October Online Classes at Primary Stages ESPA!

 It’s not too late to dive into your play this Fall! October online classes at Primary Stages ESPA are open for enrollment! Whether you’re looking to gain the fundamentals of playwriting, start a first draft, or rewrite a play you’ve been working on, we have the class for you. Plus, we’ve added a NEW MORNING SESSION of First Draft with Winter Miller!

FUNDAMENTALS OF PLAYWRITING

with Nikkole Salter (Writer, Pulitzer Prize-Nominated In the Continuum; Actor, The Great Society on Broadway)

Build a toolbox of the fundamentals, so your first play (and each play you write after that!) can be built on a strong foundation.

Thursdays from 6:00pm – 9:00pm ET

Starts October 1

THE FIRST DRAFT

This class will guide you through the development of your first draft, providing concrete deadlines, constructive feedback, and a collaborative environment to get your ideas on the page.

with Adam Kraar (Writer, Wild Terrain at EST)

Tuesdays from 6:30pm – 9:30pm ET

Starts October 6

NEW SECTION ADDED! with Winter Miller (Writer, In Darfur at The Public Theater, No One Is Forgotten at Rattlestick)

Wednesdays from 10:00am – 1:00pm ET

Starts October 7

REWRITING YOUR DRAFT

with Suzanne Bradbeer (Writer, Confederates (Kilroys Honorable Mention)

As soon as you finish your last line of dialogue, the need for rewrites begins. This class will help you tackle the revision process and develop a stronger version of your play.

Instructors: 

Sundays from 3:00pm – 6:00pm ET

Starts October 4

Start and end dates vary. Click here for the full list of writing classes.

Our award-winning faculty, comprised of working professionals in the field, provides practical skills and expert guidance in a collaborative community atmosphere. 

Primary Stages ESPA provides students easy and convenient payment plans to break up tuition. For more information, call 212.840.9705 x215 or email espa@primarystages.org.

American Stage’s 21st Century Voices: Emerging Plays 2021

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Deadline: October 16, 2020

We are now accepting submissions for the American Stage’s 21st Century Voices: 2021 New Play Festival.

American Stage is committed to producing powerful and relevant professional live theatre. Our 21st Century Voices is an initiative dedicated to developing and presenting new works for the stage that speak to a contemporary audience in fresh and compelling ways. 21st Century Voices programming includes an annual staged reading festival, workshopping of new scripts, playwriting residencies and fully produced new plays receiving one of their first three professional productions at American Stage.
21st Century Voices: New Play Festival Submissions

This year, we are seeking submissions of new plays exploring themes of mental illness, wellness and resilience. Plays on these themes should examine characters grappling with, learning about or advancing in their own mental health or the mental health of someone they love. Our intention is to shine a spotlight on mental health and to contribute to the destigmatization of mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), almost half of all American adults (46.4%) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. Mental Health America reports that anxiety and depression is up by nearly 400% since January 2020. With the social isolation due to COVID, the need for connection to mental health resources as well as the need for compassion and education around mental health are greater than ever.

American Stage is interested in probing the individual experience as well as society’s perception of wellness and the mental health industry. We are also interested in plays that can be performed flexibly since the festival will potentially be offered as hybrid performances, with both onsite and virtual readings. The festival may also include panels and workshops on mental health, presented by experts in the field. Submissions will be accepted now through October 16, 2020.

Submission guidelines for the American Stage’s 21st Century Voices: 2021 New Play Festival are as follows:

• Plays must be full-length in any genre: comedy, drama, multimedia, etc. Musicals will not be accepted at this time.
• Translations, collections of one-acts, children’s plays and any play that has received more than two full-scale, professional productions prior to submission are not eligible.
• Plays that have had workshops, readings or non-professional productions are still eligible.
• Plays with casts larger than 8 people will not be considered at this time.
• Only one submission per playwright is allowed each year.
• Plays with flexibility for performance in a digital and in-person setting are preferred.
• The Selection Process 

American Stage’s competitive selection process consists of two rounds of selection. All 10-page play excerpts submitted during the first round are reviewed by a committee of theatre artists and arts advocates. In the second round, selected playwrights are asked to provide a full manuscript of their play for consideration by the committee. Finally, American Stage invites up to five playwrights to have their work included in 21st Century Voices: New Play Festival in January 2021.
Playwrights invited to participate in our 21st Century Voices: New Play Festival will receive a $250 stipend.

How to Apply

Email your complete submission package to 21stCenturyVoices@americanstage.org by October 16, 2020. Please include the following information in one attached PDF file, not in the body of your email. Please do not attach multiple files. Complete submission packages must include:

• Your contact information;
• Your playwriting resume;
• Title of the play; Character breakdown and description (please include total number of characters); Time and place of the play; Synopsis (no longer than 1 page); and a concise paragraph (no longer than 1 page) describing the development history of the play you are submitting;
• A statement describing why your play is a good fit for American Stage’s 21st Century Voices’ mission to develop and present powerful plays that speak to a contemporary audience in a fresh and compelling way and our 2021 focus on works exploring themes of mental illness, wellness and resilience
• A ten page sample of the play.

Full manuscripts and incomplete submission packages will not be considered.

2020-2021 Deadlines

For consideration in our 21st Century Voices: New Play Festival, American Stage is accepting submissions by October 16, 2020. Requests for full manuscripts will be made by November 9, 2020.

Only completed submission packages emailed to 21stCenturyVoices@americanstage.org by October 16, 2020 at midnight EST will be considered.

Thank you for your interest!

Fresh Ink Call for Plays

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Deadline: December 1, 2020 12:00pm (noon) Central Time 

SCRIPT SUBMISSION FORM

The Public Theater of San Antonio

• There is no submission fee
• Only the first 50 submissions will be considered
• Two scripts will be selected to each receive 4 performances at The Public Theater in June, 2021
• Winners will be announced April 1, 2021
• Playwrights of selected works will receive $300 or 7% of the ticket proceeds to performances of their work, whichever is greater
Submission Criteria

• We encourage entries by U.S. playwrights of any race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

• Musicals are not eligible at this time.

• Plays intended for young audiences are not eligible at this time.

• Submissions may have had readings but not have had a prior production.

• Submissions must be in standard format: 12-point font, standard font such as Times New Roman or Courier.

• Submissions must be written in English.

• Submissions must be "blind" with no playwright identification anywhere within the uploaded file.

• Cast size is limited to 1 for the 2020-2021 Season (Please note the 1 cast member may play multiple roles.) 

• Anticipated run time must be no less than 50 minutes and no more than 120 minutes

• Professional submissions please. Edit for spelling, punctuation and grammar. Use standard play formatting. If in doubt please use Dramatist’s Guild guidelines, found at the following link 

https://www.dramatistsguild.com/sites/default/files/2020-01/General-SFIFormatting-Guidelines-Complete.pdf

MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIPS IN PLAYWRITING

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Deadline: January 14, 2021

The McKnight Foundation, a family foundation based in Minnesota, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. The McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting recognizes and supports mid-career playwrights living and working in Minnesota who demonstrate a sustained body of work, commitment, and artistic excellence. The fellowship, which runs July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022, includes: a $25,000 stipend, an additional $2,500 to support a play development workshop and other professional expenses, and $1,400 in travel funds. Past recipients include: Carlyle Brown, Lisa D'Amour, Barbara Field, Keli Garrett, Marvin González De León, Jeffrey Hatcher, Christina Ham, Tori Sampson, Carson Kreitzer, May Lee-Yang, Kira Obolensky, Harrison David Rivers, Stacey Rose, and Rhiana Yazzie.

