The Your Worst Nightmare Play Festival seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: February 27, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Selecting 6 plays and producing them at a downtown theater in San Francisco in April. 

Plays should center around nightmarish situations and should not have had a previous production or have been published for commercial distribution. Staged readings of submitted piece(s) are okay. Max 4 characters.

Black Men Talk Festival 2026 seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: March 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM CT

SUBMISSION FORM

The 10-minute play festival will be a celebration of the voices, stories, and perspectives of Black male playwrights and showcase the works of new and emerging Black male playwrights telling authentic stories of the Black experience.

The Black Men Talk Play Festival, the first of its kind, aims to honor the contributions of Black male playwrights - initiated by a Chicago-based Black playwright. The event will host three performances in Chicago in July 2026.

• Script submitted must be the final version in proper play format.
• Playwrights must submit plays that run from 8-10 minutes or 8-10 pages. Your cover page should have: title of play, your name, email address, and phone number.
• Plays should feature two to four actors.
• Scripts should be written with minimal set and costume requirements.
• One entry per person (if more than one play is submitted, we will review the first play submitted).
• Plays must be unpublished and must not have had a professional. production.
• Plays must be submitted electronically in PDF format.
• No musicals, screenplays, or monologues will be selected for this festival.
• Your submission should be your own work. 

Dallas College Mountain View Campus Theatre Department seeks 10-minute plays

 Instagram

Deadline: April 5, 2026

Please send all submissions to amyjackson@dcccd.edu

Questions? Email or text/call my 214-908-4082.

The Dallas College Mountain View Campus Theatre Department is looking for ten-minute plays to produce for the tenth annual ROD WILSON 24-HOUR TEN MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL, May 29-30, 2026

Student and/or local actors along with MVC alumni will join professional DFW directors for twenty-four hours to present a Saturday evening, May 30 @ 7 pm performance. Six or seven staged ten-minute plays will be followed by an audience/actor/director/playwright talk back. There is no limit on how many plays you can submit, no theme for the festival-just keep in mind that many of the actors are teens and twenty-somethings!

Crowname seeks submissions for Issue #8

Website

Deadline: March 1, 2026

Please email crownamestudios@gmail.com to submit.

Please submit writing and art you feel represents a topic, item, people, etc. that is often overlooked, censored, or pushed into the footnotes. 

Examples: disability, LBGTQIA+, homelessness, women’s rights, underserved and neglected communities, etc. If you are part of any of these communities, you are strongly urged to submit!

Guidelines (Please Read)

Please note that at this time we cannot offer payment for publication. We hope this changes in the future, but until then, publication in Crow Name is unpaid. Contributors will always, however, receive a high-quality PDF of our magazine for their own printing/admiring/saving pleasure.

We are committed to a safe and positive environment for our community. This means that we do not tolerate racist, sexist, bigoted, antisemitic, homo/trans/bi/queer/acephobic, Hinduphobic, Islamaphobic, ableist, violent, or otherwise hateful or discriminatory pieces and practices. Please note that we will not tolerate anyone who submits anything of this nature, and our no-tolerance policy extends to any hateful and/or unsafe practices not listed.

We are also committed to making sure people of all different backgrounds and abilities are able to enjoy our site. We encourage people from all different backgrounds to submit.

We will NOT accept anything created with or with help from artificial intelligence such as Chat GPT or any other generative AI model. Any author or artist found to have used AI in the creation of their submitted piece will be rejected and banned from submitting to Crow Name in the future, and your name may be shared with other literary magazines and publications, who may make their own determinations on whether or not to accept submissions from you. Your submission constitutes an unwritten agreement that your piece was not created wholly or in part by any generative AI software.

We are accepting submissions from December 19th to March 1st, and submissions will be considered based upon the current theme listed above. If we have already announced our decisions for the current theme, please re-submit if you would like to be considered for the next one. Please feel free to re-submit and withdraw.

We also accept previously published pieces so long that you, the writer/artist/maker, have full legal rights to the piece. 

Do:

• Submit via Microsoft Word or PDF. 
• Submit funky, fantasy, sci-fi, realistic fiction, poetry, script, comics, podcasts/audio essays, nonfiction, eccentric, playful formatting, art, short film, animation, and anything weird and cool.
• Submit excerpts.
• Submit 1-5 pieces at a time, up to 20 pages total. 
• Submit to other magazines, papers, and journals simultaneously (but tell us if you’ve been accepted elsewhere).
• Submit revisions.
• Submit art in CMYK color mode, in at least 300 dpi, and in TIFF or PNG files.
• Submit audio in the MP3 file format, and video in MP4.

