.
  • Scripts must be in the Traditional or Modern format for plays as defined by the Dramatists Guild. 
  • Screenplays, musicals, and 10-minute plays will NOT be accepted, plays with music may be submitted.
  • Playwrights are encouraged to submit a cover letter along with their script that includes a brief summary of the play and a suggestion of the unique perspective or experience provided by the playwright's body of work.

Bedlam seeks full-length plays for readings

Website

Deadline: none given

Bedlam is currently seeking full-length play submissions by BIPOC playwrights to include in our 2025 Do More: New Plays series. Piloted in 2021, Do More: New Plays (DM:NP) is a reading series which offers emerging playwrights invaluable workshop time (up to 29 hours) to develop their work and hear it brought to life in front of an audience.

If you would like to submit a play for our consideration, please email info@bedlam.org.

The Ten-Minute Musicals Project 2025

Website

Deadline: August 31, 2025

SEEKING: Complete original stage musicals which play between seven and twenty minutes. Works which have been previously produced are acceptable, as are excerpts from full-length shows, if they can stand up on their own.

MUSICAL STYLE AND THEATRICAL FORMAT: Any musical style: pop, rock, show, opera, C&W, etc; or theatrical format: comedy, mystery, drama, etc.

CAST SIZE: Maximum of ten performers—five women and five men.

SUBMISSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:

1. A printed script. (Note: printed on paper; not sent as a computer file on disk.) And please make sure your POSTAL ADDRESS appears on it.

2. A CD or DVD of either the entire piece or just the musical material. (Please don’t send a USB flash drive.)

3. A stamped self-addressed large envelope if you want the work returned.

4. More than one work can be submitted at a time, in the same envelope or separately.

CONCERNING THE ABOVE, PLEASE NOTE: NO ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS — HARD COPIES ONLY

DEADLINE: Simply postmarked by August 31st. (Do not waste money on overnight express, registered, or certified mail. All that’s requested is that the package be postmarked by August 31—but even if you’re just a day or two late, don’t worry. This is not an officious arts bureaucracy.) Responses will be mailed out by November 30th.

FINANCIAL REMUNERATION: $250/US royalty advance for each piece selected, with an equal share of licensing royalties when produced.

SEND TO:

The Ten-Minute Musicals Project
Michael Koppy, Producer
P.O. Box 461194
West Hollywood, CA 90046 USA

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS“The more restrictions you have, the easier something is to write.” — Stephen Sondheim

“The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” — Orson Welles

The single most important piece of advice we can offer is to caution that it will surely take much time and effort to create a quality work. (Occasionally a clearly talented and capable writer and/or composer seem to have almost dashed something off, under the misperception that inspiration can carry the day in this format. However, all the works selected in previous rounds clearly evince that considerable deliberation, craft, and time were invested.)

We’re seeking short contemporary musical theater material, in the style of what might be found on Broadway, off-Broadway or the West End. Think of shows like Candide or Little Shop of Horrors, pop operas like Sweeney Todd or Chess, or chamber musicals like Once on this Island or Falsettos. Even small accessible operas like The Telephone or Trouble in Tahiti are possible models. All have solid plots, and all rely on sung material to advance them.

Of primary importance is to start with a solid, complete story, even if it means postponing work on music and lyrics until that dramatic foundation is complete. This is one reason it is suggested (no; strongly, strongly recommended!) that musicals be based on a short story, play, film, poem or teleplay—either in the public domain (usually meaning it was originally published more than seventy-five years ago) or for which adaptation rights have been obtained. (While we’d love to have pieces based on works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Rod Serling, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, William Faulkner, Chinua Achebe or Stephen King, getting the rights to adapt a work still in copyright can often be quite difficult. Stories or narrative poems by writers from previous eras, like Jack London, Katherine Mansfield, Anton Chekhov, Ambrose Bierce, Mary Shelley, Robert Service, Franz Kafka, Geoffrey Chaucer, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Banjo Paterson, Aesop of Samos, Louisa May Alcott, Jonathan Swift, Giovanni Boccaccio and Guy de Maupassant—among so many, many others—are in the public domain and can be freely adapted.)

We prefer works using larger casts. If from six to the maximum of ten voices are used it’s a plus, even if most are secondary or ‘chorus’ roles.

Fast-paced comedy material has an advantage.

If adapting a story, you might consider setting it in another time or place, adding or subtracting (or combining) characters, or even changing the character genders. Yet be wary of doing so on whim, sans firm rationale.

It seems from experience here that fairy tales may easily end up being too cute, trite.

A narrator often slows things down. Trust audiences to get the story through what characters say, sing and do. And it’s better for a character to share his or her reactions to what is happening than to simply describe events—we can see them unfolding with our own eyes.

