Pronoia Theater seeks new works related to the USA public domain

Website

Deadline: March 9, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Works must be based on, in conversation with, or inspired by work in the USA public domain. 

International writers welcome.

Ours, Reimagining the Public Domain! We are accepting new works inspired by expression in the public domain for a staged reading on May 9th.

“Public Domain” covers a wide swath of material (items correct as of America in 2026):

• Anything first published in USA in 1930 or earlier
• Anything published between 1931-1977 which did not have its copyright renewed
• Most documents created by the United States Government
• Recipes, game rules, etc. (Things which are ruled to not have enough authorship to be protectable)
• Property whose copyright was relinquished by its owners.
• For the purposes of this festival anything created under the Creative Commons license with proper attribution will also be considered.

Staged reading, no stipend, no restriction on previous productions or number of works that may be submitted, playwrights are not responsible for production after submission.

Works of any length will be considered, but works longer than fifteen minutes may be excerpted. The excerpt will be sent to you for approval before acceptance into the festival.

Anything which is appropriate to perform in front of an audience is fair game. As a theater we are especially interested in scripts formatted for the stage, but prose, poetry, and other similar expressions will be considered.

instagram: @pronoiatheater

There’s something for everyone at The Playwrights Group!

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
• 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

Anaconda Ensemble Theatre Groundwork Reading Series. NEW Play Submissions (2026 - 2027 Season)

Facebook Page

Deadline: March 2, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Formerly titled the Community Reading Series, series is a professional but community-based project, with affordable tickets and the shows will be performed in locations where "theatre typically isn't" such as coffee shops, hotels, bed and breakfasts, bars/breweries, shops, restaurants, cafes, and more! Past series were held at the Hickory House Inn, Coffee Corral, the Washoe Theater Lobby, the Copper Village Museum and Art Center gallery space, The Bighorn Bottle Shop and Wine Bar, Sweet Pea Bridal, Gunslinger Gulch, Copperhead Lodge, Forgotten Times Barbershop, Discover Anaconda Visitors Center, Anaconda Yoga, Pintler’s Portal Hostel and The Revolver Bar (upcoming).

We aim at actually or thematically fitting all he plays into the locations they are playing and are interested in plays that are at a place in their journey that requires a financial investment for forward movement of the piece. AET pays all of their collaborators, so we are seeking pieces that are ready for that step; fully formed ideas that can benefit from a workshop experience.

** if you are submitting more than one piece, please submit them on separate forms**

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for NEW plays that have never had a fully staged production, but they can have had table reads or staged readings. The plays will hopefully, but don't necessarily have to, fit into our location or categories listed here:

1) The Montana Hotel (Anaconda Restoration Association to perform June 2026) the location is an old hotel that was owned by Marcus Daly at the center of town. We have one play already for this location, written by a Butte writer, but other possible themes/types of theatre include, but are not limited to: the past, Montana history, Montana hotels, local engagement/local development, investing in your community etc. Note: One play has already been selected for this location because of previous collaborations. We are only looking for ONE piece for this location.

2) The Metcalf Senior Center (to perform August/September 2026): this location is our LOCAL Senior Center.Possible themes/types of theatre include, but are not limited to: community service, volunteering, senior centers, looking back at the past, thriving at a certain age, etc.

3) Everett Cook Law (to perform November 2026): this location is a locally owned and operated law firm. Possible themes include: lawyers, lawmaking, trials, legal mishaps, etc.

4) The Northern Hall Taproom (to perform between January - February or April 2026): this location is a locally owned and operated bar. Possible themes/types of theatre include, but are not limited to: a night at the bar, first dates, chance meetings, etc. Note: One play has already been selected for this location because of previous collaborations. We are only looking for ONE piece for this location.

WHO CAN SUBMIT**
We are looking for plays written by writers from anywhere! However, as always, strongest consideration given to writers from Montana, an then to those in the Pacific Northwest and the Mountain West area.

ABOUT YOUR PIECE
- Plays that are written (we are NOT taking outlines or partially written pieces. Plays can be first draft and ready to edit, however.)

