The 2018 Rockford New Play Festival

web site

The 2018 Rockford New Play Festival is seeking submissions of original ten minute plays. Six scripts will be chosen as official selections of the festival and presented in an evening of staged readings in Rockford, Illinois on August 23, 2018 and broadcast live on Facebook.

Each of the six playwrights will receive $200.

Scroll down for the theme, submission rules, and link to the submission form.
THEME
A DREAM EXPLODES!

In 1951, Langston Hughes wrote the poem "Harlem" which explores several possibilities of what might happen when a dream is left unfulfilled, including the famous closing line: "...does it explode?" Given today's social and political uncertainty, we invite playwrights to explore what happens when "A Dream Explodes!”

For the full text of Langston Hughes' poem, click here.

SUBMISSION RULES

There is no entry fee. Please follow these rules:

Theme: plays must be relevant to this year’s theme: A Dream Explodes!

Language: Plays must be written for English speaking audiences.

Format: Plays must be primarily dialogue and action. Original or copyright-free songs are okay, but cannot comprise more than 1 page of text. No Musicals.

One play per playwright will be accepted.

One Playwright per play. No collaborations.

Originality: Submissions must be original and playwrights must be the copyright holder. Translations and adaptations will not be accepted.

Eligibility: Plays that have been professionally produced or published, or which are under consideration for production or publication, are not eligible.

Plays submitted to The Rockford New Play Festival in previous years will not be considered.

File Format: Plays must be submitted in PDF format.

File Name: “[Your First Name] [Your Last Name]-[Your Play Title].PDF”
(e.g. Antoinette Nwandu-Pass Over.PDF)

Plays must have the following sections:

Title Page (Play Title, Playwright Name and Contact Info)

Character / Setting / Time Page (List characters in order of appearance with a short description)

Play Body: 10 Pages or less. Plays longer than 10 pages (not including Title, Character/Setting/Time pages) will not be read.

Time: Plays should last approximately 10 minutes when read aloud at a normal cadence. Plays dense in single-spaced text or description will not be read.

Plays must be in the following standard Play Format:

Font: 12 point Times New Roman.  No bold.

Margins: Top: 1”, Bottom: 1”, Left: 1”,  Right: 1”

Character Names: CAPITALIZED, first letter of name centered on page

Dialogue: Begins on the line below the character name, single spaced

Stage Directions: start at center of page, single spaced, in parentheses, no italics

Page Numbering: Upper right corner. Page 1 is first page of Play Body

Plays not submitted in this format will not be read.

Online Submission: Plays must be submitted through the online form. Email or postal submissions will not be accepted.

Headshot Required. If your play is chosen to be in the festival, you will be asked to provide a high resolution photo of yourself for marketing purposes. If you are unable to provide such a photo at that time, we reserve the right to remove your play from the festival.

Double-check these rules before making your submission.

Any submission not following these rules will be disqualified.

Plays will be accepted until April 20, 2018 at 11:59pm CST, or until we reach 500 submissions, whichever comes first. Playwrights will be notified about the status of their submission no later than May 31st, 2018.

Click to submit your play.