Applicants must reside in and have the legal right to work in the U.S. during the fellowship term. Applicants must have been continuous residents of Minnesota since January 14, 2020, and must maintain residency in Minnesota during the fellowship year. Applicants must have a minimum of one work fully produced by a professional theater at the time of application. Recipients of 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 McKnight Artist Fellowships in any discipline are not eligible. Full-time students are not eligible. Staff and board members of the McKnight Foundation and the Playwrights' Center and their immediate family members are not eligible. Fellowship recipients may not receive any other Playwrights' Center fellowships, grants, or Core Writer program benefits during the grant year. If a recipient is a Core Writer, the Core term will be extended by one year. Applicants may only apply for one McKnight Artist Fellowship each year in any discipline

Each application will contain the following pieces:

-Application Form (including contact details, eligibility, and demographic information)

-Playwriting Resume
Please note clearly which productions listed on your resume (if any) meet the criteria for being "fully produced by a professional theater." Professional productions are defined as productions for which the author and primary artists (actors, directors, and creative collaborators) were reasonably compensated and that received at least three public performances each. Ten-minute or one-act plays and university, college, secondary school, amateur, and Equity showcase/waiver productions are not considered full professional productions. Productions that open after January 14, 2021 do not count.

-Artistic Statement
Use this statement to describe your artistic goals and vision as a theater maker. This is also an opportunity to provide context for the play you submitted and discuss how it fits into your larger body of work and how you envision your work developing.

-Full-length play script
A full-length play generally runs at least one hour. All script submissions must be written only by the applicant—no cowritten submissions will be accepted. Scripts for musicals may submitted by the book writer only. If you have previously received a McKnight Artist Fellowship, this script must have been completed after that fellowship year.

-References
Please list two individuals who are familiar with your work as a playwright and who we may contact during the evaluation process.

Questions may be addressed to Artistic Programs Manager Julia Brown at juliab@pwcenter.org.

Note: You will need to make a SlideRoom account in order to apply. If you are a Playwrights' Center member, your PWC login will not automatically log you in to SlideRoom—they are two different systems. If you already have a SlideRoom account, you should be able to access the application using your existing login.

For a video tutorial on using SlideRoom, please click here.

Applications for the 2021-22 McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting is due Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Fifth Avenue Theatre of New York Virtual Fall 2020 Play Festival seeks 10-minute plays

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Deadline: October 31. 2020

Submissions are now being accepted for the Fifth Avenue Theatre of New York Virtual Fall 2020 Play Festival, to take place in November 2020.

Seeking short plays (no more than 10 pp/minutes), from playwrights from across New York City and surrounding areas.

Also seeking monologues (no more than 4pp/minutes). Musicals welcome! 

One submission per playwright. 

No unpleasant profanity, as this is a family friendly festival! 

No submission fee. 

Please include name, address, telephone number and email address on your submission. We do not produce your work, we provide a venue for you to present actors performing your play virtually. 

There are no costs involved for anyone. Seeking actors and directors, too! 

Send your submission to fifthavenuetheatre@gmail.com for more information.

 Links to videos of your plays will be posted to our website for viewing and voting.

CRANFORD CREATIONS One Act Play Festival

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Deadline: October 3, 2020

CALLING ALL PLAYWRIGHTS! SUBMISSIONS WANTED for a brand new one act play Festival in New Jersey.

Play submissions are free. 

Please submit your plays today to: cdccranfordcreations@gmail.com

All play entries are due Oct. 3, 2020.

Plays must be between 10 – 20 minutes in length and should be formatted in standard Courier 12pt. font. The festival producers reserve the right to request that playwrights make alterations to the script as necessary for the purposes of length. CDC Theatre is committed to the idea of presenting a play festival that allows for a variety of voices from our community to be heard. All playwrights are welcome to submit. Minority and LGBTQ+ playwright submissions are strongly encouraged.

Link with all information.
http://www.cdctheatre.org/one-act-play-festival.html

The Robert J. Pickering / J.R. Colbeck Award for Playwriting Excellence

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Deadline: December 31, 2020

Coldwater, Michigan

This annual award was established to honor past member and playwright, Bob Pickering, and to provide a vehicle for playwrights to see their works produced. Over 30 plays have been produced over since 1984. In 2020, the award was renamed to also honor longtime BCCT member and Pickering director, J.R. Colbeck. $200 is awarded for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place.
Deadline:

Manuscripts must be received by December 31st
Types of plays accepted

Full length, unproduced plays and musicals. Children’s plays accepted. Unable to return without a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Selection Process:

Chairman and committee members read and review each entry and select ten finalists from which the first, second and third place winners are chosen.
Production:

Branch County Community Theatre reserves the right and agrees to produce the first place winner in this yearly competition. First place winners are required to sign a production contract.
Production House:

BCCT productions are staged in the historic Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater, Michigan. Built in 1882, Tibbits is a completely restored 500-seat proscenium theater.

Send submissions to:
Branch County Community Theatre
14 S. Hanchett St.
Coldwater, MI 49036

LAKESHORE PLAYERS THEATRE 17th ANNUAL TEN-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS

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Deadline: November 15, 2020

Lakeshore Players Theatre is now accepting submission of 10-minute plays for its 2020-2021 season's contest. The ten winners of the contest will be performed for our 17th Annual Festival, in the spring of 2021. Play submissions will be accepted through November 15, 2020.

ALL PLAYWRIGHTS

Please read the following rules and requirements carefully. Plays not meeting the requirements will be disqualified:

•The play should be approximately ten-minutes in length.

•The play must have no more than five on-stage (speaking or non-speaking) characters.

•You may submit only one play, so send us your best! Please do not make more than one

submission.

•The play should be in a "play format" making it easy for the readers. (We suggest 12-point, easy to

read fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial)

•The play must be unpublished and unproduced at the time of submission to our contest. We DO

screen for this, so do not send us your play if it has been produced. Staged readings are not

counted as "produced." However, if you have had a staged reading of the play, please let us know

so that we do not accidentally disqualify it.

•Submitting your play to our contest grants Lakeshore Players the right to produce your play in our

annual festival and photograph and/or videotape it for archival purposes if it is chosen as a winner.

HIGH SCHOOL PLAYWRIGHTS

High school playwrights are encouraged to enter. Plays must include a letter from a teacher or school administrator, written on school letterhead, verifying that the play was written during high school, in addition to the guidelines below. If the committee chooses to name a high school entry as a winner, the play will be produced with the other winners in our festival.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES:

•The play should have simple technical requirements. There won't be much of a set — a few furniture pieces and a few props only — we only have about one minute in between plays to change scenes

•As a community theatre, we want to appeal to the largest possible audience, therefore plays with excessive offensive language are less likely to be selected - please keep that in consideration.