**Note: we are looking for plays excited to be workshopped. We do NOT typically produce plays for this that have been fully produced**

- Plays that are between 20 mins and 75 mins (roughly max 60 pages) (NOTE: We cannot take pieces longer than 60 mins for Northern Hall Taproom or The Montana) A good note: we are trying to create nights of contrasting pieces. We rarely do longer plays - so caution when submitting things that are too long or too short.

- Plays must only engage 1 to 4 actors plus an actor to read stage directors (doubling of characters is encouraged!!) Note: We often get asked why we put a number on this. We want to engage as many spaces as possible, and larger casts make that impossible! Additionally, AET needs to raise funds for these pieces, are we are budgeting based on that 4 person per play model.

- Actors can be anywhere from ages 7 and up - but we will not accept any full youth shows or children's theatre pieces (but use of a young artist in a piece or TYA encouraged!)

- Plays that are looking for feedback to get to the next step in their theatrical journey - AET collects feedback and you will receive that feedback in 1 to 2 weeks post performance.

- Note: While we are wanting pieces that are open to adjustment and workshopping, we can no take plays that aim to get significantly longer during the process. We select pieces based on the length presented.

WHAT WE OFFER
$100 for the rights for one performance plus a $50 travel/food stipend if you choose to come to the performance, if you are local. If you are local, you will also get two comp tickets to your performance. While AET does house locally, we reserve that mostly for our actors and directors. In a rare occasion will we be able to house a writer, so please do NOT count on this.

During the process, you have the opportunity to be as hands on as you wish to be! Also, feedback from your performance to use for future drafts.

Note: While we aim to be as accommodating as possible, we cannot film pieces to be viewed later. At times we have been able to Zoom writers into final performances, but we cannot guarantee this, it all depends on the technical capabilities of the spaces we are in.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW

Application Deadline by March 2nd, 2026

Selections made by and offered by March 30th, 2026 - you will have 1 week to make a decision

Have questions? Shoot an email to jackie@anacondaensembletheatre.com!

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.

Cherry Lane Theater Playwrights Collective

Website

Deadline: March 2, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Introducing a nine-month developmental program under the direction of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Annie Baker, designed to support emerging NYC playwrights.

The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective is a nine-month developmental program under the direction of playwright Annie Baker, designed to support rising playwrights through community and a rigorous structure without the barriers of formal graduate programs. A cohort of six selected playwrights will meet over ten Sunday evenings, every three weeks, at Cherry Lane Theatre from September 2026 through June 2027 to share work, read pages aloud, and develop brand-new plays over the course of the year.

The program culminates in a public reading series presented over six Monday nights in late May - June 2027, featuring professional actors and directors for text-focused presentations, each with one day of rehearsal. While the reading series provides a platform to hear the work with an audience, the primary mission is to create new work, and only playwrights who have shown up for the Sunday meetings will have public readings. The program will embrace Cherry Lane’s downtown history of incubating bold new writing, offering playwrights a supportive, artist-first community.

The Cherry Lane Playwrights Collective will operate under Cherry Lane Development Group, a new non-profit with a mission “to foster bold, innovative voices in the theatrical arts by cultivating a dynamic space where artists can take risks, deepen their craft, and shape new worlds for the stage."

A24 will not own any work created through this program. Writers retain full ownership of their material.

The ideal applicants are emerging playwrights who crave rigorous feedback, consistency, accountability, and a collaborative environment. The program is built for writers who might have day jobs, who need structure, and who would benefit from a sustained, intimate cohort committed to taking risks and developing new full-length plays over nine months.

Eligibility

Applications are free, open to the public. Applicants will submit a full length play and brief materials (see below).

Writers must be able to attend all Collective meetings in person.
(Please note, no travel stipends or living stipends will be provided).

Writers who have not had a Broadway or Off-Broadway production in NYC and who will not be in an undergraduate, graduate, or conservatory program in the 26/27 academic year are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to writers who are not in other incubator programs that meet weekly/monthly.

Submissions portal will open February 2, 2026 at 10am ET and close March 2, 2026 at 5pm ET. Late applications will not be accepted.


What To Submit

One Full Length Play
Minimum 45 pages, maximum 150 pages, as a single PDF file (please do not submit Final Draft files or links to other platforms). A play written only by you. Please note once chosen, you will work on a new play in this collective, not the one you submitted.

