Deadline: November 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM
SUBMISSION FORM
We accept full-length plays and musicals during our open submissions period for our Summer Theater Festivals. In order to apply, you must be a playwright or composer of a gender marginalized group (including cis women, trans people, and non-binary people), or a writing team that is made up of at least 50% people from a gender-marginalized group.
Script Submissions for our 2026 SheNYC, SheATL, SheLA, and SheDFW Festivals will open September 30, and be due on November 5th at 11:59pm PST.
Note that we only accept script submissions during our submission window. If you would like to be considered for our summer festivals, you must submit your work during that time period. Read on below for more details on what you’ll need to submit and for the application link.
What You Will Need To Submit
1. The full script to your show, in PDF form. It must be at least 75% finished. If the rest is not finished, you need to provide a “treatment” (a detailed outline of the scenes that remain to be written, in order) along with the script. Bear in mind that you will have to send us completed script if you’re selected as a finalist.
IMPORTANT: Your script PDF must not have your name on it!
Why do we ask this?
Our model is based on giving writers an opportunity based on the quality of their writing, free from the types of bias that the entertainment industry normally considers, such as connections, having an agent, etc. Having your script anonymized to our readers ensures we can fulfill our mission of evaluating scripts without bias.
2. A completed application form with some basic information (see below for FAQs).
3. If your show is a musical, recordings of at least 3 full songs from the show, in mp3 or m4a form. The more you have, the better! A simple recording with just you and your piano is fine, though obviously you want to make your music sound the best it can. Please do not submit Finale or Sibelius files (or any other automated vocals).
4. If your show is a solo show, a video of at least 5 minutes of your solo performer performing a cut from the show. This can be a video from a prior production or staged reading, or it can be a self-tape of your actor recording themselves at home.
Why do we ask this?
We’ve found that it’s incredibly hard to evaluate the quality of a solo show without knowing the performer who will be carrying it.
Before You Submit Your Script
It’s important to make sure your show is ready for a festival production. Our Festivals differ from city to city, so please read the pages for whichever Festival you plan to apply to — this page outlines exactly what it means to be a part of the Festival!
All Festivals use the same application – on that application, you’ll be able to select which cities you’d like to be considered for and indicate your first choice preference.
WHICH CITY SHOULD I APPLY FOR?
First and foremost, we always like our festivals to feel like local events that engage the local community & artists. Therefore, we prioritize matching shows with the city their writer is based in (or whichever city is closest to the writer’s location). However, some other considerations you might have:
If any of the above reasons impacts your decision, let us know in the “Anything else we should know?” section of the application.
We accept full-length plays and musicals during our open submissions period for our Summer Theater Festivals. In order to apply, you must be a playwright or composer of a gender marginalized group (including cis women, trans people, and non-binary people), or a writing team that is made up of at least 50% people from a gender-marginalized group.
Script Submissions for our 2026 SheNYC, SheATL, SheLA, and SheDFW Festivals will open September 30, and be due on November 5th at 11:59pm PST.
Note that we only accept script submissions during our submission window. If you would like to be considered for our summer festivals, you must submit your work during that time period. Read on below for more details on what you’ll need to submit and for the application link.
What You Will Need To Submit
1. The full script to your show, in PDF form. It must be at least 75% finished. If the rest is not finished, you need to provide a “treatment” (a detailed outline of the scenes that remain to be written, in order) along with the script. Bear in mind that you will have to send us completed script if you’re selected as a finalist.
IMPORTANT: Your script PDF must not have your name on it!
Why do we ask this?
Our model is based on giving writers an opportunity based on the quality of their writing, free from the types of bias that the entertainment industry normally considers, such as connections, having an agent, etc. Having your script anonymized to our readers ensures we can fulfill our mission of evaluating scripts without bias.
2. A completed application form with some basic information (see below for FAQs).
3. If your show is a musical, recordings of at least 3 full songs from the show, in mp3 or m4a form. The more you have, the better! A simple recording with just you and your piano is fine, though obviously you want to make your music sound the best it can. Please do not submit Finale or Sibelius files (or any other automated vocals).
4. If your show is a solo show, a video of at least 5 minutes of your solo performer performing a cut from the show. This can be a video from a prior production or staged reading, or it can be a self-tape of your actor recording themselves at home.
Why do we ask this?
We’ve found that it’s incredibly hard to evaluate the quality of a solo show without knowing the performer who will be carrying it.
Before You Submit Your Script
It’s important to make sure your show is ready for a festival production. Our Festivals differ from city to city, so please read the pages for whichever Festival you plan to apply to — this page outlines exactly what it means to be a part of the Festival!
All Festivals use the same application – on that application, you’ll be able to select which cities you’d like to be considered for and indicate your first choice preference.
WHICH CITY SHOULD I APPLY FOR?
First and foremost, we always like our festivals to feel like local events that engage the local community & artists. Therefore, we prioritize matching shows with the city their writer is based in (or whichever city is closest to the writer’s location). However, some other considerations you might have:
- If you’re submitting a musical and are looking for extra developmental support, you may want to apply to SheDFW. Through our partnership with MusicalWriters.com, they provide a director, music director, and local cast for your show, as well as a more intensive dramaturgy/development process.
- The SheATL Festival has a partnership with Atlanta-based new play incubator Working Title Playwrights to provide an intensive dramaturgy process in the leadup to the Festival. If you’re interested in having a dramaturg to work with, consider SheATL!
- We also like shows that reflect the community in terms of subject matter: so, if you’re based in NYC right now, but your show is about a community in Georgia, consider checking SheATL as one of your cities you’d like to be considered for.
If any of the above reasons impacts your decision, let us know in the “Anything else we should know?” section of the application.