NEW THIS YEAR! - SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED THROUGH OUR ON-LINE ENTRY FORM or By Email.

Your play must be submitted no later than November 15, 2020 to be eligible for consideration. Please submit all entries through the following form: LPT 17th Annual 10-MPF Entry Form. We would prefer you use this new convenient method of submission. If you are unable to make the on-line entry form work for you, we will also accept submission by way of email this year to 10mpf@lakeshoreplayers.org.

Only plays submitted as outlined below will be accepted: 

•You MUST submit two copies of your script. - One copy must contain all contact information on the title page: 

• Play title 

• Playwright’s name 

• Playwright’s mailing address 

• Playwright’s phone number 

• Playwright’s e-mail address 

The other copy MUST BE “BLIND” (neither playwright name nor contact information on any page). The blind copy is VERY IMPORTANT so that our judges may choose plays with absolutely no bias. - Please confirm that your play has not been previously produced or published. - Please confirm that there are no more than five on-stage characters - If you would like, please let us know how you heard about us. 

SPECIAL CONTINGENCY FOR 2021 Due to the current public health emergency, Lakeshore Players reserves the right to determine the format in which the 10-Minute Play Festival (10-MPF) will be produced and presented in 2021. We would like to fully produce the plays on stage at the theatre if health guidelines at the time permit. However, we may need to adjust for social distancing or revert to staged reading format. Also depending on health guidelines at the time, it may be feasible to have a live audience or we may choose to record the productions and provide them for limited on-line viewing to our patrons, or we may do both. 

In any case, each winning playwright will receive an $80 royalty, a copy of (or link to) the program, a link to any additional photos taken, and a link to a digital recording of their play if made for archival purposes or for presentation to our on-line patrons. 

Any questions? Please e-mail Lakeshore Players at 10mpf@lakeshoreplayers.org

44th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival

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Deadline: October 16, 2020

Pay-what-you-can application fees. If you’d like to request a Fee Waiver, please email literary@playwrightsfoundation.org Thank you! 

Our organization’s maximum capacity for reading is 750 plays. We may close the application process before the October 16th, 2020 deadline if we reach that number, so please apply early. The link to apply will go live on September 4th, 2020, please check back then.

New for this year: Due to the economic hardship impacting our industry from shutdowns because of Covid-19, application fees are Pay What You Can. After uploading your application and script, you will be prompted to a separate form for an application fee. Suggested range ($5-30). If you’d like to request a Fee Waiver, please email literary@playwrightsfoundation.org Thank you!

Thank you for your interest in applying to be a part of Playwrights Foundation’s programming. Playwrights Foundation supports and champions contemporary playwrights in the creation of new works to sustain theater as a vital, dynamic art form.

Every season, we assess a high volume of plays, and we strive to create a process which is equitable and fair to all who apply. Every script will be read fully twice by readers on our National Committee, which are composed of professionals who are advocates and allies of new work. Before any decisions are made regarding our Semi-Finalists round, multiple staff members will evaluate each writer’s individual development goals and resumes.

As one of the leading play development centers in the U.S. with a long history, Playwrights Foundation fosters the creative process of playmaking by sustaining a commitment to the playwright, whom we regard as the creative wellspring of the theater. The organization has a deep familiarity with the work of a large range of playwrights, and work to connect those writers with creative producers interested in new play production. Special attention is given to Bay Area writers, emerging writers of any age, BIPOC and other historically marginalized writers.

You may have questions about applying, including if this opportunity is the right one for you. Our staff welcomes these questions and we are in contact with the Dramatists Guild and LMDA regarding best practices for our organization. We hope you have a good experience engaging with us, as you entrust us with reading and evaluating your latest new play. We welcome writers of all ages, backgrounds and identities, and celebrate both national and local writers.

We invite playwrights to apply for the 44th Bay Area Playwrights Festival, where ultimately, four to five plays will be chosen for development. The reading process spans several months and everyone who applies will receive notification of their status before we announce BAPF’s 2021 summer festival.

Applications for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival are open to any playwrights living in North America and writing primarily in English (multilingual plays are accepted) who consider themselves either an emerging writer (of any age) or mid-career playwright. 

Playwrights Foundation is strongly committed to developing the work of emerging and mid-career writers, and we offer other opportunities for more established playwrights and long-time alums to continue sharing work with us.

Applications must be full-length, unproduced and original plays in PDF form. We do accept adaptations, but not translations. Plays that have previously received a workshop or university production are considered unproduced.

Only one application is allowed per playwright. If you were selected for the 2020 Bay Area Playwrights Festival we ask you observe a one-year hiatus from applying for the festival. Playwrights can submit a new draft of a play they previously submitted during one additional submission cycle. We will not accept new drafts of plays that have been submitted in at least two previous submission cycles. We do not accept musicals at this time.

We define those terms as follows:

‘Emerging’ refers to playwrights who are relatively early in their careers – student, recent playwriting program graduate (up to 3 years), and older dramatists who have had 0-3 professional (paid) productions of their work. You can be emerging at any age and we celebrate that.
‘Mid-career’ as playwrights who have received more than 3 professional productions, and who are generally working professional playwrights, but not yet fully established with multiple regional LORT productions. We are looking for a mix of career experiences to create a cohort, so all writers are welcome. 

‘Unproduced scripts’ we follow the Dramatists Guild’s definition as “a script that has not been “professionally” produced. Readings, staged readings, AEA workshops, development productions, amateur productions, concert versions, etc.” are not professional productions.
‘Full-length’— We ask that your scripts are a minimum of 60 pages in length, but if it is shorter and you know that it does take more than an hour of stage time, simply email our literary team to ask if it is eligible. We are not a 10-Minute play nor One-Act play contest, but looking for more substantial dramaturgy of interest to producing theatre seasons.

Playwrights chosen for the festival will be paired with an artistic team composed of a professional dramaturg, director, and actors, and other artists as needed. The lead artistic team members will go on a 3-day retreat the weekend prior to the festival, and will subsequently receive two staged readings over two weeks, each one separated by five to six days for rehearsals and rewrites. Local and national producers, theater artists and the general public are invited to the festival to see the staged readings and meet the playwrights.

We want to emphasize that the public staged readings are not intended as a showcase for a finished play, and the readings are advertised to our audiences as rehearsals rather than performances; our festival actively fosters the creative process of playmaking, and not “finishing” the work before the public reading. We equally value the creative work in the room and the public readings as opportunities to advance each individual playwright’s developmental goals. Our organization also values connecting playwrights to creative partners and producers.