A Brief Statement
Describing why you would like to be part of this program, max one single-spaced page. You don't have to tell us why you're a great writer or what your writing is about or your personal history, unless that interests you. Just tell us some of the things you're thinking about and/or reading and/or writing and/or seeing these days and why you'd like to be part of this.

Resume
Professional and/or artistic.

References
Phone numbers and emails of two professional references.

Eligibility Confirmations
No full- time students; no qualifying professional NYC productions; in-person availability on Sunday evenings Sept - June.

What Happens If You’re Accepted

Accepted playwrights join a small cohort of six writers who meet for ten Sundays over nine months (exact dates to be confirmed) at Cherry Lane to read new pages aloud and workshop their developing plays. Over the year, they receive structured support, accountability, and a creative home.

At the end of the cycle, each writer receives a reading on one of six consecutive Monday nights, with professional actors and directors and a single day-of rehearsal. The readings are seated, on-book presentations designed to give the public the opportunity to hear the new work.

Questions

Should you have any questions, please email questions@cherrylanetheatre.org and we will respond in a timely manner.

Studio Players 13th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival

Website

Deadline: March 1, 2026 11:50 PM EST 

Or after 300 entries are received

All entries should be sent to: 10minuteplayfestlex@gmail.com with "10-min Play Fest" in the subject line.

The 13th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival will accept submissions beginning at NOON EST on February 21, 2026. Submissions received before this time will not be considered.

This competition is open to any playwright. There is NO submission fee, NO production fee. The judges will be members of the Studio Players theatre community: board members, directors, and patrons. The rules are simple and are as follows:

1. Any playwright may enter; please submit only ONE play per playwright. If a playwright submits more than one script, only the first one received will be considered and the others will be discarded.

2. The play must be a 10-minute play (meaning it will be approximately 10 pages of dialogue). If it’s a monologue/one-person piece, it should come in under 10 pages.

3. All emails should include TWO attachments: 1) a separate cover page containing the following information: play's title, author's name, email address, mailing address and phone number, and 2) a blind copy of the play. The play itself should only have the title and a brief synopsis; no other identifying information should be contained in or on the 10-page script. PDF or DOCX files are preferred.

4. To be considered, each script must be received by 11:59 p.m. EST March 1, 2026.

5. The contest is open to the first 300 entries received.

6. Winning entrants agree to a full production of their scripts and video recording and presentation of their scripts. Video recordings are used for marketing/promotional purposes only.

That's it! The top 7 scripts (as determined by the judges) will be performed by active members of the Bluegrass theatre community. Each play will be a fully realized production; each performance will contain all the winning scripts. The 7 selected playwrights will each receive $250 in prize money.

The script selection process is anonymous and therefore we won't be posting notifications during the deliberations. We will announce the 15 finalists and 7 winners after the selection process is complete.

 Visit https://www.facebook.com/studioplayers for more information.

Elmwood Playhouse One-Act Weekend 2026

 Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

Or when they have received 100 submissions

SUBMISSION PORTAL

(No email, hard copy, or other format will be accepted.)

Last summer’s very successful One-Act Weekend at Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack brought the original work of six local playwrights to the Elmwood stage. Audiences were delighted with this showcase of local talent and we were thrilled to provide the opportunity and resources for these writers to stage their works. With overwhelming interest and support from both sides of the curtain, we can’t wait to do it again! 

We are gearing up for Elmwood Playhouse’s One-Act Weekend 2026, starting with the submission process!  

We are accepting submissions starting February 1, 2026 via our online portal.  

Playwrights must live within a 50-mile radius of Nyack to be considered local. THIS INCLUDES NYC.

The submission window closes at 100 submissions or on February 28—whichever comes first!  

Playwrights’ names are removed before the selection committee reads each work. The selection process is anonymous.

Playwrights may submit plays of any genre, as long as each is a one-act play that can be performed in 20 minutes or less.  

Each playwright may submit up to three individual works.

Previously produced works are eligible. 

If a playwright has multiple submissions, each work must be submitted individually.

Playwrights may direct their own works or use a different director. We may be able to supply a director if you do not have one.

Playwrights will be responsible for casting, staffing, and rehearsing their own works. Elmwood can provide some assistance with casting and rehearsal space, to be worked out with the playwrights whose work is selected. 

