SheNYC Summer Theater Festival 2024

Website

Deadline: November 15, 2023

APPLICATION

SheNYC is the City’s premier festival showcasing new, original works by gender-marginalized writers, composers, & directors.

Musicals – musicals of any size, shape, and form are welcome to apply. Just keep in mind that 2-hour run time limit. You can submit a show that runs longer than that in its current form, as long as you’re okay with making some trims for the festival.

Plays – again, plays of any size, shape, and form are welcome to apply!

Adaptations – are you a woman director or adapter who wants to do a reverse-gender production of King Lear? We love that. Just make sure you are actually able to obtain the rights to your show (sometimes, special rights have to be obtained if you want to adapt or change gender roles), or better yet, take a public domain play.

A theater festival is an opportunity for playwrights to self-produce their work in full onstage, for a paying audience. Festivals have multiple shows which all share resources (like the theater itself, front-of-house staff and supplies, and technical equipment), making the process far less expensive for everyone than producing your show on your own. If you’ve done developmental readings already and feel like you’re ready to take the next step of seeing your piece fully staged, a festival is probably the right fit for you!

Unique to SheNYC, there is no participation fee to participate in the Festival, and we cover all those shared costs for you and the other shows.

DOWNTOWN URBAN ARTS FESTIVAL (DUAF) IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTING PLAY SUBMISSIONS

Website

Deadline: November 10, 2023

Downtown Urban Arts Festival (DUAF) is seeking theatrical works (plays, musicals, and solo performances) for its 22nd anuual season to be held in June 2024 in the Theatre District in New York City.

DUAF supports diverse, new, and emerging voices from America’s burgeoning multicultural landscape. Over 200 playwrights have participated in DUAF and some have gone on to greater success on Broadway and have claimed top prizes such as the Pulitzer, Tony and Obie awards and nominations.

Submission Categories:

• Short-length play (under 45 minutes)
• Full-length play (not exceeding 70 minutes) 

Eligible Projects:

• Plays do not exceed 70 minutes
• Plays should be new or existing work with minimal exposure 

Plays should not have any other production in New York City during the 30-day period before and after the 2024 festival

Playwright’s Supports: No submission or participation fees

• $750 (short) and $1,000 (full) playwright stipends
• Actor and director stipends
• Casting support 
• Technical design and operation 
• Reimbursed rehearsal space rentals
• Actor’s Equity Showcase Code application administration
• $1,000 awards for best full, short and audience

Submission Checklist:

• Playwright's bio with contact info including name, address, phone # and email
• Photo of playwright
• Synopsis of theatrical work
• Complete script of theatrical work
• Estimated running time of work
• Actor/director/crew bios, if available
• Description of stage set (if any) and production needs (i.e. sound and lighting) 

Please submit all attachments as .pdf. Photos must be in either .jpg or .jpeg.

The submission deadline is Friday, November 10, 2023. Please submit to coordinator@duafnyc.com. For more info about DUAF, visit: duafnyc.com.

Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble (GTE) 2024 Festival seeks 10-minute plays

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023 8PM

Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble (GTE) is excited to invite all playwrights to participate in its 2024 Festival 10 event. This is GTE’s third such festival. It will feature a variety of 10-minute plays, both published and unpublished.

The guidelines for play submissions are as follows:

E-mail your original play(s) for consideration to Artistic Director Linda Pauline at linda.ghostlightte@gmail.com on or before 8:00 PM on Tuesday, October 31 st, 2023.

You may submit up to three plays.

Plays should meet the 10-minute length requirement and be able to be performed in a small stage setting.

There are no restrictions on theme or tone of the plays. We hope to showcase a variety of genres (comedy, drama, dramedy, etc.) that will be interesting to a diverse audience.

Select GTE members will review all submissions as they are received prior to the deadline. They will be looking for the following attributes:

Storytelling quality: Plays that feature a story with an arc, interesting characters and urgent conflict will have a greater chance of being produced than those that do not.

Dialogue/writing quality: Plays that demonstrate strong writing ability and realistic dialogue will have a greater likelihood of being selected than those that do not.

Simple set and props: Minimum set and props will be provided such as folding chairs and rehearsal boxes.

Opportunities for diverse performers: GTE attracts performers of all ages, and we anticipate we will have both teens and adults audition for the festival. Previous years’ festivals have had performers ranging from ages 13 to 70+. As such, we will select a mix of plays that enable a broad age range to audition and perform.

All playwrights of original works will be notified as to whether or not their play was selected for the festival by December 1, 2023.

If your play is selected for the festival, GTE will present a simple contract for review and signature prior to moving forward with production.

We hope to have the honor of reading YOUR play soon.

Durango PlayFest 2024

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023

Durango PlayFest is a week-long, annual play development festival in Durango, CO, where both established and up-and-coming playwrights workshop new plays with directors and actors before presenting staged readings to live audiences.

The 6th annual festival will be held June 27-30, 2024. 

Playwrights must commit to being in Durango from Sunday, June 23, to Monday, July 1, 2024.

Deadline to submit: October 31, 2023

Dramas or comedies accepted (no musicals)

Submissions may have been workshopped before but not produced. Playwrights are expected to further develop their work during PlayFest.

One to four characters

Approximately 90 minutes in length

Limited or no props (these are not full productions)

Playwrights receive a $500 stipend, airfare, lodging and meals.

Send play submissions to durangoplayfest@gmail.com.

In the body of your email, please provide the number of characters, page length and a two-sentence synopsis.

Fleas on the Dog - submissions open for Issue #15

Website

New Deadline: November 1, 2023

Deadline: November 15, 2023

Submissions are now open for Issue #15. 