Don’t: 

• Submit racist, sexist, bigoted, antisemitic, homo/trans/bi/queer/acephobic, Hinduphobic, Islamaphobic, ableist, violent, or otherwise hateful or discriminatory pieces not listed. 
• ABSOLUTELY NO AI ART, WRITING, OR OTHERWISE. 
• Try to send something to us via snail-mail (we don’t have an actual address).
• Send us things that don’t follow our “Do’s”
• If You’re Accepted:We will send you confirmation of your acceptance or rejection via email. 
• By accepting our acceptance, you give Crow Name permission to publish your work. 
• You will retain all ownership and copyright to your work.
• We will copy-edit your work, and/or may ask for small revisions. 
• We retain the right to remove any work from our site at any time with or without notification. 

Submit:

Please note that submission constitutes an acceptance of our guidelines.
Please email crownamestudios@gmail.com to submit. Thanks!!

SummerWeen: A Radio Play Festival

Website

Deadline:  March 31, 2026 at 12:59pm
Or until they receive 75 submissions

SUBMISSION FORM

The Sidekick Troupe (TST) is currently accepting submissions for SummerWeen: A Radio Play Festival.

Calling all mythical beasts, beach bums, and everyone who considers themselves a writer! Come celebrate the perfect spooky/summer blend with us in SummerWeen, A Radio Play Festival! Have you always dreamed of writing your own Paranormal Activity? Got a parody of Creature From the Black Lagoon where he plays beach volleyball? Now’s your chance!

We want YOU to send us your scary or silly Halloween oriented radio play… as long as it’s spooky!

-Must be at least 10 minutes, and no longer than 15 minutes.

-Must be Halloween-oriented in theme or genre.

-NO AI GENERATED SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

The live readings will take place in Manhattan, New York in the Summer of 2026 through The Sidekick Troupe.

Please note that the show will be performed and recorded in front of an audience in NYC, the recording will be going on our (the Sidekick Troupe's) socials and streaming platforms. 

14th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival seeks monologues and one-act plays

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Mine 4 God Productions is accepting monologues and one-act plays that have diversity, inclusion, and equity of people of color characters for our 14th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival (CBTF) that will be held July 2nd, 3rd & 5th, 2026 at The Columbus Performing Arts Center Van Fleet Theatre, located in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

The theme for 2026 is Still Going Strong: Voices of Triumph! Our Founder/Artistic Director, Julie Whitney Scott, was given this theme, as usual, through prayer. It’s a theme that inspires hope and resilience in the face of trouble. The theme represents those that have continued to stay strong before, during, through and after personal storms have invaded their lives, and how they were victorious in the end. It must be a story that is a story and not a lecture to push your views on others. It must be about everyday people and their everyday lives and their voices of triumph.

The entries need to meet the following criteria:

1) No more than 6 characters (Actors can play double-roles if more needed.)

2) No derogatory, hate based, sexually explicit work will be reviewed or accepted.

3) Have minimal set/light requirements.

4) 15 to 20 minutes long for one-act plays. 5 to 10 minutes long for monologues.

5) Written blocking notes of the play can be rearranged by the director to meet venue space.

6) Submit in play format a titled script and a blind script without any identifying information, other than the title, in Time New Roman 12 font, normal spacing and Word Doc or PDF format.

7) Only one play submission per playwright.

8) Complete the submission entry form at www.mine4godproductions.com

Submissions are accepted December 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026. Submissions are free so don’t miss the deadline.

*Due to the number of plays received each year, you will not be notified unless your play is accepted. However, you can email us after March 15th, 2026, and we will be happy to give you feedback on your submission at mine4godproductionsllc@aol.com

The Horowitz-Sondheim Clinic offers affordable treatment to playwrights, composers, and lyricists of the theater

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*.

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)1.

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.

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.

 

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

DOWNLOAD THE PDF

 

[1] Secrest, Meryle. (2011). Stephen Sondheim: A Life. Penguin Random House.

* 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/

Playwright and professional script doctor Sarah Congress is offering 1x1 Writing Coaching

Whether you are a producer with a screenplay that needs reworking, a fiction writer in need of inspiration, or a new playwright, Sarah is here to help.

Visit Sarah's website to learn more and connect.

Script Services:

• Help clients get “out of their own way” and fully realize their work and writing potential
• Offer rewrite suggestions 
• Punch up jokes and humor
• Improve confidence 
• Fine-tune material to hook a reader’s interest
• Assist in networking, finding submission and publication opportunities as needed

Bio

Sarah Congress is a playwright and script doctor with West Coast representation. Her play "Last Sunrise" was produced by Nylon Fusion for their Gilded Age/Cage Festival at TADA Theatre (June, 2025). "Last Sunrise" was presented with writers John Patrick Shanley, Lyle Kessler, and Migdalia Cruz. Sarah’s play “Delulu” was a semifinalist for Centre Stage's 23rd Annual New Play Festival (1 of 40 plays from 800 submissions). "Delulu" received a reading at the Episcopal Actors' Guild this October and will be read at AWP Baltimore (published by Feels Blind Literary). She co-wrote the screenplay "I Can't Hear You!" which won BEST COMEDY in the 2024 Jersey Shore Film Festival. Her play “Overdose” won 2nd place for BEST SHORT in the 2023 Downtown Urban Arts Festival at Playwrights Horizons.