Be wary of writing only introspective musical ‘moments’, as they usually stop the progression of the plot. Solo ballads should be thought of as icing on the cake, as you’ll surely still need other sung material—much of it uptempo—which advances the plot in duets, trios, and production numbers.

Don’t worry if an idea seems ‘unstageable’. That’s what directors, designers, choreographers—and rehearsals—are for.

Finally, please understand that NONE OF THESE OBSERVATIONS ARE GOSPEL. They’re simply recommendations based on what’s been learned from seeing works submitted previously. Given that, please take them seriously. However, nearly every one of these recommendations has been ignored by at least one of the works so far selected.

In the end what matters most will be the idea and aim of your piece and how economically, effectively, elegantly they are realized.

Friday, June 27, 2025

THE HOROWITZ-SONDHEIM CLINIC FOR THEATER ARTISTS at New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute

The Horowitz-Sondheim Clinic will commence operations on September 2, 2025, and was specifically established to offer affordable treatment to playwrights, composers, and lyricists of the theater.

Those who are not lyricists, composers, or playwrights of the theater can still receive affordable treatment by applying directly to the NYPSI Treatment Center at https://nypsi.org/find-treatment/

Theater playwrights, composers, and lyricists interested in sliding-scale treatment at the Horowitz-Sondheim Clinic are encouraged to apply (link below). No one will be turned away based on their ability to pay. Please indicate whether you are interested in obtaining psychotherapy (once or twice a week, typically), psychoanalysis (four or five times a week), or psychological testing. Note that for psychoanalysis, at least two of the sessions must be conducted in person.

This clinic owes its creation to a generous grant from Stephen Sondheim’s estate, reflecting the profound gratitude Sondheim held for his psychoanalyst, Milton Horowitz, an esteemed NYPSI member. As Sondheim himself expressed: “to find you’re not the only one in the world, which is of course what everybody goes through…. Every time I would tell Milton something I’d expect him to be shocked and he’d say, ‘Yes…’ And after about five sessions I realized, He’s heard everything! And I’m just another ordinary neurotic fellow.” (Secrest, 1998, p. 229 "Stephen Sondheim: A Life." Penguin Random House.)

The Horowitz-Sondheim Clinic offers psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and psychological testing. The Clinic does not provide psychotropic medication.

Psychotherapy and psychological testing are provided at the Horowitz-Sondheim Clinic by a variety of licensed mental health practitioners, Clinical Psychology Doctoral students, and Licensure-Qualifying trainees in Psychoanalysis, all under the supervision of highly trained psychoanalysts.

Psychoanalysis is conducted by psychoanalytic candidates, all of whom are supervised by psychoanalysts especially qualified for the training of psychoanalysts. On occasion, psychoanalysis is offered by a graduate psychoanalyst.

You may download a printable application for Adult Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis, and/or Psychological Testing.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

Call for Submissions: Mini Plays Review – “Fleeting Connections” (September 2025 Issue)

Website

Deadline: September 15, 2025

Theme: Fleeting Connections
Format: 1-Minute Plays and Monologues
Length: Maximum one page (A4 size).
Submission Email: miniplaysmag@gmail.com

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/the-mini-plays-magazine/submit

Mini Plays Review is seeking bold, inventive, and emotionally resonant one-minute plays and monologues for our September 2025 issue themed “Fleeting Connections.” We are looking for one-minute plays and monologues that capture the brief yet powerful moments of human interaction—those sparks of connection that may be gone in an instant but leave a lasting impression.

We invite playwrights, poets, and storytellers from all backgrounds to submit original, unpublished works that explore the theme through a variety of lenses. Whether humorous, haunting, romantic, or raw, we want your most compelling short-form writing.

Suggested Subtopics Include:

A chance meeting on public transportation

An overheard conversation that changes everything

The last words between two people before parting forever

A confession whispered in the dark

An awkward but revealing moment of misunderstanding

A digital connection that never becomes real

The bond between strangers during a shared crisis

A fleeting friendship formed during travel

A missed opportunity for connection

A brief but life-altering encounter with a stranger

The emotional aftermath of a moment too short to last

An accidental reunion that ends just as quickly

A single moment of honesty in a world of pretense

Guidelines:

Submissions must be original and previously unpublished (including personal blogs and social media). Previous stage/online performance are ok and do not come under this term.

Each writer may submit up to three pieces (in a single email).

Please include a brief bio (50 words max) in third person narrative with your submission.

All submissions should fit within approximately 1 page keeping in mind they should be performable within one minute.

Both comedic and dramatic pieces are welcome.

Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

There is no submission or reading fee.

If selected, after the publication of anthology the authors will hold the copyright, intellectual property right and performance rights of the work.