We are excited to read the submissions for Elmwood Playhouse’s One-Act Weekend 2026! Between 5 and 10 works will be selected. All selected works will be performed on every performance date. Performance dates are July 24th (8pm), July 25th (2pm and 7pm), and July 26th (2pm).

Questions may be directed to oneactweekend@elmwoodplayhouse.com

EAST WEST PLAYERS invites proposals for a new play commission

Website

Deadline: March 2, 2026 at 5PM PST

SUBMISSION FORM

EAST WEST PLAYERS invites proposals for a new play commission, with a world premiere production in Summer 2028, to coincide with the 2028 Summer Olympics hosted in our home city of Los Angeles.

This open call commission, one of the first of its kind for EWP, will see one playwright commissioned for a new play that will be developed and premiered in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. This opportunity is open to playwrights at all stages of their practice!

To celebrate the Olympics taking place in our backyard, this commission will be themed around Asian American narratives in sports. For the purposes of this commission, our definition of Asian American is inclusive of communities who identify as East, South, Southeast, and West Asian; Pacific Islander, and Native Hawai’ian (AAPINH).

Similar to Asian American visibility in the performing arts, in the “theater” of sports we see a small number of extraordinary individuals achieve mainstream popularity (and/or controversy) while the community remains underrepresented within the field at large. As of 2024, the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports reported that Asian American athletes make up 1.4% of the WNBA, 1.3% of major league soccer, and 0.4% of the NFL. Asian American athletes, like artists, often bear the burden of representation when it comes to subverting or following stereotypes. However, many Asian American communities have a rich history and relationship with athletic activities, both competitive and recreational, contemporary and cultural, hyperlocal to national.

This commission seeks to uplift a diversity of narratives around Asian Americans in sports, while inspiring playwrights to explore theatrical subject and form. Proposals for plays are not required to center around Olympic sports or professional athletes, so long as sport is central to the core of the play in a meaningful way.

Commission Requirements

The proposal should encompass a play that can be envisioned as a full-length evening of theatre.

The proposed play should require no more than 5 performers on stage.

The proposed play should center the AANIPH experience and sports in a meaningful and identifiable way.

East West Players exists to elevate Asian and Asian American artists and stories in the American theatre, and spark conversation about the many layers of the AAPINH experience through our programming. For this commission, playwrights are encouraged to imagine beyond what narratives, themes, and sensibilities are most common in the mainstream American theatre, and to write under the default assumption that you will be understood by your audience.

What should be included in the proposal?

You may propose your play in whatever format you wish, so long as it does not exceed 1-2 pages. Some information you may wish to include in your proposal to give us the best sense of your vision:

Basic form and structure of the play

Information about the characters and sport featured

Major events, actions, or general dramatic arc of the play

Themes or dramatic questions within the play

Theatrical tools or languages you are excited to explore

Any sparks or impulses for scenes or moments that you envision

Your relationship to the characters and/or sport you are interested in writing about

Eligibility

The application is open to all applicants who have a relationship with East West Players, the greater Los Angeles area, and/or the AAPINH (Asian American is inclusive of communities who identify as East, South, Southeast, and West Asian; Pacific Islander, and Native Hawai’ian) experience.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

Applicants at all levels of their practice are invited to submit a proposal.

Applicants must be eligible to work and be paid in California.

Applicants are invited to submit multilingual work, but please provide English-language translations for our evaluation panel as needed.

Bread & Wine 2nd Annual Christmas Short Play Competition

Website

Deadline: April 10, 2026

Or when 120 scripts have been submitted

Email scripts to breadandwinetheatreco@gmail.com

• Seeking scripts between 1 & 13 pages (3-25min runtime) 
• Can be Performed in the Round with no minimal set & 1 to 5 actors 
• Some relationship to Christmas or Christmas Themes 
• Aligns with Bread & Wine's Mission of promoting the Beauty of a Virtuous Life. We hope our audiences come away from every show having fallen in love with something good 
• Original Plays Only (no previous productions) 

Submissions open Feb 1st close Apr 10th or on the 120th submission
Finalists will be selected for a Zoom table read the weekend of May 16th/17th. They will then have until June 7th to resubmit a revised version to the panelists. 