There is no submission fee. There is no remuneration for work we publish, either, but what the heck, you're going to be famous! Owing to the volume of submissions we receive we will only contact those authors we have selected for publication. If you do not hear from us at the time the new issue is featured consider your submission declined. We'll get back to you in about 30 days, usually sooner. (Why should it take months?)

Fiction: Up to 5000 words! Length is less important than quality. For works longer than 5000 words query the editors about possible serialization.

• Submissions should be on a Microsoft Word doc or docx file. 
• Use a sensible font. 
• Double space format. 

Stuff like grammar and sentence structure  is important unless your work deliberately exploits bad grammar and lack of structure. (We can tell the difference.) Include a brief bio with your submission and publishing credits, if any. 

Send your submission as an e-mail attachment to editors@fleasonthedog.com (or type in the link in the email address).

Include the genre (fiction, poetry, or play) and title of your work in the subject bar.  Simultaneous submissions are okay, just let us know when your work is accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are not okay unless solicited. Submit to only one category per issue. We retain the first rights of your work for a period of three months. After this time rights revert back to the author. If you should republish the story/article please acknowledge that it was first published by www.fleasonthedog.com  

2024 Snowdance® 10 Minute Comedy Festival

Website

Deadline: November 1, 2023

Over Our Head Players is accepting submissions for the "2024 Snowdance® 10 Minute Comedy Festival," now through November 1, 2023. "Snowdance®" entry is open to original 10 minute or shorter comedies for the stage. Winning entries will be performed together in one theatre presentation by the OOHP Snowdance ensemble at Sixth Street Theatre for five weeks beginning February 9, 2024. The entire Snowdance production will be presented 24 times during the run. At each performance, audience members can vote for their favorite individual comedy; the audience favorites will earn cash prizes for the playwright. 

Entries may be sent to SNOWDANCE, c/o Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth Street, Racine, Wisconsin, 53403. 

Alternatively, entries may be sent by email to snowdance318@gmail.com.

Rules for the Snowdance Comedy Competition, which is open to everyone without age or geographic restriction, are relatively simple. 

In summary, competition is open to unpublished, 10 minute or shorter comedies free of royalty and copyright restrictions. Musicals, adaptations, and translations will not be considered. Entries must be postmarked by November 1, 2023. 

The writer's name, address, phone number, and e-mail address should be included on the title page and only the title page. 

The title page should also include a cast list and a one to three sentence synopsis of the play. 

Plays can have a cast of one to four characters; plays should be easily staged, avoiding elaborate set requirements. 

Submit one typed manuscript in standard format, securely bound. 

Complete rules are posted on the Rules page. 

Any questions can be directed to Rich Smith via the box office, at 262-632-6802, or by e-mail at snowdance318@gmail.com. Scripts will not be returned.

Kumu Kahua Go Try Play

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023

GOOGLE DOCS SUBMISSION FORM

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 the month of October 2023 is:

A Trick or Treat prompt. Write a ten (10) page maximum scene about a group of kids who retaliate with a trick against a house and someone that didn't give them a treat on Halloween night. As always, have fun with this. Act out your childhood revenge fantasies, but don't forget about the consequences.

LoveNotes! - True Stories of First Love, Last Love, & All The Love In Between seeks monologues

Website

Deadline: November 10, 2023

Thanks for your interest in LoveNotes! - True Stories of First Love, Last Love, & All The Love In Between. The World Premier will be held Saturday, February 10, 2024 in New York City (one day of shows!)

Spread the word. Tell the poets, lovers, dreamers and anybody else who's ever been in love that I'm looking for TRUEheartwarming to heartbreaking stories of first love, last love, forever love, unrequited love, the against-all-odds love, gay love, trans love, the one-that-got-away love, happily-ever-after love, unexpressed love, online love, arranged marriage love, worst date-ever love, friends-to-lovers love, never-ending love, opps-that-was-a-mistake love, second-time-around love, and on and on.

You get the idea—any story about romantic love in any of its incarnations. No stories about how much you love your mom, kid, teacher, etc.— A LoveNotes! story is the kind of yarn in which Cupid has shot someone in the heart and has lived to tell the tale. Funny is hard to find so if you have a humorous take on love, please audition. 

The only two requirements are:

• Your story must be true.
• Your story must 1000 words or fewer.

Auditions are live, in-person at Ripley-Grier Studios (131 W. 72nd St, studio 3F, New York, NY 10023) Saturday, November 11 (sign up below) or by SELF-TAPE (submit by We-Transfer) before November 10, 6pm to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com).

If you're auditioning in-person:

Write a 5-7 minute essay (1000 words or fewer). You will read your essay aloud at the audition. You do not need to memorize your piece. In fact, we prefer that you don’t. Bring two copies of your piece to the audition (one for you and one for us). Sign up to in audition in person below.

If you're auditioning by self-tape:

Write a 5-7 minute essay (1000 words or fewer). 

Tape yourself reading the essay aloud on camera. 

Transfer your self-tape via https://wetransfer.com/ to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com.

Put LoveNotes Auditon in the subject. 

Also, email a copy of your essay to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com. 

All self-tape auditions are due by November 10, 2023.

By auditioning, you agree to the following should you be chosen for the show:

1) You are available on these dates (all time EST):

Sunday, January 7, 1-4 PM – Full Cast Zoom Rehearsal
Sunday, February 4, 1-3 PM – Full Cast Zoom Read-through
Friday, February 9, 5-10 PM – Full Cast In-Person NYC dress rehearsal in New York City
Saturday, February 10, 1-9 PM - Show Day In-Person in New York City
If you can't make one of these days, don't audition.

2) You agree that your piece will be edited and that you will schedule a one-on-one Zoom reading-through with the director before January 7.

