RiffRaff Theater seeks 10-minute plays

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Deadline: April 18, 2025

Seeking 10-minute plays exploring the immigrant experience in America for our upcoming festival! 

Length: 10 minutes 

Characters: Max 4 

Casting: At least one actor must be an immigrant in America 

Language: English must be primary, but other languages can be included 

Performance Fee: Selected plays must submit a $200 performance fee 

Submit: PDF of your script Short play synopsis (max 200 words) Playwright bio

Send to  riffraff.nyc@gmail.com

Voices of Color, the 2025 One Act Play Festival

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Deadline: April 11, 2025 by 5PM EDT

To begin the script submission process, please click HERE.

Carrollwood Players Theatre, Tampa’s longest operating non-profit community theatre, announces a call for submissions of original short plays for Voices of Color, the 2025 One Act Play Festival.

From July 11th – 19th, 2025, Carrollwood Players Theatre will present 8 original short plays focusing on the stories, perspectives and experiences of the BIPOC community.

At each of the 6 performances, audiences will experience all 8 short plays in one theatrical presentation.

We are looking for comedies, dramas, fantasies, mysteries, thrillers, farces, the avant garde, and everything in between.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Plays must be no shorter than 10 minutes performance time and no longer than 15 minutes performance time.

The subject matter of the play must fit within the theme of the festival. We are seeking to tell stories about all aspects of the BIPOC experience.

Submission deadline is 5 p.m. eastern on Friday, April 11th, 2025. Late submissions will not be considered. Early submissions are encouraged!

We will accept a maximum of two short plays from each playwright.

There is no submission fee.

We will accept submissions of English language scripts from anywhere in the world.

Due to the large number of submissions we receive, we regret we cannot individually acknowledge the receipt or status of your submission. Writers of plays selected for the festival will be notified.

The selected plays will be announced by Carrollwood Players Theatre in early May of 2025.

Plays must be submitted electronically in PDF format. We will not accept any scripts by mail.

We prefer plays with a cast requirement ranging from 3-6 people and the ability to be performed on a simple, representational stage.

We prefer submissions written by members of the BIPOC community, but we will consider all submissions.

Your PDF script submission must include a cover page with the playwright’s name, city/state/country, phone number and email address as well as a 1 paragraph description/synopsis of the play (sell us your play!) and a character/casting breakdown.

Carrollwood Players Theatre will select plays to be presented in the festival.

If selected, Carrollwood Players will appoint a director and organize the casting and production of your play at our festival.

Carrollwood Players does not pay a royalty for performances of your short play in the festival, however there is a cash prize for the first and second place plays as determined by audience voting. There is a $100 prize for first place and a $50 prize for second place. Playwrights will also receive complimentary admission to attend a performance if desired.

OnyxFest 2025

Website

Deadline: April 27, 2025 at 11:59 PM 

Submit via this Google Form.

Scripts must be submitted by new playwrights. The Africana Repertory Theatre of IU-Indianapolis defines a new playwright as: someone that has not had more than 1 full-length play professionally produced (i.e. by a professional theatre company with paid actors and crew; readings and workshops do not constitute as a professional production); someone that has not been published professionally by a recognized play publisher; someone who has not received high-level awards or recognition in the playwright field.

Playwright may submit multiple scripts but only one script per playwright will be selected.

Playwrights must have production rights for this play.

Playwrights must self-identify as Black. The Africana Repertory Theatre of IU-Indianapolis defines a Black person as someone who is a descendant of and/or identifies with the specific community within the African diaspora.

Scripts submissions should be relevant to experiences, themes, stories, perspectives, issues, challenges, and celebrations that relate to Black life, history, social and/or cultural impact. However, we support and encourage representation from all ethnicities and allow for some of that to be incorporated in submitted material.

Playwright agrees and understands that if their script is selected for production, then the show will be produced in Indianapolis, Indiana. Playwrights are highly encouraged to hire Indiana based cast and crew. (*Note: Whereas Black artists worldwide are welcome, any travel expenses and arrangements will be solely the responsibility of the playwright’s party and not be covered by the festival in any form of grant or reimbursement.)

Judging and Selection Process:

All scripts will be read and rated by a minimum of two readers.
Positively rated scripts will be passed on to the board for final decision.
Judges will make final decisions based on readers’ reviews criteria/areas here.

Your scripts will be housed via google documents, and we will change the sharing/permissions to be view only so readers nor anyone with the link is unable to download, copy, or print your script.

Event Timeline

• March 20-April 27: Submissions open on March 20th and soft close on April 27th.
• April 27-May 4th: The first round of received submission readings will begin with a hard close on incoming submissions on May 4th.
• May 19th: The second round of received submissions will be completed.
• June 19th: Winners of the stage play competition are announced.
• November 7-16th: OnyxFest Performances will take place.

