Deadline: November 15, 2025
or until 300 plays are received
THEY HAVE REACHED THEIR MAXIMUM SUBMISSIONS - DO NOT SEND
Email a PDF of your script, with Title page and contact information, to: tasnshortplayfest@gmail.com Important: PDF’s only
You will receive an acknowledgement email and be updated during our selection process.
The Actors Studio of Newburyport, MA (TASN) is a 501c3 non-profit, dedicated to New Play Development. We will be holding our 6th National Short Play Festival for two weekends (six performances) during October, 2026. The submission window opens on October 8, 2025 and closes November 15, 2025, or until 300 plays are received, whichever occurs first.
Our judges will engage in multiple rounds of reading, with every play being read at least twice. After 16 semi-finalists are chosen, we will hold an All-Day Selection Sunday, putting the semi-finalists on their feet. The seven winners will be announced in August 2026, with the top-scoring play receiving the coveted Clopton Prize.
Length: 5-15 minutes. Send us your best. There is no theme and no restrictions on content. Workshops, readings, and a couple of previous productions are okay.
Limit: One play per playwright. There is no fee to submit
This event is a fund raiser for The Actors Studio and, unfortunately, we will not be able to pay a stipend to our winning Playwrights.
TASN is an award-winning 60 seat black box in historic Salisbury, Massachusetts. This Festival will be sponsored by The Playwrights’ Collaborative (TPC) who collectively have been produced at more than 350 venues worldwide. In addition to creating new work, TPC’s Traveling Troupe brings turn-key, benefit shows to great venues around New England, including The Barker Playhouse, Providence, RI, The Chelmsford Center for the Arts, Chelmsford, MA, The Chocolate Church Arts Center, Bath, ME, The Custom House Maritime Museum, Newburyport, MA, and The Exeter Public Library, Exeter, New Hampshire. If you are interested in learning more about our benefit program, please email Jack Rushton at jackrushton56@yahoo.comThis Short Play Festival is produced by playwrights for playwrights, and will be directed and performed by our amazing TASN and TPC talent.
Go to www.newburyportacting.org for more information.
Good luck and see you at the shows!