3) Each cast member will receive a $100 stipend in exchange for a 36 months exclusive right to his/her/their story. Thereafter, rights exclusive rights revert to the author. Simple language contract to follow upon acceptance into the cast.

The cast will be announced November 19, 2023 via Facebook and Instagram.

If live storytelling is not your thing, but you'd like to be considered for the anthology and/or podcast, email your story (1000 words or fewer) to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com with LoveNotes! Book/Pocast in subject line.

Call for Plays Women Playwrights Series 2023

Website

Deadline: November 18, 2023

The Centenary Stage Company, a professional theatre in residence on the campus of Centenary University in Hackettstown, NJ is accepting submissions for the Women Playwrights Series (WPS) and Susan Glaspell Contest.

The WPS is a developmental program dedicated to providing a working forum for the unique and under-served voice of women writing for the theatre today. Each season 3 new plays are selected for a collaborative workshop process, with a professional director and actors, which takes place in a brief rehearsal period of approximately 1 week, allowing time for the playwright to hear and adapt their work with other professionals. The process culminates in a presentation of the work for the general public as part of the series, giving CSC audiences larger exposure to new work, as well as offering the playwright an opportunity to get feedback from the audience during the development process.

Plays presented in the developmental WPS program are finalists in the Susan Glaspell Award Competition, and are under consideration for full production in a subsequent season at the Centenary Stage Company, the professional theatre in residence on the campus of Centenary University. Due to COVID-19, this opportunity may be delayed.

Playwrights selected for the workshop process will receive a $200 honorarium. Additional funds for travel and housing is available for one playwright each season.

Please include 1 letter of recommendation from a professional colleague or professor/instructor familiar with your work.

GUIDELINES

• Full length plays only
• No prior AEA production
• Seven character maximum
• Cover letter attached
• One letter of recommendation

Deadline for open submissions: Oct. 18 - Nov. 18, 2023

Please send digital copy of script to wps@centenarystageco.org

The CCBC Academic Theatre Program seeks short comedies

Website

Deadline: November 1, 2023

The CCBC Academic Theatre Program is producing a festival of short comedies in the Spring of 2024. We are looking for comedies that incorporate a vanity with a mirror.

Submission form at www.tinyurl.com/ccbcsubmitplay2023

We are looking for COMEDIES that incorporate a VANITY with a MIRROR. This does not have to be LITERAL. We encourage you to think about the wide-ranging and theatrical uses of a vanity!

In order to be considered, plays should be between one and 40 minutes in length and be able to be performed by four actors or fewer. The CCBC Academic Theatre program casts predominantly from our student body. This means age, race and gender-expression in casting reflect our student body.

Submissions will be accepted until November 1, 2023.

The first round of selected plays will receive a staged reading in December of 2023. From those scripts, we will select a final group of plays that will receive developmental support from a Dramaturg and the production team, as well as a fully staged performance and a modest stipend in Spring 2024.

We encourage a wide range of DIVERSE subjects, playwrights and characters! We encourage you to be bold, and of course, BE FUNNY.

Questions about the submission process or guidelines can be emailed to Julie Lewis at jlewis2(at)ccbcmd(dot)edu. Submissions will be accepted until November 1, 2023.

The Richard Rodgers Award 2024

Website

Deadline: November 1, 2023

The Richard Rodgers Awards were created and endowed by Richard Rodgers in 1978 for the development of the musical theater. These awards subsidize full productions, studio productions, and staged readings by nonprofit theaters in New York City of works by composers and writers who are not already established in this field. The winners are selected by a jury of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Richard Rodgers Awards are the only awards for which the Academy accepts applications.

All applications for the Richard Rodgers Awards are to be submitted online by November 1, 2023. Application requirements and procedures are explained in the form below. Please download, read, and sign the form before beginning the online application.

Click here to download the form (required)

Click here to begin the 2024 Richard Rodgers Application.

The 2024 WATERWORKS Festival is now accepting submissions

Website

Deadline: December 1, 2023

Charlottesville, VA

By submitting work to a specific call, applicants affirm they are the sole or co-creator and that the work meets the particular criteria.

In each category: 

• We consider works of all genres. 
• We do not accept submissions over 100 pages, excluding front matter. 
• We encourage one-act submissions. 
• All works must be original and unpublished. 
• Works submitted may have been produced at a school-based presentation and/or unstaged, non-professional readings.

Please review all calls to determine the best place for your work.

ABOUT THIS SHOW

17 May – 2 June, 2024
Director: Adrienne Oliver

Launched in 2023, WATERWORKS celebrates new theatrical voices in Charlottesville and beyond! This festival of new works puts the playwright at center stage and diversifies the stories told on the Live Arts stage. WATERWORKS is sponsored by Open Hands in memory of Live Arts co-founder Michael Parent.

~ CATEGORIES ~

EMERGING ARTISTS

For writers and writing teams 16 to 25 years old
TO SUBMIT TO “EMERGING ARTISTS”:
Please complete this form by 11:59pm on December 1, 2023. Selected Emerging Artists works will receive notification of status in February 2024.


DEBUT ARTISTS

For writers and writing teams over 50 years old.
TO SUBMIT TO “DEBUT ARTISTS”:
Please complete this form by 11:59pm on December 1, 2023. Selected Debut Artists works will receive notification of status in February 2024.


UNSTAGED WORKS

No age restrictions for writers or writing teams.
TO SUBMIT TO “UNSTAGED WORKS”:
Please complete this form by 11:59pm on December 1, 2023. Selected Unstaged Works will receive notification of status in February 2024.