Finalist Details:

Selected playwrights will receive a production stipend to bring their vision to life. 

Playwrights will have the opportunity to engage with audiences and industry professionals through post-show discussions. 

Each selected play will be performed twice per weekend.

Let us know your questions at africanarepertorytheatre@gmail.com.

Missed the Boat Theatre New Works Festival

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Deadline: April 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM

SUBMIT VIA GOOGLE DOCS

Missed the Boat Theatre’s inaugural New Works Festival will take place with staged readings in September 2025 at a venue to be determined in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. This festival is an opportunity designed to support and encourage the development of new plays and musicals from a Catholic Christian worldview. 2-4 scripts will be selected to receive a rehearsal workshop with a director and performers culminating in a public staged reading followed by a moderator-led talkback. Notification of selection will be made by June 1, 2025.

The mission of Missed the Boat Theater is to foster, vibrant, Catholic community by producing quality, artistic creations on the stage. Playwrights do not necessarily need to be Catholic or write about religious topics; however, submissions that draw conclusions of defiance or hostility towards the teachings of the Catholic Church will not be considered. 

We are open to works that grapple with the challenging realities of human existence, but works should ultimately present a Catholic worldview in their totality. If you have questions about this, feel free to reach out to newworks@missedtheboattheatre.com.

Document Formatting Criteria

Submitted as a single PDF—one file only (with the exception of musicals, which can be uploaded in two files: one for the book and one for the score). No hard copies accepted. 

Submissions must be blinded: any script (or score) that contains personal information about the playwright, including their name, will not be considered.

Page 1 MUST include: a brief summary of the play’s plot (200-word maximum), the setting, and a cast list that includes each character’s name, along with a brief description.

Works must be the original work of the submitting playwright(s), and must include written permission from any contributing writers for submission.

Works must be a full-length play or musical of at least 80 minutes. If submitting a musical, you must include the book and score, for at least piano accompaniment, as well as recorded audio files of 2-3 demo songs.

Casts can be of any size in the script, though please be aware that extra doubling or consolidation of ensembles may occur for the Festival staged reading if your script is selected.

Works may include sections of dialogue in other languages, however the majority of text must be in English.

Work must never have been performed as a full production (previous staged readings are acceptable).

Limit one submission per author. If you do submit more than one piece, only the one submitted first will be read.

Keegan Theatre Boiler Room Series commission

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Deadline: April 15, 2025

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

Submissions are now open to become a Keegan Theatre Boiler Room Series supported (commission, play development, and production royalties) playwright for our 29th and 30th seasons. 

Keegan Theatre, a professional non-equity theater in Washington, DC, is now accepting submissions from playwrights for a unique opportunity that includes a commission, development process, and full production of a new work. Two playwrights will be chosen to either create a brand-new play or complete an unfinished work to reach a workshop-ready draft. This process will include a workshop leading to a public reading, interview, and audience talkback, culminating in a world premiere full production as part of Keegan's highly anticipated 30th Anniversary 2026-2027 season.

Submissions should include four (4) samples of your written work, which can be excerpts from completed pieces, works in progress, or even a pitch for a brand-new idea. The goal is to understand your style, interests, and areas of focus through these submissions. Each sample should be no longer than 10 pages, but multiple samples can be taken from the same larger work.

Your work samples and pitches should reflect the theater’s mission and our dedication to equity, diversity, and inclusion: To immerse audiences in the essence of theater through extraordinary artists in an intimate setting, delving into the human experience. We aim to build connections and inspire positive change within our community through dynamic, inclusive, and empowering education and outreach initiatives.

Submitted samples should not have undergone significant development, such as beyond a reading or closed feedback session, nor have they received a full production at another theater. We are seeking genuinely NEW material and ideas.

Submissions will be evaluated by Keegan Theatre's Artistic Development Team along with a panel of independent playwrights, directors, and editors. In May 2025, twenty (20) playwrights will be shortlisted for further consideration, from which the two (2) official BRS Playwrights for Cohort #8 will be chosen.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applications that do not fully or accurately address the prompts will also not be reviewed.

Thank you for your interest in creating, developing, and premiering a new play with Keegan Theatre's Boiler Room Series. We look forward to learning more about you and your work.

New American Play Festival

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Deadline: April 15, 2025

• Only unproduced and unpublished scripts are eligible for consideration. No musicals.
• The submission must include a synopsis and character list/breakdown.
• The playwrights are expected to attend the rehearsals and reading presentations.
• Playwrights from across the country are encouraged to submit.
• Manuscripts must be typed in the standard play format and must include the playwright’s contact information.
• You must submit the consent/information form.
• Play scripts may be delivered by regular mail, in person, or using the submission form on our website.
• For in-person or mailed-in submissions, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope if you wish your manuscript to be returned.