Mini Plays Review is dedicated to showcasing concise, impactful storytelling. This call is open to emerging and established writers alike.

Don’t miss your chance to capture a moment that lasts a lifetime—in just sixty seconds.

Submit today and let your voice be heard in the space between hello and goodbye.

New Works, New Voices 2026 seeks musicals

Website

Deadline: July 1, 2025 at 11:59pm EDT



New Works/New Voices (NWNV) is an initiative at the Syracuse University Department of Drama created to support the development of musicals by writers and composers whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the musical theater canon.

The Syracuse University Department of Drama is seeking submissions for its Spring 2026 New Works/New Voices (NWNV) initiative. NWNV was created to support the development of musicals by writers and composers whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented in the musical theater canon. 

NWNV is seeking completed musicals or musicals-in-progress from teams who are interested in developing their work with undergraduate BFA students. 

One musical will be selected, to receive a 3-week developmental workshop in the Spring 2026 semester, directed and music directed by SU Drama faculty and performed by SU Drama students. NWNV 2026 will take place from 4/3/26 - 4/26/26. The writing team will participate virtually in the evenings during week 1, and will be in residence in Syracuse during weeks 2 and 3 of the rehearsal process (4/12/25-4/26/26), travel and lodging provided. 

Semi-finalists will be contacted for additional materials in late summer/early fall 2025. Please submit the details of your musical work in the submission form. 

Questions? Please email Kathleen Wrinn, Artistic Director of NWNV and Assistant Professor of Musical Theater at SU Drama (kawrinn@syr.edu). Thank you for submitting to NWNV! We look forward to reading and listening to your work.

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Actors Theater Workshop offers free readings in NYC

Saturday, June 28 | 2:00 – 4:00 PM

4908 Awakenings

By Marianne Ryan
This autobiographical play explores the emotional journey of a woman navigating life with a sibling suffering from schizophrenia. A moving tribute to caregivers and a call for mental health awareness, this performance invites reflection and healing.

Sunday, June 29 | 7:00 – 9:30 PM

We The People of These Fifty Acre Woods
By Andrew Michael Reid
This bold reimagining of A.A. Milne’s characters brings the Hundred Acre Wood into a metaphorical civil war. Through the lens of beloved childhood figures, this work interrogates the nature of political violence and fractured societies. With artwork by Delia Dumont, this satirical epic is both whimsical and urgent.

ATW is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.
actorstheatreworkshop.org |
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Please join us at our upcoming Events!

Theatre Three 27th Annual Festival of One-Act Plays (2026)

Website

Deadline: September 1, 2025

Submissions should be sent to Jeffrey@theatrethree.com

Since its inception in 1998, The Festival has received over 13,000 submissions from across the world and produced over 140 world premieres by more than 100 different playwrights. The Festival presents between five and eight plays each season.

Guidelines:

Playwrights may only submit one play per Festival.
  • Only unproduced works will be accepted. 
  • Please do not submit works that have been submitted for previous Festivals.
  • Plays that have had staged readings or on-line productions are eligible.
  • No adaptations, children’s plays, or musicals.
  • Cast size maximum: 12
  • Length maximum: 30 minutes (no minimum)
  • Settings: Simple or suggested.
  • All submissions should be emailed as PDFs with the title in caps followed by the playwright’s name.
  • Example: THE BASKET WEAVERS Jamie Martin
  • Play’s cover sheet must include the author’s information (name, address, telephone, email).
  • A short synopsis is encouraged
  • Any stage play format is acceptable.

Selected plays will be presented for ten performances (dates to be determined in winter-spring 2026), at the Ronald F. Peierls Theatre, on THEATRE THREE’s Second Stage.

Playwrights will receive a $150 stipend.

Playwrights will receive a standard Dramatists Guild-approved contract and will receive four complimentary tickets to be used at any performances. Playwrights are welcome to attend any rehearsals or performances. Playwrights will receive copies of playbills, postcards, articles, and reviews, as well as a link to all publicity and production photos. THEATRE THREE is responsible for all elements of production; playwrights incur no expenses. THEATRE THREE retains no future production rights.

Playwrights of selected plays will be contacted by early December 2025.

Final selection of plays will be announced on THEATRE THREE’s website and Facebook page by December 15, 2025.