1-3 winners will be chosen, compensated, and performed as part of Bread & Wine's Christmas Short Play Festival 

1 script limit per playwright. Note finalists may be asked to make certain revisions to make plays suitable for Bread & Wine's audience, 

Discount tickets - THE LEGEND OF YOU

Sean Ireland, photo credit: Marina di Marzo

Tickets: $25 early bird, then $30 standard and $35 door.

Use code DAYLIGHT for $15 tickets.

Join us at The Legend of You, the only show that literally fights your figurative demons! 

Each performance begins with an everyday problem. Then, we transform it into an epic fantasy adventure, complete with bespoke monsters, enchanted treasure, and a big bad Villain. Think “The Lord of the Rings” meets “your latest therapy session,” with some songs along the way for good measure.

Catch our next show at Caveat on Saturday, March 7th, featuring a problem from special guest Shenuque Tissera (HBO Max, Many Sided Media, New York Comedy Festival, NY Sketchfest).

Featuring performances by:

• Sean Ireland
• Dave Panfilo
• Ash Westover
• Bella Zinca
• And special "Quest Star" Shenuque Tissera

Featuring live music from Max Feldman and Amara Lapuz

Vocal Bodies: Monologues of Disabled Experience seeks monologues for publication

Website

Deadline: April 1, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Smith & Kraus seeks monologues that speak to the experience of disability in some way.

 

Please note that scripts with disabled characters do not necessarily need to focus on disability as the main topic. Additionally, the featured character does not need to be disabled, so long as disability is meaningfully explored in some way. 

We are particularly interested in informed works that highlight the complexities (good, bad, or otherwise) of the disabled experience. 

Disability is diverse, and we are looking for monologues that reflect that diversity in content, tone, and form. Special consideration will be given to monologues that are audition-ready. Pieces that “other” disabled people or rely on stereotypes will not be considered. 

Multiple submissions are fine. 

Work cannot have received previous publication. 

Payment for contributing playwrights will be a split of the net income from sales of that book with the publishers and editors. 

Questions may be directed to: mpoblete@tamu.edu and krothman@tamu.edu

Gloria Bond Clunie Playwright’s Festival 2026

Instagram account

Deadline: February 23, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

We are excited to open play submissions for the 3rd annual Gloria Bond Clunie Playwright's Festival at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston, right outside of Chicago, IL. All events will take place at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center (927 Noyes St). The mission of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre is to present work that centers the Black American experience and explore stories of the African Diaspora. 

The inclusion and interpretation of this mission is up to the playwright. 

Playwrights of all races, ethnicities, sizes, religions, sexualities, and genders will be considered. 

Multiple submissions are accepted, but please complete and submit the form for each individual submission. We are not accepting musicals or solo work at this time. While plays can have undergone some development, we are looking for unproduced and unpublished plays.

We Are Looking For:

• Plays in any stage of the development process 
• Work that thematically speaks to the Black American experience and/or exploring
• African Diaspora-centered storytelling 
• Full length and one act plays 

July 10th-12th
Workshopping with actors and director, meeting with playwright mentor, writing time

July 17th-19th
Rehearsal with actors and director and one staged reading performance

All events take place in-person at:
Noyes Cultural Arts Center
927 Noyes St., Evanston, IL 60201 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

GBCplayfestival@gmail.com

Broken Arts Submission Form - Loved Ones Season 03

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Loved Ones has always been about love—but not the polished, performative version. Not the kind that fits neatly into a rom-com arc or resolves itself with a single grand gesture. This series exists to explore love as it actually is complicated, inconvenient, transformative, and sometimes devastating. Love shows up in quiet sacrifices, in things left unsaid, in loyalty that costs something, and in moments where choosing someone, or something, means losing something else. For Season 03, we’re looking for stories that understand love as a force that changes people, not one that simply comforts them.

At Broken Arts Entertainment, we believe love is inseparable from risk. It asks for vulnerability. It exposes flaws. It creates tension, fractures certainty, and forces characters to confront who they really are. Whether the relationship is romantic, familial, platonic, or something harder to define, the emotional stakes must matter. We’re not interested in love as an abstract concept—we’re interested in how it collides with fear, grief, identity, power, loyalty, and choice. If love were removed from your story, something essential should break.