Hello Godot - Fresh Words seeks one-act plays

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR SPECIAL ONE ACT PLAY ANTHOLOGY SERIES 'HELLO GODOT! (VOLUME-5)'

Fresh Words-An International Literary Magazine is accepting
submissions for Special One Act Play Anthology series 'Hello Godot! (Volume -5)'. 

Please send all submissions to dramaanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com as per the following guidelines:

1. The One Act Play must have GODOT (Reference 'Waiting for Godot') as a character OR motif OR there should be recurring reference of GODOT with theme/s of futile wait/absurdity of existence/inaction/circular plot etc.

2. We shall not accept works promoting or glorifying- violence, sexual abuse, racism, hatred or any political ideology.

3. Absurd plays will be preferred.

4. Maximum 3 submissions.

5. You can send one-act plays (Maximum 10 pages for each work).

6. Also please send a summary of the work.

7. All submissions to be sent to dramaanthologyfreshwords@gmail.com

8. Submission deadline: October 31st, 2023 (The selected playwrights will be informed on or before November 10th, 2023 through email.).

General Guidelines:

1. All submissions must contain a cover letter and a short literary profile (Maximum 70 words) of playwright in third person narrative.

2. All submissions must be sent typed in MS Word or PDF doc as attachment with the email.

3. The author should mention:

• Legal Name:
• Pen name (if any):
• Snail mail address:

4. The playwright must send a high resolution photo of self as a separate attachment with the submission.

5. Simultaneous submissions are welcome but please immediately inform us in case they are accepted elsewhere.

6. Plays already performed on stage are also welcome, in case the playwright holds the copyright and publication rights.

7. If a play is accepted for publication in this anthology, the copyright, production and performance rights will exclusively remain with the concerned playwright.

Organization's name: Fresh Words-An International Literary Magazine

Our website and social media links:

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/freshwordsmagazine/announcements?authuser=0

Twitter: @magazine_words

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/som-c-a7aa36217/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/freshwordsmagazine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fresh-Words-An-International-Literary-Magazine-106332345070389/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQmmN1p8jcbIa6rUxzCzL2Q


NOTE: THERE IS NO SUBMISSION OR PARTICIPATION FEE.

The Playwrights Group - stay connected and motivated

                            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!

Tuesdays or Thursdays 7 - 9:30pm EDT

 

Check out our website for more details and rates. 

 

Script Consultations

 

If you don’t have time for the workshop but have a script you’d like some 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

 

Both are with instructor Richard Caliban, and since it’s One on One, the courses can be adjusted to fit your level of experience. 

 

Please visit our website for further Info and Rates: 

 

www.theplaywrightsgroup.com

 

Contact us at 

scripts@theplaywrightsgroup.com

Our Home States 2024 - Eastern States Edition seeks short plays

Website

Deadline: April 30, 2024

Broom Street Theater in Madison, Wisconsin is working on a multi-year short play project to try and make sense of states. 

Every summer for the next several years, we're going to run a short play festival based on the states. Our inaugural festival was in 2023.

Here's how it works: 

You're from a state. You passed through a state. You left a state. You love a state. A state left its mark on you. 

Write us a short play. Something to do with that state. 

This summer, we're looking East. We're accepting plays about these states, and especially looking for plays by denizens (or former denizens) of these states: 

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont

The MAX is ten minutes. We prefer five. 

Here's how to submit:

We've got a short Google form. https://forms.gle/1nSFG4FAuv83susWA

Once the form is filled out, attach your script to an email and send it to  Submissions@bstonline.org. The subject line should be [STATE NAME] TITLE OF PLAY. 

(If you’re unable to fill out the Google form, it’s okay to only send your play to the submissions@bstonline.org email; the form just makes it easier for us to find your play.)

We are offering a $25 prize for each play produced. That will buy you a gallon of gas in California or a five acre farm in Nebraska. 

There are all sorts of states. States of matter, states of being. And here in this country, we've got 50 supposedly united states.

Funny how those boundaries can create states of mind.

Cross a river. Cross a highway. Go over an imaginary, arbitrary line.

Suddenly, you're in a different world. Different laws. That crime you just committed on the other side of the line can't be prosecuted here. That vice you couldn't indulge over there is a virtue over here.

Lie down in the desert, and each limb can be in a different jurisdiction.

Learn more about Broom Street Theater at https://bstonline.org/history/ .

The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2024. Authors may submit a maximum of two scripts.

Premiere Stages at Kean University

Website

Deadline: November 1, 2023

Premiere Stages, the professional theatre in residence at Kean University, will accept submissions of unproduced, unpublished full-length plays for the 2024 Premiere Play Festival from September 1, 2023 - November 1, 2023.

Four finalists are selected for public readings with an Equity cast at Premiere Stages in the Spring of 2024. 

The winner of the Festival will receive a $3,000 advance and a full Equity production as part of Premiere’s 2025 season, with the option to retain the coveted “World Premiere” brand on the play.  

Another finalist will receive $1,500 and a week-long workshop in the fall of 2024. The two additional finalists will receive cash prizes of $1,000.

• Plays must be full-length and require no more than 8 actors.
• Plays must be unpublished and unproduced (readings and workshops are okay), with no productions and/or publication currently scheduled through September 2024.
• Playwrights must have strong affiliations with the greater metropolitan area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware), meaning that the Play Festival would not be the writer's first significant experience there. 
• Musicals, adaptations (of existing plays or other sources), and solo shows are not eligible.
• Submissions are limited to one script per playwright.
• Please contact Premiere Stages to inquire about submitting a script that has been previously submitted.
• Playwrights must be available for the development of their script (see the 2024 schedule table on our website).
• Submissions are accepted September 1, 2023 through 11:59 p.m. on November 1, 2023. Submissions sent early in the submission window are strongly encouraged.
• Names and contact information are welcome on cover pages of scripts.
• All plays must be submitted as a PDF via Submittable at premierestagesatkean.submittable.com/submit. Hard copies will not be accepted.