Teaching Experience

Sarah teaches writing classes for The Hudson Valley Writers Center, The Hoboken Historical Museum, The Knowledge Project, and Project Write Now.

Testimonials

"Writer's block is real! Sarah helped me get out of my own way. Through our relaxing conversations and visualization exercises, I was able to get out of my head. She's extremely positive and encouraging. We collaborated on my film script. She provided concise feedback and was able to punch up my script with her humor and poise, and bring it to the next level. As a result, my short film has been selected as a finalist in a film festival! I'm so grateful for Sarah's help. You can't go wrong trusting in Sarah!"

--- Caryn Whitman, CPA, CEO & President of Vasana Ventures

"I had a breakthrough in my playwriting after working with Sarah. Her coaching made me realize I had the bad habit of undermining the power of my words.. I saw that after she pointed out one line in my play BIG FAT BABY IN HIS MOTHER'S ARMS which I went on to rewrite immediately and submitted for a serious Playwrights Fellowship. Just yesterday I heard from the UCROSS Foundation that I am the Alternate Fellow in the event one of the winners cannot attend in Spring 2025. I am honored to be acknowledged for the Fellowship and thank Sarah for her important coaching. Sarah will have you grow as a playwright/screenwriter in front of her eyes."

---Tino Juarez, Playwright

"My biggest takeaway from last night is that anything can be made funny. That really dovetails beautifully with my deep gratitude for a healthy sense of humor, even in the darkest moments…."

---Gay Norton Edelman, Author/Editor

2026 JESSE L. KEARNEY BBM PLAYWRITING INITIATIVE

Website

Deadline: February 15, 2026 at 11:59pm

SUBMISSION FORM

The program is open to Black male-identifying playwrights (ages 18+) who are ready to take their original work to the next level. One selected playwright will receive:

• A $1,000 Honorarium.
• A 29-hour developmental reading of their original script.
• Professional Support: Access to a professional director and a cast of New York City actors.
• Industry Exposure: An invite-only staged reading held in New York City.

Applications must be submitted through the form linked on the official Black Broadway Men website. Interested playwrights can find full submission guidelines and the application form here: http://www.BlackBroadwayMen.org/jlkplaywriting

Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals. Early submissions are highly encouraged as the organization continues its mission to uplift and empower Black male voices within the theater community. Committee chairs: Ahmad Simmons & Calvin M. Thompson.

Email: info@BLACKBROADWAYMEN.com

There’s something for everyone at The Playwrights Group

There’s something for everyone at TPG!

Script Consultations

If have a script you want 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.

 
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

Please visit our website for further Info and Rates: 

www.theplaywrightsgroup.com

Contact us at 

scripts@theplaywrightsgroup.com

Audacious Owl Theater Festival for NYC-based playwrights and producers

Instagram

Deadline: March 6, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

The 2nd annual Audacious Owl Theatre Festival from June 16th-June 21st at the Chain Theatre as a part of their Factory Series.

We are seeking "bold stories that investigates the nuances of what it means to be alive".

Any genre is acceptable, as long as it is new work. 

In the application please send the most up to date script, as well as a short biography of yourself and what type of art you are committed and interested in putting into the world. 

You will be informed of your acceptance by March 14th at which time you will then send the agreement and “Participation Fee.”

 Each show is guaranteed 2 performances and a portion of the ticket sales. You will act as your show’s lead producer, with us providing the space and personnel, so you will need to be based in NYC or have a producer based here. 

Due to limited time, we can only accept one play per playwright at this time. 

Plays can be 10 pages maximum and have 2-4 actors. Submissions due by March 6th.

Pages in Paris Writing Residency seeks one-act plays

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Six 1 Acts will be selected and produced in a black-box theatre production in Los Angeles by the Sixty-Six Theater Co.

And then what?

One playwright will be selected by a committee to attend a 2 week Writing Residency at the Le Studio D’Art in Paris, France!

Details:

• You must be at least 18 years of age to qualify.
• Play length cannot exceed 30 minutes.
• Writers can submit up to two 1 Acts for consideration.
• Submitted plays should be unpublished work. 
• Selected 1 Acts will be staged in a black box theatre production in collaboration with selected Writers, Directors, and Actors.
• Writers must be available for the duration of the development workshop in Los Angeles (more details to come).
• Residency selection will be based on writing, collaboration, and development potential.