Our expectation is simple but demanding, write with intention, honesty, and care. 

Characters should feel lived-in, dialogue should serve emotion rather than explanation, and every moment should earn its place. We value originality, restraint, and emotional clarity over spectacle. This is a space for stories that linger, ones that leave echoes after the final line. If your submission understands that love is not always kind, not always safe, but always consequential, then you’re in the right place.

For Festival Consideration Must be 20 minutes - 45 minutes long
Formats accepted: PDF, DOCX, or audio script drafts.

NOTE: We will produce controversial subjects, but none that promote hate towards any type of person regardless of who that person is. It's not our style. Awareness? Yes. Hate? No.

Arkana Magazine seeks short plays for its Micro issue

Website

Deadline: March 16, 2026 at 1AM

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

For our Micro Issue, please submit scripts for the stage or screen that would last, if performed, five minutes or less.

We publish work by established and emerging writers unaffiliated with the University of Central Arkansas. We accept previously unpublished fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, scripts for the stage or screen, translation, artwork, and illustrated narrative through our Submittable submission manager.

Simultaneous submissions are always welcome. We only ask that you withdraw your piece as soon as you accept another opportunity.

As a compendium of the rare, intriguing, and unheard, we’re looking for quality writing that is thought-provoking and literary. 

We are especially interested in work that explores the identities and experiences of writers from the Delta region, BIPOC, immigrant, LGBTQ+, women, disabled, and neurodivergent writers, the resource-poor, writers over 50, those who have experienced or been impacted by incarceration, or anyone whose voices have traditionally been silenced.

MICRO ISSUE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Up to 500 words of prose (fiction or nonfiction), double-spaced
• Limit 1 submission per genre until you’ve received a response
• Up to three poems per submission, up to 10 lines per poem
• Up to 5 photographs or pieces of art. For illustrated narrative, one page or panel.
• Cover letter with a brief biographical statement
• Up to 5 minutes of script for the stage or screen
• Up to 1 minute for a video essay

The Players Theatre – Short Play Festival - NYC

Website

Deadline: March 25, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

New York City is like no other place in the world! We are seeking plays that get to the heart of the Big Apple and explore what makes this town tick. Unique New York – it’s more than a tongue twister – it is a way of life!

All plays submitted must be centered on and revolve around this theme.

ELIGIBILITY: Short Plays and Musicals with a performance time of 15 minutes or less, no more than 15 pages in length (not including title page). Writers are eligible to submit up to 2 plays.

Plays run one weekend out of three in June 2026
June 4 – 7
June 11 – 14
June 18 – 21
Thurs – Sat 7pm; Sun 3pm

DATES & LOCATIONS: June 4 – 21, 2026 The Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre at The Players Theatre: 115 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012 – 3rd floor walk up: 3 weeks, 4 performances weekly (Thursday through Sunday), 5 new plays featured each week. Each play performs four times in its selected week (Week 1, Week 2, or Week 3). 

PRIZE: Each week a audience favorite is selected by audience vote. The winner of each week will receive $100 prize. If you are the winner, you must submit a PayPal account to receive your prize. THEME: “NYC” Make it all about life in NYC! All plays submitted must be centered on and revolve around this theme. ** Note ** 1) Playwrights are responsible for producing their own play – Host (us) provides theatre, technicians, marketing and box office. 2) 

If selected, there is a $50 NON-refundable tech fee required Plays MUST be NO MORE 15 minutes in length, which equals approximately 15 pages of script (not including title page). Submissions open: Feb 11, 2026 Submissions close: March 25, 2026 Play selection announced soon thereafter (it may take a few weeks after the close of the submission window). F

For more festival information visit: www.shortplaynyc.com 

Click Here to download a sample contract for the festival – This is a sample of what you would receive IF your play is accepted – please DO NOT sign & send this sample.

Thank you – we can’t wait to read your work!

Summer Harvest 2026 seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

The Vidalia Theatre Company in Atlanta, is accepting submissions for its annual Summer Harvest show of 10-minute plays to be produced in June 2026.

The theme for this show is “connection.” We’re looking for plays that explore the human need for connection… romantic or platonic. Stories that deal with the obstacles in today’s world to achieving genuine connection, how we cope or fail to cope and how we sometimes avoid it all together. We are only seeking plays that fit this theme at this time.