Community Players Theater - Page to Stage 2025

Website

Deadline: July 31, 2025
Please note new deadline
Deadline: August 31, 2025

Page to Stage: An Original Staged Reading is an opportunity for playwrights to submit their work to be performed through Community Players Theatre (Bloomington IL.) To those wishing to submit their work, please make sure it follows this criteria:
  • The script must be unpublished
  • It is fine if the script has gone through workshops or readings
  • No more than 2 locations within the script
  • Cast size 2-6
  • Can feature a child but the majority of the cast must be adults
  • Few adjustments will be allowed once the script has been submitted
  • PDF or Word Doc formatting
  • No musicals
  • A playwright is not limited on how many they can submit
  • This process is for the benefit of audiences to hear new plays and new playwrights
Please submit all scripts to Ashleigh Rae-Lynn (playreading@communityplayers.org)

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Brown Skinned Girls seeks submissions

Website

Deadline: September 25, 2025
Or when they reach 250 submissions

SUBMISSION FORM

Beginners, dabblers, scribblers and seasoned writers alike, from all countries, are welcome to submit their plays!

There is no entry fee for this opportunity, and given the size of the undertaking, there will be no monetary compensation offered. However, one play, picked by the audience over the two evenings will be presented with the Public’s Award and receive a modest stipend. The remaining three playwrights will be offered a free year-long subscription to www.playsubmissionshelper.com.

Playwrights must be female, of BIPOC descent, and aged 18, at least.

The play may have multiple writers, but you will have to pick a single representative for your team and use their information in correspondence with us.

Your play should have a running time of 10-15 minutes. This usually equates to a 10-15 pages long document, but reading your play out loud can give you a more accurate idea of its running time.

Your play should require no more than 4 actors and very minimal props.

Your play should be in English, although some parts may be in a foreign language. (If so, make sure a translation of such parts is offered within the body of the play).

The play should be original, unpublished and it should not have been performed in the UK as of the day of submission.

Submissions containing copyrighted material that does not belong to you cannot be accepted.

Unfortunately, we cannot yet accept musicals.

Your play should NOT BE BLIND. The first page should state the name of your play, your own name, as well as your contact information (phone number, email address). The second page should be dedicated to a breakdown of characters and scene breakdown, if needed. Please, ensure your play is properly formatted. It can follow any Writer’s Guild’s guidelines. (This page can help you figure out what format feels more natural to you: https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/resources/medium-and-format)

The document you submit should be a PDF.

We unfortunately cannot accept more than one entry from each writer.

For our records, and because we’d love to know more about you as an artist and a person, feel free to fill up this form: https://forms.gle/7qeYhdn3gVDaFo7K6 it is totally optional and has no bearing on the selection process).

Unfortunately, written feedback will only be provided to shortlisted artists.

We will close submissions on September 25th, 2025 or when we reach 250 submissions, whichever comes first. No play will be accepted after this date.

All submissions are final. No revisions to the text of the play will be accepted after it is submitted.
Deadline: September 25, 2025

Gallery Players 29th Annual Black Box New Play Festival

Website

Deadline: July 1, 2025
NOTE the post-marked date. Mail your submissions accordingly. 

The Gallery Players in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, is seeking plays for its 29th Annual Black Box New Play Festival to be held in January (exact dates to be determined) 2026. 

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. 

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, showing the names of plays and if produced, where produced. 

5). Playwrights cannot direct their own work 

6). Send three (3) 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.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

DILARIA ~ discount tickets

DILARIA is a bold new Off-Broadway play running from June 13–August 3 at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square.

Written by Julia Randall and directed by Alex Keegan, DILARIA is a dark comedy about Gen Z grief, true crime obsession, and influencer culture. Starring Ella Stiller, Chiara Aurelia (Cruel Summer), and Christopher Briney (The Summer I Turned Pretty), DILARIA is one of the most anticipated Off-Broadway premieres of the summer.

Use code: ZOOMFUNERL at checkout. 

Valid for all performances.

Offer excludes premium tickets and expires July 30 at 11:59 PM ET.

Tickets + more info: www.dilariaplay.com

Offer subject to availability. Not valid on premium tickets, nor can it be combined with other offers. Standard convenience fees may apply. No refunds or exchanges.

Free career training for members of the Dramatists Guild

Calling all dramatists who write for Opera! Are you curious to know what are the best practices in Opera?

Join us for an insightful discussion on the Guild's newly released "Best Practices for Opera" guide. 

Our hosts are Jessica Lit, Dir. of Business of Affairs from the Dramatists Guild's staff, and Co-Chairs of the Guild's Opera Committee, Michael Korie and Deborah Brevoort.

Over 2 years in the making, the Best Practices guide is the first examination the opera commission process from start to finish and provides a historic first step in providing theatre writers with the knowledge to feel confident dipping their toes into the opera industry. In the second half of the event, members will have the opportunity to engage directly with Michael, Deborah and Jessica during a Q&A session.

Bring your questions and don't forget to download the Best Practices for Opera guidelines here: Best Practices for Opera | Dramatists Guild

MORE INFORMATION

The Playwrights Group - sit in on a session and see

 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!

Thursdays 7 - 9:30pm EST

 

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

       3 Hour Short Course

 

All 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

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