Important Dates:

Submission Deadline: February 28th, 2026
Selected One Acts Announced: March 13th
Development Workshop: March 13th-April 13th
Tech Rehearsal: April 13th
Show Dates: April 14, 15, 16.

Residency Dates: Fall 2026

The selected writer will receive round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Paris, plus two weeks accommodation during their stay.

The writer will collaborate with Le Studio D'Art and continue to develop their 1 Act in a 2 week writing residency with actors and directors.

BLACK WOMAN GENIUS ~ GENIUS by Kenndall Wallace

Born and raised in Detroit, Kenndall Wallace's plays feature predominantly Black casts - challenging, celebrating, and uplifting the Black community. She was an inaugural member of the Black Playwrights' Gathering in Washington, D.C., a 2025 Torch Literary Arts Fellow, an LTA one-act playwriting award winner, a top 30 playwright for the 50th Concord Off-Off Broadway Festival, and was a recent member of Dramatic Question Theatre's Classics in Color Cohort.

LINKS + SOCIAL MEDIA

• https://newplayexchange.org/users/85261/kenndall-wallace
• https://www.instagram.com/anxieball/?hl=en

ABOUT THE MONOLOGUE

'Genius' came about after I'd read about and experienced the phenomenon of Black Fatigue in professional spaces. Through 'Genius', I wanted to shine a light on how important it is that we take time to honor Black women for who they are rather than what they can provide for society, while also celebrating Black love by imbuing the monologue with a sense of tenderness. 'Genius' balances social critique with emotional vulnerability, and I'm both incredibly proud of the work and honored that it's a semi-finalist for the BLACK WOMAN GENIUS project.  

EXCERPT FROM GENIUS

     ~ Excerpt published by permission, all rights held by the playwright.

Let me melt into your arms like beeswax on hot gas stoves

Until parts of me start escaping into the pores of your body,

And your skin shields me from the gazes of those who don’t deserve to even look at me.

Let me be soft around you,

Drop my guard around you,

Let me be myself without expectation or social obligation when I’m all wrapped up in you.

‘Cause sometimes, lover, smart girls don’t wanna be smarter.

And hard-working girls don’t wanna work harder.

Sometimes, they want rest, and ease, and a soft place to perch themselves on as they fly higher onward, A voice that says ‘I love you even when you’re not working’,

Embraces that say ‘I support you in times of denouement’,

Eyes that say ‘I see you when everyone else just sees what you do ’.

So love me, and support me, and see me,

And let me rest right here, just for the night,

With you.

Royal Family Productions William and Enid Hairston Artist Fellowship 2026

Website

Deadline: February 15, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Royal Family Productions is proud to announce a 2026 artist fellowship in partnership with Ann Hairston, honoring the legacy of her father, William R. Hairston Jr. — a trailblazing Black actor, playwright, and cultural leader whose career spanned stage, screen, and public service.

To honor that legacy, Ann Hairston is funding the William and Enid Hairston Artist Fellowship, which will support one Black female playwright in creating a one-woman show centered on Black joy. Writers working across all genres are welcome to apply, with a special emphasis on genre-based storytelling (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and beyond).

The fellowship includes a development period and a public presentation of the work-in-progress in Manhattan, hosted by Royal Family Productions in April, 2026.

Applications are currently open, and close February 15th, 2026. Applicants should submit a three- to five-sentence idea for a play that meets the stipulations, along with a resume and a past writing sample. This fellowship is open to new and established playwrights, solo performers, and any other type of writer or writer/actor. When complete, the play should run 55–80 minutes. Finalists will meet with Ms. Hairston and the selection committee on Zoom, after which the inaugural fellow will be chosen. This fellowship comes with a $1,000 stipend for the playwright.

2026 Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize (9th Edition)

Website

Deadline: April 30, 2026

Send your submission to info@premiocarloannoni.eu

The Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize is now open for submissions with topics concerning the LGBTQ+ community, including love, diversity, and identity in a time of gender fluidity

Submissions of any length are accepted: full-length plays, as well as short plays, 10 minutes, including those already performed.

1000 € Awarded to the two best plays (English and Italian), ceremony in Milan, September 2026, and special jury mentions on multiple categories.

Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

Email a completed script for consideration to Mike@theatrixusa.org.

The inaugural Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival announces a call for submissions for staged readings of LGBTQ+ themed plays to be presented as part of the 2026 Festival, alongside a bold slate of fully produced works. This groundbreaking festival is dedicated to fearless storytelling, artistic excellence, and amplifying LGBTQ+ voices—past, present, and emerging—through theatre that challenges, illuminates, and endures.