Checklist before applying:

• A full-length Script in PDF form, titled LastNameFirstName_PlayTitle_DraftDate
• Resume in PDF form, titled LastNameFIrstName_Resume
• A list of three Development Goals (500 words max)
• A 1-2 sentence synopsis of your play
• You are a playwright living in North America writing primarily in English (Multilingual plays accepted).
• You have read our website and acknowledge the defined terms.
• Application fees will be prompted at the end, and are Pay What You Can. If you would like to request a Fee Waiver, please contact literary@playwrightsfoundation.org

SAUK SHORTS 2021 seeks 10-minute plays

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Deadline: October 2, 2020

The Sauk is seeking short play scripts to consider for production as part of SAUK SHORTS 2021. Scripts may be original works or published works that you would like us to consider. Scripts should have a performance time no longer than 15 minutes. The deadline to submit is 5 p.m. on Friday, October 2. Scripts should be e-mailed to saukshorts@gmail.com.

SAUK SHORTS is an annual evening of 10-minute plays. Each year, we produce a combination of popular published works and original un-produced pieces. We try to balance a combination of local and national playwrights. There is no fee for submitting scripts. Scripts that are not selected for production in 2021 may be kept on file for consideration in future years.

Currently Seeking 10-Minute Plays & Monologues for Smith & Kraus Publications

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Deadline: December 11, 2020 8PM EST

For The Best Men’s & Women’s Monologues 2021, and Best 10-Minute Plays 2021
Edited by Debbie Lamedman

OPEN TO ALL WRITERS
NO SUBMISSION FEE
Website for information

For The Best Men's & Women's Monologues 2021

• Monologues must be from plays. They cannot be stand-alone pieces.
• They must be from plays produced between January 2019-September 2021.
• Staged Readings performed live or virtually during the Pandemic will be accepted.
• Monologues should be from 1-3 minutes long.
• Monologues should be active! No stories about something that happened in the past—(those types of pieces are not good for auditions!)
• Please include a descriptive blurb containing a brief summary of the play; the name/age of character; to whom the character is speaking and the dramatic context of the scene.

For The Best 10-Minute Plays 2021

• Plays must be produced between January 2019-September 2021
• Staged Readings performed live or virtually during the Pandemic will be accepted.
• Plays should not exceed 10 pages.
• Please include a brief synopsis.
• No Radio Plays. No musicals.

Click here to submit:
Please fill out this form thoroughly before attaching a PDF of your submission. Only one entry per submission form.

You may submit up to two monologues and two 10-Minute plays.
DEADLINE: DECEMBER 11, 2020 8 PM EST

Green Buffalo Productions' own 48-hour writing challenge

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We don't want to stop working during COVID-19, so we decided to keep WNY theatre going from the safety of our own homes! The Quarantine Quarters is an ongoing 48-hour writing challenge that is open to anyone who is looking to stay creative and occupied during this difficult time.

Each writing challenge requires the playwright to follow a specific prompt and must be written within 48 hours. The winning play will be showcased in a LIVE READING that streams from our Facebook page. Live streams are typically on Fridays at 6 pm. Follow us to get our "Going Live" notification! You can also listen to our past Quarantine Quarters Live Readings.

​SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Email us at greenbuffaloproductions@gmail.com
• All plays must be 10 - 15 pages long
• Submit in PDF format 
• Submit a playwright bio and photo 
• Include character descriptions and a synopsis
• Submit your play on time to be considered for the live reading
• All works must be completely original. Feel free to collaborate with others, but be sure to submit original work.
• There's no limit to how many works you can submit.

Cape Cod Theatre Project 2021

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Deadline: September 30, 2020

Applications for the 2021 Season will be accepted September 1 – September 30, 2020.

Playwrights may send one play per season for consideration. The proposed play must still be in development and cannot have received a professional production, or a production that has been reviewed, prior to August 2020.

To apply, please email a PDF of the script to capecodlit@gmail.com.

Please label the document using your first and last name as well as the play’s title. For example: janesmithplaytitle.pdf

In addition, please include in your email a short biography and a brief artistic statement on how you propose to use your development time at CCTP. The bio and statement of intentions should be included in the body of the email.

As we rely on the kindness of our donors for housing, we usually limit our cast sizes to no more than six actors, though there have been exceptions.

As of November 1, 2011, we no longer review hard copies of scripts sent by mail.

The CCTP staff does not provide feedback on any submitted materials.

We look forward to reading your work.

The Richard Rodgers Award 2021

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Deadline: October 30, 2020

ll applications for the Richard Rodgers Awards are to be submitted online by October 30. Application requirements and procedures are explained in the application form below. Please download, read, and sign the application form before beginning the online application.

Mailed applications will not be accepted.

2021 Application Form (PDF)] | Click here to begin online application.

These awards, created and endowed by Richard Rodgers in 1978 for the development of the musical theater, subsidize full productions, studio productions, and staged readings by nonprofit theaters in New York City of works by composers and writers who are not already established in this field. The winners are selected by a jury of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
A. REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBILITY
1. The term "musical theater" is understood to include musicals, plays with songs, thematic revues, or any comparable work. The submission of innovative and experimental work is encouraged. The work submitted must be of significant length to fill an evening; it may consist of a group of smaller, related pieces.

2. The jury will consider only completed works. Care should be taken to submit the work in its best possible form as it may not be submitted again, in another year, even if substantially revised.

3. Only one submission by a collaborative group or a sole creator will be accepted. 

4. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

5. Works by members of the Academy and previous winners of the production awards are not eligible for consideration. Former winners of Richard Rodgers awards for staged readings or studio productions may submit new works.

6. An applicant whose works in the musical theater have received professional or amateur productions in New York City or out of town is eligible unless, in the judgment of the jury, the applicant has already achieved significant recognition in the field of musical theater through the work submitted or through any previous work. Under special circumstances and at the discretion of the jury, applicants who have achieved recognition in fields outside the musical theater may be eligible. Works which have been produced by professional theater companies before a paying audience are eligible only if such productions received no more than 21 performances by a for- profit company or 50 performances by a nonprofit company.

Despite the uncertainty around the return of theatrical performances to New York City due to Covid-19, the Academy has decided to continue its Richard Rodgers Awards program for 2021 with the hope that these prizes will help bolster the return of live musical theater when that becomes possible.

B. SUBMISSION OF MATERIAL

1. The name(s) of the author(s) must not appear on any of the items submitted, with the exception of the application form. Include only the title of the work on the script and plot summary. Please be sure author names are not included in music file metadata.
2. Entry must include:

1. a)  Script with lyrics, in PDF format.
2. b)  Half-page synopsis of the action and a list of characters, in PDF format.
3. c)  A separate track sheet (PDF) of recorded songs with page numbers indicating where they appear in the script and specifying the total number of minutes recorded.
4. d)  At least 45 minutes of music, including a minimum of eight songs. Orchestrations are not necessary; piano and vocals are sufficient. Songs must be numbered in sequence (e.g. 01 Song Title.mp3) and each song’s lyrics clearly typed into the script where it appears. Tracks must be uploaded in the order they appear in the script.
5. e)  Application form signed by all collaborators (see below). Applicants submitting work that has already been produced must give full information concerning these productions, including programs. A work is not eligible if one of the collaborators is deceased.
6. f)  If applicable, a statement of intent declaring how the applicants would use the award if their musical is a winner. If the piece is already attached to producers or a theater, even if tentative, these associations must be declared here.