Premiere Stages accepts script samples and synopses from playwrights without an agent. Submissions must include:

• Brief synopsis of the play (no more than half a page)
• History of the play’s development (or statement that it has none)
• The playwright’s bio or resume
• Script sample from the play (no more than 10 pages plus title page and character breakdown)
• Premiere Stages will request full scripts to read if the play seems viable for the 2025 season. All samples are fully considered; the winners of the 2022 and 2023 Play Festival were first received as samples.

CRIP Monologues: Commissioned Writers

Website

Deadline: October 27, 2023 5PM

Are you disabled? Do people stare at you when you enter a room? The Crip Monologues is an exciting new show from creator Jamie Hale, produced by CRIPtic Arts, showcasing performances by disabled people about observation, scrutiny, and the ways in which the disabled body becomes public property. These will be drawn together into a play, and performed naked (or whilst becoming naked), as a way of reclaiming the experience of being stared at – and doing it on our terms.

Jamie Hale in rehearsal for the Crip Monologues R&D, Camden People’s Theatre, 2021

We are looking to commission 12 draft monologues from disabled writers, four of which will be adapted to create a semi-verbatim script based on the monologue content and performed as ‘The CRIP Monologues’. We are looking for pieces that unpack what it is to be scrutinised. This theme is there to inspire and serve as a starting point for ideas, not to constrain you. How you interpret this theme is entirely up to you. Pieces can be funny, tragic, fictional, autobiographical, set in any place and time, character-driven or narrative-driven. They can reference the performer’s nudity but don’t have to. They should be in the first person from the perspective of the performer.

The 12 selected ideas/writers will each receive £250 to develop their pitch into a short monologue. We will then select 4 of these monologues to develop further and adapt into a full show script. 

The four selected writers will be paid £1000 to write their monologue and participate in a 4-day R&D in December 2023 as part of the adaption process. Within this, we anticipate keeping much of the text of the monologues intact, but adapting them to bring them together into a consistent play and world.

Please see the full timeline of development below:27 October: Opportunity closes
30 October – 2 November: Interviews
3 November: 12 Monologues commissioned
6 – 24 November: Writing period for 12 writers to create draft monologues
24 November: Final deadline for full monologues
24 November: 4 monologues chosen from the pool of 12 to take forward to R&D
4 & 5 December: Writers R&D with Dramaturg (online)
6 & 7 December: Writers R&D with Dramaturg (in person)

The Monologues will be performed in 2024 at Camden People’s Theatre, with other performances anticipated. 

Who is this opportunity for?

We’ve received a number of questions about visible and invisible disabilities and which stories this project is telling – so we spoke to Jamie about what they were looking for and who should submit.

Being surveilled is core to the disabled experience. Whether we’re engaging with benefits, housing, or healthcare, to be disabled is to constantly be judged against a standard of what it means to be both “disabled enough” and “too disabled”. These themes of scrutiny are vital and will resonate with a lot of people.

The creative thrust of the Crip Monologues is to explore what it is to exist in the world if you cannot avoid the experience of intrusive public scrutiny as a disabled person – who is used to being stared at by strangers. This means that we’re looking for writers for whom that experience of public scrutiny is ongoing and inevitable. This could include people from a wide range of impairment categories – we’re not limiting it to people with physical impairments. Instead, the project focuses on people who are immediately marked out for stares as disabled people, whether because of the expectations placed on their body, mind, behaviours, movements or otherwise. If you think this covers your experience, then we’d love to hear from you.

We have also received questions about whether writers outside the UK can apply: yes, we would love to hear your pitches. Please note that we would not be able to provide funding for international travel for any in person work.
How to Apply

If you’ve got an idea for a monologue, there are a couple of few ways you can submit your idea:
FILL IN THE ONLINE PITCH FORM

You can send a written application, video (in spoken English or BSL), or voice note with the below information to team@cripticarts.org. If you are sending audio or video, your pitch and question answer should each be a maximum of 2.5 minutes, and the writing sample (or performance sample if in BSL) should be a maximum of 5 minutes:A pitch of no more than 250 words, telling us about your idea. This could include telling us about the character, what will happen, and the tone it’s in.
A short answer (no more than 250 words) to the question, ‘How do you relate to the theme of being “the kind of disabled person who is stared at whatever they enter a room”?’
A sample of your writing (no more than one side of A4). This does not have to be script, it can be any writing you think shows us how you would write the piece, from poetry to fiction, theatre to essay.

The closing date for submissions is 27th October, at 5pm.

Writers for Black History and Womens History Month celebrations February and March 2024

Website

Deadline: none given

Seeking playwrights diverse works regardless of gender, race, culture or orientation for our history celebration events convening February and March of 2024. 

Seeking full lengths, shorts and 1 acts. 

The plays for Black History month and Womens History month does not have to be about those months. Selected plays will be featured throughout our Special events throughout both months. Selected plays will be showcased with 1 full production. 

We provide the following,

1.Creative Staff 

2. Cast 

3.Venue for cold readings, rehearsals and performances. 