Playwrights are invited to submit completed scripts that center on LGBTQ+ lives, history, identity, resistance, love, and legacy. Selected staged readings will be showcased within the festival’s dynamic programming, offering playwrights meaningful exposure, live audience engagement, and the opportunity to have their work presented in conversation with major full productions anchoring the festival.

The Lavender Hill Cultural District Theatre Festival is more than a performance series—it is a gathering place for artists, audiences, and community, celebrating work that is urgent, human, and unapologetically authentic. We are especially interested in plays that push boundaries, reclaim silenced stories, and spark dialogue long after the curtain falls.

Submission Instructions:

 Submission deadline February 28, 2026. Selected playwrights will receive a $100 honorarium.

Join us in shaping a festival that honors LGBTQ+ stories with courage, compassion, and uncompromising artistry—and help launch a new cultural tradition in 2026.

Unexpected Connections 10-minute play festival

Website

Deadline: February 26, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM


Unexpected Connections is a 10-minute play festival produced by CSCT (Gan Haim, Israel), dedicated to celebrating the surprising, funny, tender, and transformative ways people connect. Through short, bold storytelling, we create space for laughter, empathy, and shared humanity, reminding us that connection often appears when we least expect it.

Now we’re inviting you to be part of it. We are seeking original 10-minute plays that capture connections that are funny, tender, absurd, surprising, and deeply human. A panel will select eight standout works to be fully showcased at the festival. If you have a story that sparks recognition, curiosity, or laughter and lingers long after the lights fade, this is your moment. Submit your play and let your voice take center stage.

RULES OF SUBMISSION

1. Any play submission must come directly from the original playwright/author of the play.
2. A maximum of three plays may be submitted by the same author.
3. Your play must fit the theme – UNEXPECTED CONNECTIONS – or it will not be considered.
4. Keep your play under ten minutes in length. If the selected play runs over 10 minutes, the director and producers reserve the right to edit the script to meet the 10-minute requirement. Author will be contacted in advance. 
5. We require internet submissions in PDF format ONLY.
6. We are looking for new, original plays. 
7. Your play must contain at least two (2) characters, but no more than four (4).
8. Your play should consist mainly of dialogue, not monologues.
9. No children’s plays or musicals.
10. Your play must be written in English.
11. Minimum props, set, lighting and sound cues.
12. We will announce the plays selected for the festival by 8th March. 
13. Center Stage Community Theater will select directors for each selected play.
14. Center Stage Community Theater will advertise the 10-Minute Play Festival via their website, social media and press releases. The website will include a short synopsis of each play, author bio and link to author website and/or social media.
15. No royalties or payment will be provided to playwrights should their play be chosen for the festival.
16. There is NO FEE for the author to submit a play or to participate in the 10-Minute Play Festival.
17. There is NO COMPENSATION for author/director/cast member(s).
18. Eight (8) works will be selected and presented at the festival which will take place 16-18 June at the Eshkol Pais in Ra'anana.

BLACK WOMAN GENIUS ~ I AM FIRE by Elizabeth Nafula

Elizabeth Nafula is a passionate playwright, storyteller and performer. Her plays and monologues have appeared in Lolwe, Kinsman Avenue Publishing, Journal of African Youth Literature, and Shabach Enterprise. She has earned recognition from the Flow Monologue Festival, Theatre Roulette, Purple Crayons, and Playwrights Round Table, with her script recently celebrated for its originality by Reels Script.

Elizabeth fell in love with theatre early on, and her work often dances on the line between heartfelt drama and the unexpected twists that make audiences smile. She brings together language and drama with academic ties to the University of Eldoret, Moi University, Wits University, the University of Cape Town, the University of New York, and the American Library in Paris. Wherever there’s theatre, she’s home.

Links: 

Lolwe
https://lolwe.org
A Culinary Prelude - Elizabeth Nafula

The Journal of African Youth Literature
https://jaylit.com
Drama

ABOUT THE MONOLOGUE

I Am Fire centers on Ida B. Wells in her mid-twenties, during a single late night in Memphis, after racial violence and the destruction of her press. Sitting alone at her desk, surrounded by unfinished pages and the sound of approaching danger, Ida weighs the cost of publishing what she knows against the consequences of staying silent. She thinks about the people she has lost, the threats gathering outside her door, and the reality that her words have already made her a target. Writing is no longer a choice driven by ambition but it is the only response she has left. As the night deepens, fear gives away to action. Ida decides to leave Memphis, not to disappear, but to continue her work elsewhere. Though her press has been destroyed, her reporting has not. She carries her words with her, determined to keep speaking publicly, even as the danger follows. 