3. If the submitted work (or a portion thereof) is an adaptation of material which is not in the public domain, candidates must submit licenses, permissions, or authorizations necessary to permit the work to be produced in conformity with applicable copyright laws. The music must be original.
4. Applicants will be notified of the jury's decision by March 2021. The Academy is aware of the challenges facing the theatre landscape in the current climate, and will work with the winners to apply the award in a reasonable amount of time.

C. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1. All rights to the material submitted shall remain the property of the author(s); the Academy will not retain any control over, or rights in, the work after the award production.
2. The decisions of the jury will be final as to eligibility and all other matters.

Nylon Fusion Theatre Company Calls for Submissions

web site

Deadlines
The Future - Due August 1st, 2020 
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 1, 2020

Nylon Fusion Theatre Company is currently accepting submissions of new works for future projects.

If you are submitting to:
Our short play festival “This Round’s On Us” (about 10 minutes) *info below

The Political Play series (Full Length about 90 min)
NOTE: We appreciate your interest. But due to the amount of submissions we have been receiving we will not be accepting FULL LENGTH and/or TV - STYLE scripts at this time. Until further notice. Thank you!

The TV-style project (Episodic sitcom sample script- 20-30 pages) for **The New Situation Company. We are interested in writers residing in New York, as the team will be meeting frequently during script development. If you do not live in the New York area but would like us to consider your work, feel free to send in your sample script, as we would like to feature guest writers in the project as well.
​
This Rounds On Us:
RETROSPECT: "The Best of Times, the Worst of Times, The Future"
SUBMISSION DEADLINES (subject to change)
​
The Future - Due August 1st, 2020
​
RETROSPECT: The Best of Times
We have some success stories in history of the world. Explore one of them. Was it a success at the time or only in retrospect? Were they good for all or only some? Take any angle you want, even speculating what it would mean if things were different.
​
RETROSPECT: The Worst of Times
We have some epic fails in our past. Explore one of them. Was this a failure to all or just some? Could it have been prevented?   Should it have been prevented?  Take any angle you want, even speculating what it would mean if things were different.
​
PROSPECT: The Future
Every era has a “future” style. A future outlook based on the present. What does “future” look like now? What does it sound like? What does it feel like? We look at The Jetsons or Back To The Future and say “where is my flying car?” What do we expect now that we know that flying cars aren’t (yet?) a thing? Speculate. Have fun!

To be considered This Round's On Us please submit/email the following: A cover letter, brief synopsis, resume and full script to nylonsubmissions@gmail.com Please be specific as to which project you are submitting to. Write on the SUBJECT LINE For example: This Round’s On Us: The Worst Of Times, Jane Jones.
​
NOTE: accepted plays are produced (including casting) by Nylon Fusion Theatre Company. Playwrights are encouraged to attend rehearsals.
--
Deadlines for “Political Play Series”
To be considered please submit/email the following: A cover letter, brief synopsis, resume and full script to nylonLIT@gmail.com

Subject Line: Name of Play and Playwright.

We will contact you if your work matches what we’re looking for.
Thank you!

Nylon Fusion Theatre Company

So Queer Playwrights Festival

web site

Deadline: October 9, 2020 at 11:59 PM

Richmond VA

SUBMISSION FORM

The So Queer Playwrights Festival is a competitive, biennial festival of LGBTQ+ works which will lead to the selection of one work by a playwright — a work that RTP will develop further in close collaboration with the chosen playwright. The festival brings RTP to the forefront in the region to inspire and develop new LGBTQ+ musical and non-musical works.

Richmond Triangle Players mission is to change the community’s conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion through the production of LGBTQ-themed works. A nonprofit, professional theatre company organized in 1993, RTP delivers adventurous and entertaining theater as the leading voice in the community’s explorations of equality, identity, affection and family, across sexual orientation and gender spectrums.

As RTP begins the submission process to find a playwright to develop a musical and/or non-musical full-length work, we are strictly looking for material that falls into our stated mission. For purposes of the Festival, preference will be given to southern playwrights and themes.

Richmond Triangle Players is looking for musical and non-musical full-length works that average a runtime of 60 to 120 minutes with no more than 7 performers featured. While we produce a variety of styles and genres, please keep in mind our spatial restrictions: our stage is 28’ by 20’ without wings or fly space.

We remain open to a large spectrum of musical and non-musical works for the submission process and appreciate everything from avant-garde to traditional approaches that a playwright might take. We are ultimately looking for a voice rather than a perfect script.

Submissions are limited to one work per playwright; we will not consider resubmissions.

Plays/Musicals must be unpublished and unproduced at the time of submission. This does not include workshops, staged readings, or developmental productions. All entries must be withheld from production during the period of the competition, reserving the premiere production for Richmond Triangle Players at a later date.

A PDF submission packet must include the following items, in this order:
Page 1: Title page with author name and contact information
Page 2: One-page Cover Letter that discusses your artistic point of view, and detailing why your play fits with the mission of Richmond Triangle Players
Page 3: One page, including a synopsis of your play, and a character breakdown.
Page 4: One-page biography of the playwright
Page 5+: 10 to 15-page excerpt from your script

If submitting a musical, please include an URL link on page 3 of your PDF packet that directs us to the audio files on a separate website.

The deadline for submissions is October 9, 2020 at 11:59 pm. All completed submissions will be sent a receipt upon arrival. Due to the amount of submissions, we will not be able to respond to all entries with feedback. However, all entries will be read by a committee and evaluated. Please do not call or email a follow up message in regards to the status of your script. RTP does not accept hard-copy script submissions. Any submissions sent via mail will not be eligible, acknowledged, or returned.

Five finalists will be notified on November 6th and announced publicly on November 12th, 2020. Finalists will then be asked to present a 45-minute excerpt of the play on January 8th and 9th, 2021. One finalist will be picked to start the yearlong development process with the promise of a mainstage spot once the playwright and organization believe that the work is ready.

Applications are open for GTG’s 2020-2021 Speakers’ Corner Writers’ Group

web site

Deadline: September 30, 2020

Submission form

Full-length sample play wanted

This season, Speakers’ Corner will meet remotely from late October, 2020 through June, 2021.

Member writers read and discuss a specific play by George Bernard Shaw before responding to Shaw’s work through targeted writing prompts. 

The writers’ new works needn’t be commentaries on Shaw or adaptations of Shaw’s work, but original works inspired by the ideas sparked by reading and discussing the initial Shaw play as a cohort. 

Speakers’ Corner writers then spend the remainder of the year developing these ideas into plays to be developed through readings and workshop labs. At monthly and bi-monthly meetings, writers share their work and receive constructive feedback from one another and from members of GTG’s artistic staff. 

The goal, ultimately, is to create play that will be fully produced as part of the GTG future seasons.

For more about Speakers' Corner and to apply, visit https://gingoldgroup.org/speakers-corner-new-works/

Named after the corner of London’s Hyde Park where Shaw and other political speakers have delivered speeches since 1855, GTG’s Speakers’ Corner brings together six to ten writers who spend the year exploring a specific Shaw play and writing new work in response to that text.