Submissions should contain 2-4 characters (6 maximum), simple set and prop requirements, and provide opportunity for diverse casting.

Adult language and content are permitted as long as it is relevant to the story and not gratuitous.

Submissions cannot have been previously produced in the Atlanta Metro Area.

Limit 2 submissions per playwright.

PAY: A $25 stipend is paid to the playwrights whose plays are selected.

***PLEASE READ THE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY***

**ANY SUBMISSION THAT DOES NOT FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED**

Please send each submission in a separate email.

Email submissions to: vidaliatheatre@gmail.com

In the subject line type: Playwright Name - Title of Play - Harvest 26

Be sure to include your contact information (email and telephone) in the body of the email.

All scripts must be attached as a PDF. No other file types will be accepted.

No blind submissions necessary

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITY OPEN TO ALL PLAYWRIGHTS

(with special consideration for playwrights who are Georgia residents)

Go Try PlayWrite February 2026

Website

Deadline: February 28, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

We're proud to announce a new monthly playwriting contest in collaboration with Bamboo Ridge Press. Every month, Kumu Kahua's artistic director Harry Wong III will select a writing prompt on the first day of that month. We're looking for 5-page monologues or 10-page scenes based on that prompt; the due date for submissions are always the last day of the month. All entries must be written in traditional play format; instructions on this format can be found here (https://www.dramatistsguild.com/script-formats), courtesy of the Dramatists Guild.

There will be one winner each month. Scripts will be submitted to the judges anonymously. Winners will receive $100 and a subscription to Bamboo Ridge Press. Woo!

The prompt for February 2026 is a Frank prompt. Here’s a quote:

“Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone.”

This is a translation of a quote taken from the The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Let it inspire you to write a 10-page maximum scene or an eight-page maximum monologue. Whatever you write does not need to be set in 1930s or 40s Europe. It could be Minnesota, Hawai‘i, or wherever. That’s it.

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

Playwrights on Park Reading Series 2026/2027 seeks full-length plays

Website

Deadline: March 14, 2026

Submit plays through this Google Form

Playwrights on Park Reading Series at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford, CT is currently accepting submissions for the 2026/2027 season.

No late submissions will be accepted.

IMPORTANT INFO:

Playwrights must be able to attend the staged reading and the audience discussion that follows in West Hartford (Connecticut.)  There will be a rehearsal on the day of the reading, in which attendance by the playwright is optional but strongly encouraged. Transportation may be provided from NYC or New England locations by the Playhouse. Readings will be on select Sunday nights throughout the season at 7:00 pm.

Playreading dates TBD

We will select five plays for readings in the 2026/27 season. Final selections will be made by July 1st, 2026

Submission Guidelines:

BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, womxn, Latinx, and differently-abled artists are strongly encouraged to submit

We are seeking FULL-LENGTH plays. No musicals or One-Acts at this time

We are only seeking plays with small casts (4 or fewer actors), particularly 2 or 3-character casts. Plays that cannot be accomplished with 4 actors or fewer will not be considered.

Include any production or workshop history, as well as biographies of the playwright and any collaborators. Please let us know if this play has had an equity reading within the past 6 months.

Playwrights may self-submit or go through a literary agent.

Connecticut-based and NYC playwrights are strongly encouraged to submit

Please do not submit any plays that have already been submitted to Playwrights on Park in the past.

Any submission that goes against the above guidelines will be automatically disqualified.

Playwrights on Park webpage: https://www.playhouseonpark.org/web2/newworksseries.html

Woodward/Newman Award 2027/28

Website

Deadline: August 31, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

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

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

Submissions will be accepted and reviewed by our literary team on an ongoing basis, and will be considered for the award as well as for all 7 production slots in our season. So a play that is not selected for the Woodward/Newman slot in our season, may still be considered and selected for production. 

This will allow us to now accept open submissions for all types of plays (including TYA shows). Plays submitted by midnight, August 31st, 2026 will be considered for the 2027-28 season, while plays submitted beyond that date will be considered for the 2028-29 Season. All submissions will be kept on file for 2 years after submission.