4. Press and industry professionals to see your work

If Selected, there is a $100 fee. No fee to submit. Submit at, actressclassy@gmail.com

Capital Repertory Theatre’s Thirteenth Annual NEXT ACT! NEW PLAY SUMMIT

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023 - end of day

NEXT ACT!, now in its thirteenth year, is an expansion of Capital Repertory Theatre’s (theREP) commitment to the development of new work. The multi-day summit is also designed to complement the Upper Hudson Valley’s rich diverse populations. NEXT ACT! New Play Summit 13 will take place in late April and early May 2024 (exact dates coming soon) and will swirl around the theatre’s World Premiere Production that came from the 2022 Summit. The annual summit will feature readings of several never-before produced plays, with additional events throughout the summit.

theREP is looking for scripts that use theatre to address injustices, inequities, and cultural collisions, providing a voice for the unheard on stage, in the workplace, the Capital Region and beyond. Specifically seeking scripts with racial, ethnic, generational, religious and gender diversity. Scripts that engage art and social justice.

• Accepting full length plays only.
• (No Musicals.)
• Pieces written by and featuring POC stories and characters encouraged.
• Maximum of 5 actors (doubling is allowed if it works to illuminate the story).
• Comedy and Drama welcome!

• Eligible plays cannot have been previously produced, though previous readings are allowed. Plays can have no more than a cast of five (5) actors (doubling is allowed if it works to illuminate the story).
• Plays previously submitted to NEXT ACT will not be considered!
• Agent and non-agent submissions accepted – both must adhere to the guidelines.

Submission Deadline: END OF DAY – October 31, 2023

Playwrights should submit all materials in one (and only one) document, either a Microsoft word document or a PDF file, via email attachment. Said document must include: a short one-paragraph synopsis – illuminating the play’s entire plot including its ending; the character descriptions and the first ten (10) pages (and only the first ten pages) of their play. 

Submission documents must be void of playwright’s name and contact information.

Submissions that do not conform to the guidelines stipulated will not be accepted!
Email your submission to nextact@capitalrep.org with 2024 SUBMISSION in the subject line.
A small stipend is available for selected playwrights
Electronic submissions only.

PLAYS SELECTED:

Playwrights selected for the summit will be notified in late March 2024.

No less than two plays will be selected to have readings (with an eye towards a potential future production) during the annual summit, which will take place in late April/early May 2024.

Spectrum Theatre Ensemble New Playwrights Initiative 2024

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023

Neurodiverse. NeuroQueer. NeuroBIPOC.
Because of the enormous response/requests from playwrights and theatres across the country, Spectrum Theatre Ensemble’s NEW PLAYWRIGHT’S INITIATIVE is back!!

STE’s is the nation’s leader in developing the plays and careers of Autistic+/Neurodiverse/(Dis)abled writers. Our alumni are award-winning professional writers with readings and productions all across the country. Spectrum Theatre Ensemble is who the theatre industry looks to for Neurodiversity Innovation in the Arts.

SUBMISSIONS OPEN THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST, 2023.

SEEKING NEW ONE-ACT PLAYS.

We are looking for plays that surprise us. Multiple forms of theatrical performance will be considered, this is about you and celebrating your creative impulses and expression.

Give yourself permission to imagine without restrictions.

Six one-acts will be chosen through a concealed author process by artistic and literary directors at some of America’s most respected and inclusive theaters.

All plays will be fully produced at STE’s Neurodiversity New Play Festival, Summer 2024.

Authors will receive a 200. stipend, a press packet (reviews, press materials, interviews), promotion through our new PR campaigns, and two tickets to the festival for each author.

It is our goal to be able to bring the authors to the festival (travel/housing) to fully participate in the production. We are currently working on funding so, for now, this remains only a possibility.


GUIDELINES:

Seeking one-act plays by Autistic+/Neurodiverse/(Dis)abled writers.

Plays must be no longer than 50 pages.

Dramatists Guild Standard Format preferred, but will accept any stage play format.

Please do not include your name on the title page.

Title your document: author’s name - title of play - date.

Authors must be Autistic+/Neurodivergent/(Dis)abled.

Please include a brief statement (less than one page) describing what theatrical writing means to you.

Submit materials to: newwork@stensemble.org

STE believes in creating an inclusive theatre-making environment. We encourage members of our multiply-marginalized NeuroFamily to apply and tell their stories: Black, Brown, Indigenous/First Peoples, Asian, Pacific Islander, Mixed-Race People of Color (NeuroPOC), LGBTQIA2+, women, AFAB writers.

We will work with our NPI selected playwrights to ensure the development and production process follows the Dramatists Guild Inclusion Rider (at least 50% of artistic/production teams POC, women, AFAB, LGBTQIA2+, (dis)abled folx).

We want to read plays that surprise us. Let your imagination run wild.

Our entire staff have the lived experiences and face the daily challenges of navigating systems and spaces not designed for us. You have to live it to know how to change it.

We are excited to read your plays and promote stories about us, by us!

SUBMISSIONS OPEN THROUGH OCTOBER 31, 2023.

Athena Project’s Read & Rant: A Plays In Progress Series

Website

Deadline: October 31, 2023 11:59PM MST

Google Form Application

Submissions Accepted: October 15-31 for January Read & Rant

Athena Project’s new Read & Rant program seeks to combine the original form’s sharing of theatrical work with the wider public with the new play development aspects of Plays In Progress while also fostering collaboration between playwrights and dramaturgs. We are initiating these changes to Read & Rant with the goal to create digital opportunities for early and mid-career playwrights, uplifting women* writers and dramaturgs overall, and highlighting the underrepresentation of women* in these positions.

A total of five plays will be selected via lottery. Two of these plays will be featured in our next Read & Rant and will receive a moderated Zoom discussion led by a dramaturg and initial public feedback. The remaining three will still have an opportunity to receive short feedback from a dramaturg via a medium of their preference (written, audio recording, short video, or live phone call).

