Pronoia Theater seeks new works related to the USA public domain

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Deadline: March 9, 2026

SUBMISSION FORM

Works must be based on, in conversation with, or inspired by work in the USA public domain. 

International writers welcome.

Ours, Reimagining the Public Domain! We are accepting new works inspired by expression in the public domain for a staged reading on May 9th.

“Public Domain” covers a wide swath of material (items correct as of America in 2026):

• Anything first published in USA in 1930 or earlier
• Anything published between 1931-1977 which did not have its copyright renewed
• Most documents created by the United States Government
• Recipes, game rules, etc. (Things which are ruled to not have enough authorship to be protectable)
• Property whose copyright was relinquished by its owners.
• For the purposes of this festival anything created under the Creative Commons license with proper attribution will also be considered.

Staged reading, no stipend, no restriction on previous productions or number of works that may be submitted, playwrights are not responsible for production after submission.

Works of any length will be considered, but works longer than fifteen minutes may be excerpted. The excerpt will be sent to you for approval before acceptance into the festival.

Anything which is appropriate to perform in front of an audience is fair game. As a theater we are especially interested in scripts formatted for the stage, but prose, poetry, and other similar expressions will be considered.

instagram: @pronoiatheater