The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation (DVRF) and OHenry Productions are pleased to announce the first annual Emerging Playwrights Contest. The play contest is intended to identify and encourage talented playwrights who have not yet achieved commercial success and whose work accordingly deserves a wider audience. Over time, we believe this new play contest will serve the broader educational purpose of bringing new and challenging work to the attention of the public.
The Prize
A winning piece will be selected by representatives of DVRF and OHenry Productions and will receive a staged reading in New York City. Consideration will thereafter be given towards further development of the work.
There is no entry fee. To submit your work, please see the instructions below.
Submission Guidelines
(1) We are seeking full-length plays only. While there is no strict minimum or maximum page limit, our suggestion is that submissions be no shorter than 30 pages.
(2) Submissions must be written in English, and must not have had a previous fully staged production. No play that is currently under option is eligible to win. Submissions that have been previously developed or which formerly were under option must be accompanied by a brief summary of the play’s developmental history.
(3) No musicals or dance pieces will be considered at this time.
(4) Only one submission per playwright/writing team.
(5) To ensure an impartial selection process, we ask that the playwright’s name only be included on the cover page.
(6) The play must be original or based on material which the author has previously been afforded the rights to. Please only submit your own work.
(7) Playwrights must be citizens or residents of the United States.
(8) The winning script will receive a reading in NYC during the Spring/Summer of 2015. The author is responsible for his or her travel arrangements. These dates are subject to change as necessary.
(9) In order to give each submission the attention it deserves, and ensure a timely selection process we can only guarantee eligibility to the play contest for the first 200 scripts we receive. Should your script be received after we have hit the 200 cap, you will be notified and placed on a waitlist. We will review submissions from the waitlist if time allows, and you will be notified if your script is taken off the waitlist.
Instructions for Submission to the Play Contest
All submissions must be made electronically. Submissions should be PDFs and in standard stage play format. Please include a title page with the playwright’s name, address, phone number and email. Submissions should also include a brief synopsis, and character descriptions. Submissions must be received by 11:59pm on Friday April 10th, 2015 to be eligible for the 2015 play contest. Scripts can be submitted through this form. Submissions may also be emailed todvrfohenry@dvrf.org. Please make the subject of your email “2015 Contest Submission.”
Click here for a full list of Contest Rules (the “fine print”)