Submission Guidelines:

• Playwright must be a woman* and may submit only one full-length script each month. 
• Full-length is defined by at least 60 pages in standard playscript format.
• Only previously unproduced plays are eligible. 
• Scripts with prior workshops, readings or academic productions are accepted, but the script should be revised prior to submission to Read & Rant so the playwright receives the most benefit from this opportunity. (Presently, we cannot accept musicals.)

Submission must include:

• Summary of the play only
• What you hope to personally experience by participating in Read & Rant and working with a dramaturg
• Resume in PDF format
• Completion of the short Google Form Application

The submission deadline is October 31, 2023, 11:59 pm MDT for January 2024 Read & Rant participation.

*At Athena Project, we believe that “women” means many things and can be a complicated term. We recognize that the term “women” does not automatically include all aspects of the gender spectrum. We want to create a safer space for the expression and growth for all women, non-binary, and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

3rd Annual STX Latinx New Play Festival

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Deadline: December 1 2023

Or until the first 50 scripts are received

SUBMISSION FORM

• Plays will be blind read and scored by a diverse panel of readers . 
• Submitting author is (or authors, when in collaboration, are) sole owner(s) of script copyright. 
• Previously unproduced 
• Submitted as a single PDF with all pages numbered. 
• 2 character minimum (no one person shows) 
• No musical or film scripts 
• Script should include a character breakdown/description 
• Run time should be 30 minutes minimum - 90 minutes maximum 
• Only one script can be submitted per playwright 
• Only the first 50 play scripts submitted will be considered 
• Three finalists will be chosen, and notified no later than April 1, 2024. The selected plays will be produced as staged readings for the 3rd Annual STX Latinx New Play Festival June 2024. The selection of directors will happen late April and actor auditions will be held early May 2024. Rehearsals will run from late May to performances in June 2023. 

At this time travel to and from the festival for the selected playwrights cannot be provided, but virtual and live streaming capabilities will be available through the rehearsal and live reading process

Words Cubed 2024

Website

Deadline: November 30, 2023

Or when they have received 200 plays

Words Cubed is part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s new-play program that seeks to nurture and develop openly submitted, solicited, and commissioned plays by providing a professionally supported platform for readings, workshops, and fully realized productions as part of an ongoing commitment to create a diverse body of work.

Playwrights spend a week at the Festival in rehearsals with our actors and directors refining and rewriting their plays. At the end of the week, the revised plays are presented as staged readings or workshops, followed by a lively, interactive discussion between the playwright, actors, and audience.

Submissions for 2024

Our submission process for 2024 begins September 18, 2023 and continues until November 30, 2023, or when we have received 200 plays, whichever is earlier. 

Please note this deadline is a month earlier than previous years.

To have your script considered for Words Cubed, please submit an email to words3@bard.org with the following as attachments: 

• The whole play, but designate 15-20 contiguous pages to be read as an excerpt. You can designate these pages in the email with your submission. 
• A one page synopsis of your play, that is, a short description of what happens in your play 

(NOT background information on the play, its theme(s), a log-line, or a “teaser”).

A one page character description (include any suggested doubling).

Please put your last name and name of your play in the subject line (for example “Shakespeare - Titus Andronicus”).

PLEASE NOTE:

Do not submit adaptations of works for which you have not already secured the rights.

For Words Cubed, we are not looking for the ‘best’ play submitted, but rather a good one that will benefit from, and fit into, our process. Also, we consider how the plays complement one another – two are selected each season – and complement the season in which they are workshopped is part of our selection process. Additionally, a play that is very similar in theme or plot to recent Words Cubed selections are less likely to be chosen.

Plays requiring 5 or fewer actors, with doubling, may be prioritized.

If you submitted a play in the last three years, please do not resubmit.

Please, only one submission per playwright.

While we love musicals, our Words Cubed program is not designed to support a sufficient development process for musicals.

Voices of Women Theatre Festival 2024

Website

Deadline: October 23, 2023

EACH ENTRY WILL BE NUMBERED AND TIME-STAMPED, AND WE WILL STOP ACCEPTING PLAYS/MUSICALS AFTER THE 5OTH SUBMISSION WITH THE FIRST 25 SUBMISSIONS GIVEN PRIORITY. LAST DAY TO SUBMIT IS OCTOBER 23, 2023.

2024 FESTIVAL THEME: CRITICAL SOCIAL ISSUES TAKE CENTER STAGE.

Any short or full-length play must match the theme of our 24th season.

Submit Your 10-Minute or 60-Minute Play

In conjunction with Women’s History Month, Powerstories Theatre is proud to host the fourth annual international Voices of Women Theatre Festival live in the USF College of the Arts and online, utilizing our season theme, “Critical Issues Take Center Stage.”

As part of our 2024 Season, we will be doing a hybrid program – a combination of in-theatre staged reading productions during the first week and digital, view-on-demand performances in the second week. The international festival offers an artistic platform empowering, encouraging, and enabling diverse voices to inspire audiences worldwide through the gift of sharing strong voices and meaningful stories. Powerstories is proud to provide opportunities for artists and playwrights of all genres to share their original short and full-length plays and musicals with our expanding community and audiences near and far.

Powerstories’ Voice of Women Festival demonstrates our dedication to diversity and inclusivity, encouraging submissions from female-identifying playwrights, playwrights of color, and other underrepresented groups. We are committed to promoting intersectional equity and encourage a wide range of submissions related to the theater of historically marginalized populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.

The Voices of Women Theatre Festival offers up to six short plays (ten minutes) and six long plays and musicals (up to sixty minutes) during the run of the festival, highlighting humorous, heartbreaking, eye-opening, and conversation-starting performances that match the season theme of “Critical Social Issues Take Center Stage.” Please keep this theme in mind when submitting your work for consideration.