EXCERPT FROM I AM FIRE

     ~ Excerpt published by permission, all rights held by the playwright.

                 IDA                    

 

(The crowd murmuring grows louder outside. Ida freezes, glances toward the window.) 

 

Oh, they're out there. I hear them. Brave men needing torches to fight a woman with a type writer. Imagine that! 

 

(Ida exhales, steels herself, and starts packing papers frantically into the drawer.) 

 

I knew this would happen.

You can't whisper when your friends are hanging from trees.  

 

    (Spotlight flashes red. Ida stops, straightens) 

 

They burned my words. But they forgot one thing... 

 

    (Ida steps forward, voice rising like thunder) 

 

You can burn paper... but not the truth. 

 

(Ida slams her hand on the desk. The typewriter bell dings once. Lights shift to blue calm. She pulls out a folded letter.) 

 

Chicago's calling. I'll go. I'll write louder, until the ink starts marching 

 

    (Ida laughs breathlessly) 

 

They think they chased me out, but they just gave me legs.

WP Theater 2026-2028 LAB open for submissions

Website

Deadline: February 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET

PLEASE VISIT OUR SUBMITTABLE SITE TO APPLY.YOU MAY ONLY APPLY TO ONE DISCIPLINE PER LAB CYCLE.

• Hard copy applications will not be accepted
• Emailed applications will not be accepted.
• If you have specific questions, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org after reading the Frequently Asked Questions section below. No phone calls, or emailed applications please.

WP Theater is looking for early to mid-career playwrights, directors, and producers, who crave an artistic home, a cohort of collaborators, professional support, and the resources to launch them into the next phase of their careers to be a part of the Heidi Thomas Initiative WP Theater Lab.

The Lab provides up to fifteen artists with community, a vital professional network, entrepreneurial and leadership skills, free rehearsal space, and, most significantly, tangible opportunities for the development of bold new work for the stage.Applications are open January 12 – February 20, 2026.


Is the Lab the right fit for you?

The Lab is for early to mid career theater professionals, who are eager to deepen their understanding of how to develop new work, using collaboration skills while also learning how to best leverage given resources.As a director, this program is for you if you have an appetite for play, a commitment to dramaturgy in the early stages of a work’s development, and you look forward to crafting stories with a new team of artists. This program is for you, if you are looking to join a community of directors at a similar stage of their career and excited for seasoned mentors to share industry knowledge, resources, and skills.As a producer, this program is for you if you enjoy working in teams, imagining new systems of storytelling, and are eager to build those systems with others. This program is for you if you have an appetite for creating balance between the resources a story needs in order to be told and the tangible/ financial resources of the production.

As a writer, this program is for you if you crave dramaturgical input and creative collaboration both from a director and producer, and if you’re ready to collaborate with storytellers in other mediums to deepen your work. This program is for you, if you’re looking for practical skills in how to strategically and holistically develop your work.

LAB STRUCTURE:

Meetings:

The lab consists of two monthly meetings–one full Lab meeting for all three cohorts on the first Monday evening of the month, and a separate, discipline-specific meeting, usually on the second Monday of the month. These meetings are mandatory, and attendance at all meetings is the optimum means to get the most out of your Lab experience.

You will be given the full Lab meeting and Pipeline Festival schedule at the time of your interview, if you advance to the finalist round..

Year One:

Participants will spend the first six months of the lab engaging in cohort- building activities to allow the artists to get to know one another as individuals and artistic practitioners, including collaboration work, skills-building, and career strategy sessions. It is imperative that participants prioritize attendance in these monthly lab meetings, as multiple absences will result in participants missing key building components that would prevent them from gaining the most from the lab experience.

In the second half of the first year, we will sort the Lab into writer/director/producer pods, and devote significant time to building the bonds and collaborative skills within each pod.

Year Two/Pipeline Festival:

Each pod will spend the remainder of the lab developing a new work together that will culminate in a showing in the Pipeline Festival reading series. The goal of the festival is to give producers, directors, and playwrights the collaborative tools to successfully develop new work in the theater industry. The resulting Pipeline Festival reading series will present this new work to New York audiences and industry professionals. The producers, in partnership with directors and writers, will shape the festival based on the artistic development needs of each project, with budgetary and in-house physical resources from WP, under the AEA 29 Hour Reading Guidelines.

If you have specific questions, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org after reading the Frequently Asked Questions section below. No phone calls, or emailed applications please.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY:

• Must be an artist living within 90 minutes of WP Theater via car or rail.
• Must be able to attend evening meetings at WP Theater twice a month from October 2026 to May 2028, as well as other events throughout the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 seasons, such as previews, performances, retreats, and other special events at WP. 
• Must be available for the 2026 Pipeline Festival (March – May, 2028).
• Regular attendance is mandatory and therefore applicants should view the program as a two-year-long commitment. Lab meetings will be in person.
• Must not currently be in an undergraduate program.
• Must be aged 21 or over.
• Must be available for either an in person or virtual interview.

THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS WILL:

• Receive a stipend of $4,000 on salary, for each year of Lab participation ($8,000 total).
• Participate in a monthly full lab meeting led by WP Artistic Staff and Lab Liaisons.
• Participate in a monthly discipline-specific meeting led by a mentor in their field.
• Participate in events and conversations led by established artists and leaders in the field.
• Receive complimentary tickets to WP shows, invited dress rehearsals and other special events.
• Receive artistic support and professional development guidance from the artistic staff.
• Participate in The Pipeline Festival, a reading series of five new plays, written, directed and produced by the WP Lab, to be presented in the spring of the second year of the residency.
• Receive access to WP’s rehearsal space at no cost, when space is not in use

For further clarification of Requirements for Eligibility, please see the Frequently Asked Questions section below.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

All applicants must submit the following:

• Current resume or CV
• One page statement or video (5 minutes or less) that describes your artistic vision. Video (max 5 minutes) of you speaking, telling us who you are as an artist, your artistic vision, and the specific processes behind it. Help us understand who you are as a theatermaker!
• One short essay answer detailing why being a part of the Lab is useful to you at this moment in your career.
• One short essay answer describing how you approach new collaborations and what meaningful artistic collaboration means to you.
• A list of 3 professional references, including title/affiliation, phone and email.

Playwrights:

In a separate PDF, the full length script most representative of your work.

• The play must be at least 60 pages long, and must be a completed draft, though it need not be a final draft.
• You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.

Directors:

• Share an image or video sample of your work that represents a moment you are proud of. Please share a description of why this moment is meaningful to you.
• A list of upcoming productions, workshops, readings and other projects with dates, venues, and your role.
• You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.
• ProducersA list of upcoming productions, workshops, readings and other projects with dates, venues, and your role.
• You may also include a link to your website, or other online resources.
• Production Videos/Photos – You may provide up to 3 short videos or photos of recent work. Additional materials should not exceed 3 pages and may include reviews (no excerpts) and photos with descriptions.
• Hard copy applications will not be accepted.
• Emailed applications will not be accepted.

All materials will be reviewed by a panel of theater professionals. 

For further clarification of materials required for application, please see the Frequently Asked Questions Section below.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What kind of conflicts would make me ineligible?

We accept that every artist will miss one or two meetings, but if you know now that you will be missing more than two meetings during the lab dates, you should not apply. Applicants should view the program as a two-year-long commitment. We will only accept applicants who can take full advantage of the program.

I’m not available for an in-person interview—may I still apply?

We will be conducting in person interviews, but may be able to interview applicants virtually if needed. If you have a limited conflict in regards to attending twice monthly meetings, please make note of such conflicts in your application. We will try to accommodate such situations on a case-by-case basis.

When will the monthly meetings be held?

We will provide a schedule of meetings for finalists at the interview, so you need not worry about this question at the application stage.

If I am selected for the group and then my eligibility status changes, would I be automatically suspended from the program?

No, we will handle this situation on a case-by-case basis. Please do not let such a concern keep you from applying.

What kind of resume should I submit?

Your resume should list all readings, workshops or productions. Your resume should also include any other relevant theater experience.

If I can’t decide between two plays or have an additional writing sample that I am very proud of, may I include more than one play with my application?

No, we only read one play per applicant, so please only submit one writing sample. Submit the sample that you are the most excited to share with our readers.

May I send in music along with the book of my musical?

Please do, and give credit to the composer and lyricist.

Is there an age limit? Are you looking for young writers?

We ask that applicants be 21 and older, but beyond that, there is no age limit. We would be glad to admit a talented artist of any age into the program. The program is meant to support early and mid-career artists, but artists may begin their careers at any age.

Will you let me know that you received my application?

Yes, we will email you once we have processed your application.

May I follow-up with you about my application status?

Yes, please email wplab[at]wptheater.org.

If I have had some contact with a WP staff member, would it be better to contact them directly with my question rather than write to wplab[at]wptheater.org?

No, please write to wplab[at]wptheater.org, but feel free to mention any contact with a WP staff member in your email.

Thank you for your interest in the Lab—we look forward to your application!

Apply here for the Lab! Application deadline is February 20 at 11:59 pm ET.

Social Justice Shorts 2026

Website

Deadline: March 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm

Submission Form

Please complete this form to submit your unpublished 10-minute play or monologue for consideration in our 2026 Social Justice Shorts Festival, produced by A Call to Conscience Interactive Theater for Social Change and Bread & Roses Missouri. Our deadline for submissions is March 1, 2026 at 11:59 pm. 