Otherworld Theatre Submission Guidelines

web site

Chicago Illinois

Please provide up to the first 20 pages of your play OR the first 10 pages and your favorite scene. We will reach out to you if we would like you to send the full script.

· Your play must be within the genres of Science Fiction and/or Fantasy, or contain significant Sci-Fi or fantastical elements.

· If Science Fiction and/or Fantasy elements are not evident in your selected pages, please describe in your submission how the play is a Science Fiction and/or Fantasy piece.​

· There is no submission deadline.

Submit at submissions@otherworldtheatre.org

Jewish Women's Theater seeks short plays for At-Home Salon Theatre Season

web site

Deadline: December 1, 2020


Click to view our themes for the 2021 Season

Three easy steps to SUBMITTING YOUR MATERIAL

Step 1: Click to view our themes for the 2021 Season—
VERY IMPORTANT TO SUBMIT TO THE THEME
Step 2: Carefully read Submissions Guidelines
Step 3: Fill out Writers Survey

Submission Guidelines 

JWT produces contemporary American stories that have some Jewish content or Jewish resonance.

Seeking first person narratives or stories.

Most of the stories are true. If you want to see your work performed on our stage, your best chance is to submit a first-person narrative OR a short story that is no longer than 1500 words AND illuminates a theme that JWT is exploring in the upcoming seasons (themes listed below.) Stories, one-acts, poems or songs will be considered. Sometimes we incorporate short, 5-8 minute plays into these salons if they fit the theme.

Submit your material to ronda@jewishwomenstheatre.org. Be sure to let us know the theme to which you are submitting in the subject line of your email. Make sure your name and title of your work appear on your submission. Fill out our writer’s survey HERE to complete your submission.


Themes for 2021 At-Home Salon Theatre Season


Remembrance of Things Present
The legacy of the Shoah in stories from the next generations are not only funny and insightful, but deeply moving.

Star Spangled Sabra
Caught between two promised lands, Israeli Americans share their story of longing, loss and love in the Diaspora.


Family Matters
We love them. We hate them. We can’t live with them; we can’t live without them. The matters of family, and why family matters, are as old as the Bible. This show reveals our most personal family stories.


Deadline for submissions
October 1, 2020


Persian Sunrise, American Sunset

Evocative and humorous Iranian stories that explore the heartbreak and triumph of a new generation forging its own identity while trying to honor its heritage. Email submit@jewishwomenstheatre.org for submissions to this particular show. Thank you!


Deadline for submissions
October 1, 2020

Third Annual Eric H. Weinberger Award for Emerging Librettists

web site

Deadline: November 30, 2020

The Eric H. Weinberger Award for Emerging Librettists is a juried cash and production grant given annually to support the early work and career of a deserving musical theatre librettist. It commemorates the life and work of playwright/librettist Eric H. Weinberger (1950-2017), who was a Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Book of a Musical (Wanda’s World), and the playwright/librettist of Class Mothers ’68, which earned Pricilla Lopez a Drama Desk Award nomination.

The winner will receive $2,000 to help with cost-of-living expenses. The winning musical will receive development assistance in the 2021 New Works Development Program of Amas Musical Theatre, culminating in an Amas Lab production with New York theatre professionals. Amas, which is administering the award, was the development home for several of Mr. Weinberger’s musicals, and which produced the World Premiere of Wanda’s World and the New York Premiere of Tea for Three.

Submissions will open on September 14, 2020 and will close November 30, 2020. All submissions must be sent through an online application that can be found HERE. Only one submission per playwright/librettist will be accepted. The winner of the award will be announced late February-early March 2021.

Amas Musical Theatre will not ask for any fees for entry or for any fiduciary involvement

from the playwright/librettists at any point of the process.

APPLY HERE

Submission Requirements:

The musical must:

• Be a full-length show (at least 80 minutes)
• Have no more than seven actors (actors may play multiple roles)
• Be complete and ready for readings, workshops and/or productions
• Have a demo that is an accurate representation of the music and style of the show (at least five songs)
• Have full underlying rights clearance of any pre-existing material used in the script (music, source material, etc.)
• Not have had a full production or be published in any way, even if with a different name.

What to submit

• All documents must be submitted as PDF files and they should be named with the part of the submission it refers to and the title of the show in the format of PART_TITLE, i.e.: for Tea for Three; BIO_TEA-FOR-THREE, SYNOPSIS_TEA-FOR-THREE, etc.
• Biography and resumes of all contractually attached people such as composer, director, producer to the project
• History of the submission’s development, and any previous titles it has gone through (if applicable, maximum one page)
• Brief synopsis (maximum 150 words)
• Brief artistic statement on the piece itself, including all source material, inspiration, goal, message, etc. (maximum one page)
• Proof of rights (if applicable)
• Demo and track listings (Demo selections to be posted as a Dropbox link)
• PDF document of the full-script and sheet music, if available

Guidelines for Materials

All submissions must adhere to the following or your application will be disqualified before reaching our selection committee.

PROOF OF RIGHTS

If the musical contains any copyrighted material, please submit a signed letter from the authors and/or underlying rights representative stating that underlying rights have been secured.

FULL SCRIPT

The full script must include:


Title page (which should only have the title on it and absolutely no other information)


Character breakdown (maximum one page)


The complete script with page numbers

​​

For the anonymity of your submission, the full script and sheet music cannot include any information on playwright/ librettist or contractually attached people, previous casts, or any agents. All submissions will go through a blind evaluation process, any personal information you provide will only be available to Amas Musical Theatre staff.
Demo Tracks


The recording should be a significant representation of the songs in the show that accurately highlights the style and character of the score and lyrics.


Demo tracks should:


Include at least one song from the first 25 pages


Have at least five recordings available – they do not need to be professional or studio quality but they must be clear enough to hear lyrics, melody, and accompaniment


Have singers of appropriate vocal types for their respective roles


Be full songs only, no medleys of spliced songs

For the anonymity of your submission, tracks cannot include any personal identifiers for playwright/librettist(s), the performers recorded, or contractually attached people.


The Selection Process

Scripts will be read and evaluated through a blind submission process by Amas Musical Theatre’s literary team. A group of finalist plays will be read and evaluated by a selection committee, comprised of distinguished artists and playwrights, using a blind evaluation process. Committee members will not be given any additional information beyond the title of the show, the script and the demo tracks.

Any personal information you provide in the application is seen by the Amas Musical Theatre staff only, not the selection committee. Our process is based on the quality of the work submitted.

​

Round 1 (September-December)


Our literary team reads the first 25 pages of the book and listens to the demo for any track related to these pages.


The team fills out evaluations for each show, which determine the submissions that continue to Round 2.


If selected as a finalist, the show’s application primary contact is notified via email.

​​

Round 2 (January-March)


The selection committee reads the scripts in full and listens to all demo tracks submitted.


Committee members discuss the finalists to determine which one is best suited for the award.


The winner will be announced at the Amas Musical Theatre's 51st Anniversary Benefit Event in April 2020.


The application’s primary contact is notified and a development schedule is created with the winner.



We will not be able to provide feedback regarding why a particular piece was or was not selected.

The Winner


Will receive $2,000 to help pay for cost-of-living expenses.


