Deadline for Pre-Registration Window: December 23, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST
SUBMISSION FORM
Festival Dates: July 12–19, 2026
Location: The Sofia, Home of B Street Theatre, Sacramento, CA
Applications Open: December 30, 2025
Pre-Registration Window: December 5–23, 2025 (guaranteed submission slot)
B Street Theatre will open applications for the seventh annual New Comedies Festival (NCF) on December 30, 2025. Artists who pre-register between December 5 and December 23, 2024 will be guaranteed the opportunity to submit one script.
Festival Dates: July 12–19, 2026
Location: The Sofia, Home of B Street Theatre, Sacramento, CA
Applications Open: December 30, 2025
Pre-Registration Window: December 5–23, 2025 (guaranteed submission slot)
B Street Theatre will open applications for the seventh annual New Comedies Festival (NCF) on December 30, 2025. Artists who pre-register between December 5 and December 23, 2024 will be guaranteed the opportunity to submit one script.
The pre-registration process helps us gauge interest in the opportunity and assess the number of readers needed. After the pre-registration window closes, any remaining submission slots will be released to the public on a first-come basis.
In an ever-evolving American theatrical landscape, B Street proudly invites playwrights to submit full- length comedic plays of all styles—romance, farce, satire, dark comedy, physical comedy, commedia dell’arte, improv-based work, audience participation, stand-up-infused forms, music-inflected pieces, and more. We welcome local, national, and international playwrights whose work expands the boundaries of what contemporary comedy can be.
Following the submission and reading process, four finalist plays will be selected for staged readings during the festival. Audience members who attend all four readings will be invited to share feedback, which will be reviewed by B Street’s Artistic Staff. At least one finalist script will receive a full production on the B Street Theatre Mainstage within one year of the festival’s conclusion.
We strongly encourage submissions from historically marginalized voices and invite feedback on how to make our process more accessible and inclusive.
QUALIFICATIONS & ELIGIBILITY
Play Requirements
• Playwright must be 18 or older and legally able to work in the United States.
• Scripts must be unproduced professionally and not scheduled for a professional production before December 31, 2027. (“Professional” means paid artists and a fully realized live production.)
• Scripts must be full-length (minimum 70 minutes). Solo pieces and Theatre for Young Audiences pieces are welcome.
• Scripts must require 6 or fewer actors (unlimited doubling permitted).
• Both original and adapted works are eligible, provided rights for any non-public-domain material are secured. Written permission must be included with the submission.
• “Plays with music” are eligible; original musicals are not. If the script contains songs requiring separate licensing, list titles and writers on the script’s title page.
• Playwrights must be available in Sacramento for the full festival week (July 12–19, 2026). B Street will provide round-trip travel, housing, and a stipend for the four playwrights selected.
• Scripts must meet B Street’s formatting requirements (below).
Submission Formatting Requirements
• Scripts must be submitted as blind PDFs with the playwright’s name and contact information removed.
• Playwrights must retain an editable version (Word, Final Draft, etc.) for festival revisions.
• Only one submission per playwright.
In an ever-evolving American theatrical landscape, B Street proudly invites playwrights to submit full- length comedic plays of all styles—romance, farce, satire, dark comedy, physical comedy, commedia dell’arte, improv-based work, audience participation, stand-up-infused forms, music-inflected pieces, and more. We welcome local, national, and international playwrights whose work expands the boundaries of what contemporary comedy can be.
Following the submission and reading process, four finalist plays will be selected for staged readings during the festival. Audience members who attend all four readings will be invited to share feedback, which will be reviewed by B Street’s Artistic Staff. At least one finalist script will receive a full production on the B Street Theatre Mainstage within one year of the festival’s conclusion.
We strongly encourage submissions from historically marginalized voices and invite feedback on how to make our process more accessible and inclusive.
QUALIFICATIONS & ELIGIBILITY
Play Requirements
• Playwright must be 18 or older and legally able to work in the United States.
• Scripts must be unproduced professionally and not scheduled for a professional production before December 31, 2027. (“Professional” means paid artists and a fully realized live production.)
• Scripts must be full-length (minimum 70 minutes). Solo pieces and Theatre for Young Audiences pieces are welcome.
• Scripts must require 6 or fewer actors (unlimited doubling permitted).
• Both original and adapted works are eligible, provided rights for any non-public-domain material are secured. Written permission must be included with the submission.
• “Plays with music” are eligible; original musicals are not. If the script contains songs requiring separate licensing, list titles and writers on the script’s title page.
• Playwrights must be available in Sacramento for the full festival week (July 12–19, 2026). B Street will provide round-trip travel, housing, and a stipend for the four playwrights selected.
• Scripts must meet B Street’s formatting requirements (below).
Submission Formatting Requirements
• Scripts must be submitted as blind PDFs with the playwright’s name and contact information removed.
• Playwrights must retain an editable version (Word, Final Draft, etc.) for festival revisions.
• Only one submission per playwright.
• Playwrights may resubmit a script that was previously submitted to NCF, provided it was not previously selected as a finalist.
• Submissions not meeting the above criteria will not be accepted.
SELECTION PROCESS
• Scripts will be evaluated by a diverse pool of readers, including B Street Artistic Staff, Company Members, playwrights, dramaturgs, and other industry professionals.
• There will be two rounds of external reading; each script will be read by at least two readers per round.
• A third and final round will be conducted by B Street’s Artistic Staff to determine the four festival finalists.
• Reading occurs over approximately two months, with finalists announced no later than June 5,
2026.
ABOUT B STREET THEATRE & THE FESTIVAL
• B Street Theatre is an AEA ITC/SPT-10 professional theatre in Sacramento, CA
• Each finalist play receives:
HOW TO APPLY
Playwrights wishing to submit must pre-register using the provided LINK.
There is no fee to pre-register or submit.
After the pre-registration window closes, all registered playwrights will receive a link to submit their application and blind script. The application includes:
• Artist Bio
• Artist Statement (500 words or fewer) addressing:
o Your approach to comedic writing
o Why this play fits the New Comedies Festival
o How you/your work would benefit from participating
• Character Breakdown
• Time/Place Description
• Brief Synopsis
• A blind PDF of the full script
• Submissions not meeting the above criteria will not be accepted.
SELECTION PROCESS
• Scripts will be evaluated by a diverse pool of readers, including B Street Artistic Staff, Company Members, playwrights, dramaturgs, and other industry professionals.
• There will be two rounds of external reading; each script will be read by at least two readers per round.
• A third and final round will be conducted by B Street’s Artistic Staff to determine the four festival finalists.
• Reading occurs over approximately two months, with finalists announced no later than June 5,
2026.
ABOUT B STREET THEATRE & THE FESTIVAL
• B Street Theatre is an AEA ITC/SPT-10 professional theatre in Sacramento, CA
• Each finalist play receives:
- Multi-day rehearsal period
- professional creative team (director, dramaturg, stage manager)
- A cast of compensated professional and non-professional actors
- Two public staged readings between Thursday (7/16) and Sunday (7/19)
HOW TO APPLY
Playwrights wishing to submit must pre-register using the provided LINK.
There is no fee to pre-register or submit.
After the pre-registration window closes, all registered playwrights will receive a link to submit their application and blind script. The application includes:
• Artist Bio
• Artist Statement (500 words or fewer) addressing:
o Your approach to comedic writing
o Why this play fits the New Comedies Festival
o How you/your work would benefit from participating
• Character Breakdown
• Time/Place Description
• Brief Synopsis
• A blind PDF of the full script