The Social Justice Shorts Festival will be June 4-7 in St. Louis, Missouri at a venue to be announced. You must use this form to submit your play, email submissions will not be reviewed.

Seeking 10-minute short plays and monologues centered around the following suggested themes:

● LGBTQIA+ & Transgender Rights
● Healthcare Justice (including Mental Health)
● Economic Justice/Workers’ Rights
● Immigrant/Refugee Justice
● Reproductive Justice

Storytelling must be rich in self-expression and theatrical imagination. Playwrights may live in
any part of the country, and St. Louis-based playwrights are strongly encouraged to submit.

Plays featuring a cast of one to three actors will be accepted (plays with more than three actors will not be considered). Playwrights are welcome to submit solo performance pieces. Plays longer than 10 minutes will NOT be considered. Published plays will also not be considered. Limited set, props and technical requirements are strongly preferred.

Only one submission from a playwright may be submitted, please do not submit multiple plays for consideration.

Please direct all questions to Fannie Lebby, Artistic Director of A Call to Conscience at fanniec2c@gmail.com.

Play Troupe of Port Washington seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: March 1, 2026

Or after they receive 120 submissions

DO NOT SEND - THEY HAVE MET THEIR 120 submission max.

Script Format: PDF only

The Port Washington Play Troupe is accepting submissions for our 10-minute play festival to be performed at the Port Washington Public Library in May 2026.

Theme: Fork in the Road. Plays should explore moments of choice, change, consequence, or pivotal life decisions.

Plays may be comedic or dramatic and should have between 2 and 6 characters.

Full production as part of a curated 10-minute play festival

A committee will select seven (7) plays.
Each selected play will be assigned a director.

Performances will take place May 29 and May 30 at the Port Washington Public Library.
This is a free event open to the public.

Playwrights local to Long Island are preferred, but submissions from all locations will be accepted.

Playwrights may submit up to two (2) plays; however, no more than one (1) play per playwright may be selected.

Final selections will be announced by mid-March.

All submitters will be notified via email.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PortWashingtonPlayTroupe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pwplaytroupe/

Black Girlz Productions Call for Submissions: Love Letters to Black Women

Website

Deadline: March 15, 2026

Submission Method: Email entries to blackgirlzproductions@gmail.com.

Theme: Love Letters to Black Women

This call celebrates the beauty, strength, resilience, and brilliance of Black women everywhere. Writers, poets, and creatives are invited to submit heartfelt love letters that honor, uplift, and affirm Black women in all their forms—mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, lovers, leaders, and dreamers.

*Letters will be read at our virtual event. Small honorarium for selected writers and readers*

Format: Letters, poems, monologues, short prose (no word count)
Tone: Authentic, loving, and empowering.
Eligibility: Open to everyone.
Submission Limit: 2

Follow us on twitter and Instagram @blkgirlz12
www.blackgirlzproductions.com

BLACK WOMAN GENIUS ~ THE PAUSE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING by Robert Csoma

Robert Csoma is an amateur playwright. He won first prize in an American theater’s monthly playwriting competition in April 2025. Some of his short plays were published in drama anthologies in Fall 2025. One of his short plays was produced in October, 2025 in London, UK, and two of his short plays will be performed in the US in the spring of 2026.

ABOUT THE MONOLOGUE

The Pause That Changes Everything reframes genius not as spectacle, but as self-possession. When Black woman athlete Simone Biles paused “mid-Olympics,” she explained that she “didn’t want to jeopardize the team or her health” and needed to focus on her mental well-being. The outcome proved her decision’s wisdom: Team USA won silver in the team event, and Biles later returned to compete in the balance beam final, earning a bronze medal. What the world initially read as an interruption was revealed to be intelligence, agency, and courage. (Biles has won a total of 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals, making her the most decorated gymnast in history.).

If you enjoy a monologue published in the BLACK WOMAN GENIUS project, we encourage you to reach out to the playwright to tell them so. If the playwright has not included an email address or website, let us know at info@nycplaywrights.org and we'll pass along your message.

EXCERPT FROM THE PAUSE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

     ~ Excerpt published by permission, all rights held by the playwright.

                 WOMAN                    

 

They call us “strong,” like we’re made of steel. 

Baby, we’re made of light. 

Light bends - it never breaks. 

 

        (stands taller, grin widening)  

 

So yeah, I’m a genius. 

Not lightning-bolt genius. 

Everyday genius. 

The kind that flips expectations midair - lands - smiles. 

 

           (raises mug) 

 

Now, if you’ll excuse me… 

I’ve got another law of physics to break.