Will receive development assistance in the 2020 New Works Development Program of Amas Musical Theatre.


Will have the selected show rehearsed and performed by New York theatre professionals in an Amas Lab production.


Must be present in New York City for the development process.


Must give the right of first refusal for a world premiere of the selected show that will expire 90 days after

Amas Musical Theatre presents the Lab production.

APPLY HERE

Lift Every Voice Black Women Speak Monologue Festival

web site

Deadline: November 15, 2020 midnight EST

Fantasy Theatre Factory in Miami, Florida, understands that black female playwrights are underserved when it comes to the production of their work. We are holding a call for black female playwrights from the United States to submit monologues that reflect their personal experience. These monologues will be presented by Fantasy Theatre Factory in February, 2021 during Black History Month. An honorarium will be paid to those playwrights whose scripts are selected.


Submission Guidelines:

-Submissions accepted from female black playwrights who reside in the United States.

-Two submissions per writer maximum.

-The monologue may be part of a larger work or a stand-alone piece.

-Deadline for submissions is November 15, 2020; midnight EST.

-Monologue should read between 2 and 5 minutes.

-Preferred format is PDF

-On the cover page, indicate name, address, phone and email address.

Email scripts to: blackfemaleplaywrights@gmail.com

FutureFest 2021

web site

Deadline: October 31, 2020

Dayton Ohio

FutureFest Submissions

Festival dates: July 16 – 18, 2021

FEE
$20 submission fee. This fee will be waived for members of the Dramatists Guild. Checks and money orders should be made payable to “Dayton Playhouse”.

Fees may be paid online by following this link to our online payment system.

ELIGIBILITY
Entry must be an original work (NO musicals or plays for children) that has not been published or produced where admission was charged prior to FutureFest 2021. Staged readings/workshop productions are not necessarily disqualifying factors.

TENTATIVE DEADLINES
Submissions will be accepted August 14 through October 31, 2020 (postmark or electronic submission).

SCRIPTS

Electronic submissions (PDF format) are preferred, but not required.

Submit a blind copy (no name/contact info) of your script, in standard play format with pages numbered. After the title page include a brief synopsis, character breakdown, setting, and scene breakdown, if applicable. Your script(s) should be accompanied by a cover letter, including playwright contact information (address, phone #, e-mail address) and resume. If applicable, also submit a photocopy of your Dramatists Guild membership card.

Please note that entries that do not comply with our guidelines will be disqualified. Scripts may be submitted electronically or via Media Mail. Eliminated scripts will not be returned. Script evaluations will not be provided.

CONSENT
Playwright gives the Dayton Playhouse permission to photocopy scripts for reading/production purposes.

Should your script be selected and produced as one of the six finalists, you must be available to attend the weekend festival (July 16-18, 2021) and participate in all events. Finalists must acknowledge the Dayton Playhouse when script is published. The winning playwright awards the Dayton Playhouse the option to produce the winning play as part of its main stage season royalty free.

AWARDS
A $1000 honorarium will be awarded to the winning playwright; runners-up each receive $100. The Dayton Playhouse provides the six finalists travel (within the continental U.S.) to Dayton and housing for FutureFest weekend.

SELECTION PROCESS
Each entry is guaranteed a minimum of three reads. The original play reading committee, following many months of discussion and voting, narrows down the entries to 15 – 18, which are then read by the entire committee before they select the 12 semi-finalists. A second committee selects the six finalists. During FutureFest weekend, the plays are staged and publicly adjudicated by a panel of five theatre professionals (New York based and regional). Following the final production of the weekend, the adjudicators vote and select the winner.

FINALISTS
Finalists will be posted on the Dayton Playhouse website (www.daytonplayhouse.com) by May 2021.

SUBMIT TO
futurefest@thedaytonplayhouse.com or Dayton Playhouse FutureFest, P.O. Box 3017, Dayton, OH 45401-3017.

QUESTIONS
Contact Fran Pesch, FutureFest Program Director, at 937-424-8477, or email futurefest@thedaytonplayhouse.com

Joining Sword & Pen Seeking Playwrights of Marginalized Genders

web site

Deadline: February 18, 2021

Chicago

Babes With Blades Theatre Company’s Joining Sword & Pen (JS&P) competition is live and underway! Since 2005, JS&P has challenged playwrights to write a full-length play based on the story they see in our contest image. The winner receives a full production and the Margaret Woolley Martin Award, which carries a cash prize of $1000.

This year’s image and competition rules may be found here:
babeswithblades.org/jsp-how-to-submit/

We’re seeking submissions from playwrights of underrepresented genders. This includes cis women, trans women, trans men, non-binary people, and those who are otherwise marginalized based on gender.

What We’re Looking For

1. The moment depicted in the inspirational image at the bottom of this page must be physically dramatized/incorporated into the play. We want to (literally) perform that moment on stage. Include the page number of your script where the contest’s image is depicted in your submission email.

2. Scripts must be inclusive of the BIPOC community. Whether the script lends itself to characters being played by actors of any race/ethnicity or whether it includes stories that are race-specific, BIPOC characters must not be limited to secondary or background characters.

3. Submissions are due NO LATER than midnight February 18, 2021.

4. All JS&P submissions must be new, full length, original works, inspired by the artwork that is the focus of the contest. Previously written, workshopped, published or performed submissions will not be considered and we will not contact you. Please do not insert the contest image into an existing script.

5. Please email your JS&P submission in a PDF file to swordandpen@babeswithblades.org. The filename must start with the title of the play (ex. “Patchwork Drifter.pdf”). If the title of the play begins with “the,” “a,” or “an,” please place that article at the end of the title (ex. “Last Daughter of Oedipus, The.pdf”).


IMPORTANT: This will be a BLIND SUBMISSION PROCESS.

Script submissions for JS&P accepted between August 5, 2020 and February 18, 2021. Want more info? Contact swordandpen@babeswithblades.org.

Joining Sword & Pen winners receive full productions with the Babes.

Check out the full list of Joining Sword & Pen winners.

Your email submission should contain two separate attachments:

 a) Your cover page. INCLUDE:

• The play’s title
• Playwright’s name and full contact information (phone numbers, email, mailing address).

 b) Your script. INCLUDE:

• The page number on which the contest’s image is incorporated.
• A synopsis.
• A character list specifying the gender of each character. “Open gender” is an option. If it’s important that a character is cisgender or transgender, please specify this.
• If it’s important that a character is of a particular racial/ethnic background (including white), please specify this. Characters of unspecified racial/ethnic background will not be automatically assumed to be white.

DO NOT INCLUDE ANY contact information, of any kind, in the body of your script. An author’s identity will only be revealed to the ensemble once a selection has been made.


6. The winner of the contest agrees to participation in the Fighting Words new plays program (workshops and festival reading – dates TBD), and grants Babes With Blades Theatre Company rights to produce the world premiere production of the winning play. Production dates are TBD for Spring 2023 (subject to change).


