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Deadline: December 15, 2023 11:59 ESTOr when they have received 850 plays
SUBMISSION VIA SUBMITTTABLE The Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival offers a prize of publication and licensing for six short plays in the notable OFF OFF BROADWAY FESTIVAL PLAYS series. In addition, the 30 semi-finalists each receive a full production in one of New York City’s leading Off Broadway theaters.
Though many of the works that play in the Festival have been developed under the wing of theatres, universities, and writers' groups, many of the plays that are produced as part of the Festival are world premieres.
This year, we will be capping submissions at 850, as we are committed to providing thorough and thoughtful consideration to each script in a timely manner.
Submissions will close when we either reach our limit of 850 submissions or our deadline of December 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST.
Playwrights may submit one unpublished play or musical that is up to 15 pages in length with a max run time of 15 minutes (ideal run times are between 8-13 minutes). On the application, playwrights must cite the organization that will produce their play (often it is the playwright themselves) as well as a liaison for Concord to contact with Festival information. Submissions are whittled down by the Festival’s editorial staff, and the Final 30 playwrights are chosen to present their work during Festival week.
Festival week consists of four nights of staged reading performance sessions in which seven to eight scripts (10 to 15 min pieces) are presented in front of a judging panel, which is comprised of professionals representing various parts of the theatre industry. At the end of each session, the judges deliberate and one to three plays are selected to move on to the Festival Finals.
Finals take place on the Saturday of the Festival week. During the Finals, the Festival staff will watch the final 10 to 12 plays and select six pieces to be a published in the OFF OFF BROADWAY FESTIVAL PLAYS series, which is published and licensed by Concord Theatricals.
GENERAL EMAIL (for all OOB questions): oobfestival@samuelfrench.com
GENERAL PHONE (for all OOB questions): 1-866-979-0447
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Casey McLain
LITERARY DIRECTOR: Garrett Anderson
DATE AND LOCATION:
Summer 2024
New York, NY
ELIGIBILITY:
Short plays and musicals that are no more than 15 pages in length and have a max run time of 15 minutes (ideal run times are between 8-13 minutes).
Writers may submit only 1 play, including plays they have co-authored. Producers (writers' groups, theatre companies, universities, etc.) may submit up to 15 plays accredited to their organization, but can only submit one play by an individual playwright.
Each nomination must submit a separate application form. Conglomerate entries on one application, even by one and the same playwright, are not acceptable.
Plays must be written primarily in English (non-English words or phrases within the context of the play are allowed, extensive use of non-English language must provide translations).
Plays must be typed, and in no less that 10-point type, in conjunction with formatting suggestions listed in the Dramatist Guild's
Formatting Guidelines. Note that cover pages or additional cast size pages are not required and will not be counted against the 15 page limit.
Plays may not be written using any generative artificial intelligence (AI); however, writers are not prohibited from utilizing AI as part of their creative process. If a writer utilizes generative AI in creating their play, they must be the owner of that AI generated content or be authorized by the owner to either create works derived from the content or to incorporate the content into their play. It is the responsibility of each writer to ensure the entire content of their submission does not violate the rights of any other person or party. Any play that Concord Theatricals discovers to be an infringement or a violation of the rights of another person or party shall be ineligible, even if the violation/infringement was unintentional on the part of the writer(s).
Playwrights previously published any of Concord Theatricals’ umbrella companies Samuel French, Inc. or their subsidiary Baker’s Plays, Tams-Witmark, Rodgers & Hammerstein, or The Musical Company are not eligible for submission into the Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Plays presented in previous Off Off Broadway Festivals are not eligible for re-submission.
Poetry and short story readings will not be accepted.
Concord Theatricals in its sole and absolute discretion, shall select plays for participation in the 2024 OOB Festival from among all entries, and its decisions are final. Concord Theatricals reserves the right to remove any selected play from participation if the play, its producers, and/or its authors are not in compliance with the Application and/or the Competition Guidelines, and/or if the additional documents are not timely signed and returned. Production of selected plays shall be at the sole cost and expense of the Producer, and no royalties or other payments are or will be owed by Concord Theatricals.
Concord Theatricals will provide:
- The theatre space with a basic lighting plot, including pre-set general cues and basic sound equipment.
- Chairs and music stands.
- All front-and back-of-house personnel, including a stage manager and board operator.
- Liability insurance.
- Marketing materials.
Please note that we are unable to provide housing during the Festival week.
TO SUBMIT:
Your OOB Submission must be submitted by the Author[s] of the Play unless you are submitting as the representative of an Organization.
“The author is responsible for securing a director or producing company (or self-producing/directing) their work if the work is selected as a Festival participant. The responsibilities of the Producer or author (should they self-produce) include, but are not limited to: the casting (note; our 2024 festival will be a non-equity festival); the appointment of the director (if applicable); rehearsals and rehearsal space; transportation; housing (if applicable); costumes (if applicable), and all fees and expenses attendant thereto.
The author is also required to select a Production Liaison, who is authorized to speak and act for the Producer in all matters concerning the Festival.
Script submissions will be accepted in digital format only, via Submittable. Each submission should be uploaded as a single PDF document. Documents must be labeled as follows: PlayTitle_Author’s Last Name.pdf.
All portions of the application below must be complete.
Concord Theatricals will notify applicants of their admission into the OOB Festival by May 2024.
