Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre script submission policy

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Since the 1989/90 season, the first year of Artistic Director Steven Schipper’s tenure, MTC has programmed an average of one new play each year. Of course, world premieres of new plays don’t happen overnight. Playwrights and their work must be nurtured. MTC commissions new work (five are currently in various stages of development) and provides dramaturgical support including readings and workshops.

In our quest for new projects to produce, we accept about 100 script submissions each year, including new plays and works that have been previously produced, which are then read by MTC staff and freelance analysts. Last year, we hired 38 actors to read eight promising scripts for MTC staff as part of our Tuesday afternoon Wordplay series.

What We Are Looking For

It is not enough to write beautiful dialogue or to create memorable characters. Playwrights must give those characters clear goals, high stakes, formidable obstacles and a sense of urgency if they are to hold an audience’s interest. Story structure is an essential, but often under-utilized, element in creating play scripts. Learn how to use it, in concert with great characters, insightful dialogue, and important themes, and you will be in top 10% of the submissions we receive.

How To Submit A Script

Please submit only full-length plays (at minimum, plays that would have a run-time of approximately 70 minutes).

Playwrights who would like to submit scripts are asked to complete the Wordplay submission form below and mail it along with their script to:


Jeff Kennedy, Wordplay Coordinator
Manitoba Theatre Centre
174 Market Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3B 0P8


Wordplay Submission Form - go to the web site for this form.