Things to consider:

• Our mission statement: Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and dismantle the patriarchy. Through performance, script development, training and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole.
• We do not accept or produce musical scripts.
• Both our venues and our budgets tend to be small.
• If your play does not pass the Bechdel Test, it is unlikely to fit our mission.
• If your play does not include stage combat, it does not fit our mission.
• Characters fight as a realization of high narrative stakes. Scenes of characters training to fight are usually lacking in stakes.
• If your script includes sexualized violence, consider whether the sexualization is truly necessary to the story. Sometimes it is; often it’s not.

Click here to learn more about Joining Sword & Pen

Our Mission Statement: Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of underrepresented communities and dismantle the patriarchy. Through performance, script development, training and outreach, our ensemble creates theatre that explores the wide range of the human experience, and cultivates broader perspectives in the arts community and in society as a whole.

We look forward to hearing your stories!!

PLEASE NOTE: The image for the competition can be found on our website. Please do not select your own prompts.

Jonathan Larson Grant 2021

web site

Deadline: September 24, 2020 11:59 PM EDT
Application Guidelines 2021

The 2021 Jonathan Larson Grants application will close on Thursday, September 24th 2020 at 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 

Click here to apply

General Criteria

The Jonathan Larson Grants are intended to honor and recognize emerging musical theatre artists. Composers, lyricists, and librettists who work in musical theatre are the focus of the grants. ATW is committed to serving artists who are creating new, fully producible works for the theatre, and advancing the art form. The grants do not honor a specific piece or project.
Grant awards are based on merit, and are intended for those artists with a demonstrated commitment and dedication to a career in musical theatre. Further, the grants are not intended to be scholarships, and artists applying for grants should be working professionally in the field.
Applications are accepted in the following areas:
Individuals may apply as lyricists, composers, librettists, or any combination of the three.
Collaborative teams may apply together as composer, lyricist, and/or librettist, or any combination of the three.

Collaborators who work together regularly are strongly encouraged to apply as a team.If your collaborative team has more than three individuals, please contact the ATW offices.

United States citizenship is not a requirement to receive the grant, but you must be eligible to work in the U.S. and reside/work here on at least a part-time basis and submitted work should be predominately in English.

Artists may apply only once per grant cycle. You may not apply as part of a team and as an individual applicant.

Prior Jonathan Larson Grant Recipients are not eligible.

(Applications that do not adhere to these general criteria will not be considered)

• Required Materials–Applicants must submit the following through our online portal to be considered:
• General Information
• Artistic Statement—on the form provided, describe your achievements and goals for your career as a creative artist or collaborative team (one per application). Please do not make specific monetary requests as part of the application.
• Creative Curriculum Vitae—productions/workshops/readings, educational history, and including list of awards (one for each applicant or each member of a team, please submit multiple CVs in one, combined .pdf or .doc file).
• Work Sample List—(please see below for further information)
• Applicants may provide a letter of support/recommendation from theatre artists or educators, although this is component is not mandatory to submit an application.

WORK SAMPLE LIST

Applicants are also required to submit a comprehensive Work Sample List; a list of all the song and libretto selections with authorship information. Work samples are only required in accordance with your application focus.

For instance, if you are applying as a composer only, please only submit music, and dramatic context for the song. Do not submit a book or lyrics for adjudication. The same would be true if you were applying as a lyricist or book writer, only submit samples for the area or areas for which you wish to be considered.

Once you have completed the Work Sample list, you will have the opportunity to upload your material.

Notes on uploading work samples:
Audio Files/Song Selections—upload selected songs (accepted formats include MP3, MP4, WMA, WAV, ACC (M4A) and FLAC). Select individual tracks and pieces that reflect your best work.
Dramatic Context/ Lyric Sheets—describe the dramatic context and provide the lyrics for each song selection
Libretto—Please submit one-act only of a musical book (or if your work does not have a traditional act-break, an excerpt of 60 pages or less). .pdf format is preferred. You may start your libretto with a 1-page synopsis of the show in its entirety.

On Selecting Work Samples:

Regardless, if you work creatively in all three disciplines (music, lyrics, and book) or you are applying as a collaborative team, you should submit combined work samples that represent the full range of your work. For example, Jonathan Larson might have submitted one application that included three song selections from Rent, two song selections from Tick, Tick…Boom!, and the book of Act II from Rent. Please do not submit a recording of an entire act or production. Select individual tracks and pieces that reflect your best work.

The Jonathan Larson Grants are intended to honor and recognize emerging musical theatre writers. We are aware that artists work in multiple disciplines; and while it is not necessary that you only work in musical theatre, selections of representative work submitted for the grant must be for musical theatre. Applications submitting oratorios, operas, symphonic scores, or film scores will not be considered.

Adapted Works: Should you choose to submit selections from work which is adapted from an existing work, you must provide proof of rights for that adaptation as part of your application.

New Human Horizons Virtual Ten-Minute Play Reading Festival

web site

DEADLINE: September 25, 2020 - 5pm PST

Human beings are magical. Bios and Logos. Words made flesh, muscle and bone animated by hope and desire, belief materialized in deeds, deeds which crystallize our actualities. . . . And the maps of spring always have to be redrawn again, in undared forms.

–Sylvia Wynter, “The Pope Must Have Been Drunk, The King of Castile a Madman.”

The University of Puget Sound’s Department of Theatre Arts is soliciting new 10-minute plays for the New Human Horizons Virtual Ten-Minute Play Reading Festival.

Plays open to all playwrights and any style of play; however, no musicals. We are seeking plays that engage in conversation with Sylvia Wynter’s notion of the Human as both bios and logos, magical, words made flesh. We are interested in plays that re-imagine and re-present new ways of being, living, caring, and loving in the world.

Plays can incorporate the themes of the quote in a variety of ways, for example,

· The relationship between Human beings and language, mythology;

· Representation of the Human and the body and/or flesh;

· New forms of Human interaction;

· Loving and caring beyond modern concepts of Human relationships;

· Connections between Humans and animals, Humans and the environment;

· Intersection between Human life, mortality, and immortal deities;

· Human and hybridity, cyborgs, pre/post-human;

· New imaginings and representations on what it means to be (or not to be) Human;

· Life and living on the margins of the Human as construct.

Plays will be read and evaluated by undergraduate students in the Theatrical Experience classes at University of Puget Sound. This is an exciting opportunity for students, playwrights, and community members to engage and encounter new theatrical works.

Six plays will be selected for the virtual reading festival on December 2nd and 3rd. Selected plays will be announced early November 2020. Playwrights maintain full rights to their material.

Selected playwrights will receive a $150 honorarium.
Submission Guidelines:

· Plays must be unpublished and un-produced;

· written primarily in English;

· incorporate the concept of the Human in some form;

· be no more than ten pages in length;

· not be a musical.

*We prefer plays with 2-6 characters of diverse race, age, gender, and ethnicity.

Submission Process:

· Script should be in standard script format (see: http://www.caryplaywrightsforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/CPF_play_formatting-1.pdf;

· Include page numbers;

· Along with the submission, please submit a separate title page with title of the play and playwright’s contact information (name, email, phone number, and address).

· No personal information should appear anywhere else in the script.

· Accepting digital submissions only. Submit PDF copy to upsplaysubmission@gmail.com