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

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

We are currently accepting submissions for the 2027-28 Woodward/Newman Award. The award recipient will be announced by May 15, 2027. 

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

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

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

Limit of 2 play submissions per year.

$3,000 cash prize is in lieu of royalties for the full production. Housing & transportation will also be provided.

Any unpublished play submitted to Constellation regardless of method (e.g. online form, agent submission, direct contact) may be considered for the Woodward/Newman Award.

Please note that we are moving away from a “finalists” model in lieu of keeping all plays under consideration for extended periods (2yrs). We will only announce a winner.

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

Stage Left seeks monologues and short plays

Website

Deadline: February 15, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Originally launched in 2020 as part of Stage Left’s Virtual Season, Empower began as a boudoir-inspired monologue series exploring the unique yet unifying experiences of womanhood through a distinctly female (femme) lens. This year, Empower evolves with a new theme: Joy. We invite writers to celebrate womanhood as they see fit, through stories of laughter, resilience, connection, and delight. Submissions may explore any interpretation of joy, from quiet moments of peace to bold expressions of triumph.

Open to female and femme-identifying playwrights.

Accepting monologues and short two-person plays (maximum 5 pages). 

Submissions must be original, unpublished works.

Join us in celebrating the voices, stories, and creative power of women.

Each piece will be presented with minimalist design of acting blocks and basic wash of lights. Any additional staging elements would be up to the director of each piece to provide. The festivals at Stage Left live somewhere between a full production and a fully staged reading as the focus will be on the words and not the spectacle.

This opportunity will be limited to 20 monologues and 10 two-person pieces.

Submission Deadline: February 16th, 2026

Selection Notification: February 25th, 2026

Performance Dates: March 20th - 29th, 2026

This is an unpaid opportunity, but all playwrights will be provided with a filmed performance of their piece.

Hannah Arendt Special IHRAF Festival seeks short play productions

Website

Deadline: February 15, 2026 at midnight

Celebrating the life and ideas of Hannah Arendt
(1906-1975)

New York and Tri-state area based artists 

Work may not have been produced within the last year in NYC, or be scheduled in the next six months of June 7th, 2026.

Please note:
The performances must be fully produced by you; IHRAF is a presenting platform.
Considering performances 10-20 minutes long!

We accept just one proposal for each application.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Please email our Festival Assistant Producer Costanza Bugiani at costanza@humanrightsartmovement.org with the following, and any questions:

A brief description of your piece, including approximate running time - we’re accepting 10-20 mins works.

A cover letter, including details about how your piece aligns with the ideas or life of Hannah Arendt (see below for more information about Hannah), information about the piece’s discipline, and a brief summary of your artistic goals

Your bios or resumes and the names of any collaborators already on board

A sample of the work (scripts, pics, videos, songs, any other links or file that could help us to know more about your project)

As email subject, please type IHRAF Festival: Arendt, then add Association-Company-your name (i.e. IHRAF Hannah Arendt, Joan Doe)

All accepted performers will receive:

Performance stipends of $500 total (per accepted project)

PR and marketing support

30-minute tech rehearsal

Festival TD and SM

Free photographic documentation of the performance

…and bragging rights as participants in the largest and coolest human rights/art festival in NYC!

June 5-7, 2026
Urban Stages
259 West 30th Street
(btw 7th and 8th Avenues)
New York, NY 10001

Denver Quarterly seeking short plays & monologues

Website

Deadline: February 16, 2026 2:00 AM

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

Denver Quarterly is interested in texts intended to be performed in some capacity-- including one-act plays, flash mobs, performance art, monologues, scripted choreography-- or work that is meant to be performed solely on the page but bears in mind certain conventions of the theater/stage. Poems and short stories are not accepted under this category.

Policies:

Performance submissions should generally consist of no more than 4,000 words, but may be much shorter as the project requires.

Excerpts from longer works are permissible.

If you are submitting performance texts with particular formatting, we recommend saving your file as a PDF.

Please submit only one piece to one category for our consideration, and please wait until you have heard back from us before submitting again.

Simultaneous submissions are permitted, and please notify us promptly if your work has been accepted elsewhere by adding a note withdrawing your piece in Submittable. We do not read previously published work.

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

DO NOT SEND THEY HAVE RECIEVED 75 SUBMISSIONS

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