For the 2024 Voices of Women Theatre Festival, Powerstories Theatre has up to 12 opportunities for talented women playwrights from around the world. We are accepting the following:60-minute digital pre-recorded plays or musicals
60-minute plays or musicals produced live at USF College of the ArtsUp to three 60-minute plays will be selected to be produced by Powerstories as staged readings
Up to three 60-minute plays or musicals will be self-produced and performed live at USF College of the Arts

10-minute plays self-produced and performed live at USF College of the Arts

In addition to the pre-recorded plays submitted digitally, each live-in-theatre production will be recorded and available as part of the online Voices of Women Theatre Festival in the second week.

NEW THIS YEAR, Powerstories is producing up to three 60-minute plays on stage at USF College of the Arts as a stage reading for the playwrights!

ALSO NEW THIS YEAR, we are also accepting 10-minute short plays for live in-theatre self-production.

Powerstories is accepting 60-minute plays and musicals, both for self-production live in-theatre March 7-10, 2024, and digital pre-recorded, view-on-demand over March 11-16, 2024.

Playwrights can decide:Do you want Powerstories to produce a staged reading of your 60-minute play on stage at the USF College of the Arts? Powerstories will produce a staged reading of up to 3 of the one-hour shows. We will hire a director and the director will audition for the roles and manage the project. These will all be performed at the USF stage on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Do you want to self-produce your 60-minute play or musical on stage at the USF College of the Arts? You will get the use of the USF Stage for their production (full or staged reading) on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Each submitting playwright will be responsible for all costs related to casting and directing the show to achieve the festival goals.
Do you want to self-produce your 10-minute play on stage at the USF College of the Arts? You will get the use of the USF Stage for their production (full or staged reading) on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Each submitting playwright will be responsible for all costs related to casting and directing the show to achieve the festival goals.
Do you want to submit a self-produced digital 60-minute play or musical production? In your pre-recorded digital performance, we understand some of you will be presenting a staged reading, and some a fuller production. Each submitting playwright will be responsible for all costs related to casting, directing, and mounting the show to achieve the festival goals.

WHAT WE NEED

• An artistic committee will review all of the 50 plays. Up to six 10-minute and six 60-minute selections will be announced by December 15, 2023, or earlier on social and by email notification. Submissions will be reviewed in consideration of the following criteria:Your submission is congruent with the mission of Powerstories Theatre – staging true stories to open minds and hearts.
• Your submission must match the season theme of “Critical Social Issues Take Center Stage.”
• Your submission supports diversity and inclusion.
• Your submission reflects overall quality and is a fully developed and well-written play.
• Strongest consideration will be given to new works and new playwrights.
• Your submission is no shorter than 10 minutes and no longer than 60 minutes. Productions longer or shorter will not be eligible.

If you select to submit digitally, you are willing to have their play view-on-demand for the second week of the festival.

You will be available for a playwright promotional interview before the festival and a talkback Q&A on Zoom during the course of the festival. The directors and cast are also highly encouraged to attend the Q&A.

You are expected to actively promote your productions to boost ticket sales and share pertinent marketing information related to the festival.
If selected, we trust that your play will be exclusively presented in conjunction with Powerstories Theatre’s Voices of Women Theatre Festival and will not be produced during promotion time (January, February, and March) leading up to or during the festival.

WHAT WE PROVIDE

• Powerstories Theatre will provide the following: Consideration to be a Powerstories Theatre main stage production in our Season of Shows.I
• n 2023, Carolyn Gage’s submission from Voices of Women 2021, “In McClintock’s Corn” opened our 23rd season on the main stage.
• If selected as one of the three 60-minute plays for Powerstories to produce, you will receive a fully-directed staged reading with a Powerstories director and local talent, lightning and sound assistance, and the use of USF College of the Art’s 50-seat black box theatre
• If self-producing, you will receive the use of USF College of the Art’s 50-seat black box theatre for your 10-minute play or 60-minute play or musical
• If a digital submission, you will receive a platform to showcase your 60-minute play or musical, view-on-demand during the second week of the festival
• Marketing assistance includes but is not limited to our website with photo, bio, play synopsis and schedule, playwright interview to use for promoting your play, press release, and graphics for social media
• Daily social media marketing
• Logo design, if needed
• An All-Access Festival Pass to enjoy your fellow playwrights’ works
• All live-in-theatre 10-minute plays and 60-minute plays or musicals will be videotaped and included as part of the digital festival in the second week
• All plays produced live-in-theatre will have a digital recording available to the playwright after the close of the festival

AWARDS AVAILABLE

Powerstories will select local and national judges to review all productions for consideration for acrylic awards for Powerstories’ Best Short Play and Best Full Length Play.

Winners will have accomplished the following:A well-written engaging script
A quality production to include acting and directing
Generate successful ticket sales through the marketing of your play

The Mini Plays Review is inviting submissions for its December 2023 issue.

Website

Deadline: December 25, 2023

The theme of our third issue is 'Change vs. tradition'. 

Please send us mini plays and monologues on this theme.

The length of a mini play or monologue should not exceed 2 pages of text.

Last date of submission: December 25th, 2023 (The selected authors shall be informed by December 30 th, 2023).

Please send your work to miniplaysmag@gmail.com

Submit your high definition photo in JPEG format for publication with your work.

Please share your author profile (60 words) for publication in the anthology.

Note: The anthology will be published in PDF and paperback editions.

A free PDF edition of the anthology will be published on our website.

A paperback edition will be published on ingram spark or lulu.com.

There is no publication, reading, processing or publishing fee.

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/the-mini-plays-magazine/submit?authuser=0
Email: miniplaysmag@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094065903790