April 15, 2025 deadline will be considered. Notification of selected writers by June 30, 2025.

Play scripts may be delivered by regular mail, in person or using this submission form. Include a stamped self-addressed envelope if you wish your manuscript returned. Send manuscripts to:

School of Theatre, Dance, and Film | Texas State University
601 University Drive San Marcos, Texas 78666
ATTN: New American Play Festival

Call for Submissions: Brave Voices Short-Play Festival

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Deadline: March 31, 2025 @11:59PM

Are you a playwright with a passion for telling stories that center around LGBTQIA+, POC, and other marginalized voices? We want to hear from you! Brave Voices, a short-play festival celebrating underrepresented perspectives, is now accepting submissions of original 10-minute plays.

Theme: Stories must center around LGBTQIA+, POC, or marginalized characters. All genres (including horror) are welcome.

Length: 10-minute plays (approximately 8–10 pages).

Originality: All plays must be unpublished (though prior productions are permitted) and should be suitable for a low-budget black box theater.

Submission Format: Scripts should be submitted as a PDF or Word document, with a cover page that includes the title of the play, your name, and contact information.

Playwrights of selected works will receive a $50 honorarium and their work will be part of the Brave Voices Short-Play Festival in August 2025 at Boxland in Columbus, Ohio.
Notifications:

Selected playwrights will be notified via email by April 20, 2025.
How to Submit:

Please send your script to boxlandsubmissions@gmail.com with the subject line: "Brave Voices – [Your Play Title]."

Boxland Inc., is a 501c3 non-profit supporting Central Ohio multimedia artists. We provide a platform for artists, actors, and other creatives to showcase their work.

Our mission is to facilitate the production of quality creative multimedia and provide a safe, fair, stable, and supportive launchpad for the artists who produce it.

Surfside Playhouse Readers' Theater

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Deadline: April 11, 2025

It’s the second season of Readers’ Theater: From the Script to the Stand, at Surfside Playhouse. This season shows are the second Saturday during the run of a mainstage show and will take place @ 8pm in the main auditorium.

Performance date: May 3rd, 2025.

The following are the play submission requirements:

• Scripts should be no longer than 10-20 minutes in length.
• Scripts can be straight plays of any genre inclusive of musicals (which are highly encouraged).
• One submission per writer for this submission unless prior arrangements have been discussed.
• Submission deadline April 11, 2025.
• Please send all submissions to: nancymaticanbock@gmail.com

Every submission will be acknowledged.

All scripts will be reviewed within a few days of closing deadline. After scripts are chosen, only those selected will be contacted.

All submissions are kept on file for use during any of the Readers’ Theater show dates with the writer’s consent.

If you have submitted a script before, no need to submit the same one, as it is on file and will be considered again.

OUT/PLAY Presents: Summer Shorts - Short Play Festival 2025

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Deadline:  April 1, 2025

SUBMISSION ON GOOGLE DOCS

Submissions are being accepted on a rolling basis between: March 10 - April 1, 2025. Playwrights will be contacted by mid-April, with formal selections announced on May 1, 2025. 

The inaugural new play festival of OUT/PLAY to celebrate local artists, new work, and themed in recognition of “Our Queer Inheritance.” Submissions will be considered based on creative interpretations of this idea. While we appreciate interpretations of classic and pre-existing material, OUT/PLAY will select only new and original playwriting for the Summer Shorts Festival 2025.

OUR QUEER INHERITANCE: We have spanned almost 100 years of theatre in this season of OUT/PLAY. How does our queer community look to our past to inform our future?

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

To be considered, please submit this form with the following materials:

Photo/Resume and/or Artistic Bio (75 words or less)

One PDF doc containing the following:

Artist’s Statement: explanation of your play and its meaning, in your own words (100 words).

Character Breakdown: list of characters and useful descriptors to help directors with casting. Please note: OUT/PLAY is an equal-opportunity organization, and while we understand some scripts require demographic specificity, we appreciate work that can be performed outside restrictions of age, sex, gender identity or expression, race, ethnicity, body-type, and ability.

Script: may not exceed 12 pages (excluding the title page and character breakdown). Format the document with 1-inch margins, Times New Roman font size 12pt. (When read out loud, including stage directions, the play should be less than 15 minutes in length).

Plays should be original, unpublished, and never before produced in New York City. This can be new work specifically for this festival or pulled from your archives.

Scripts should be frozen by its first rehearsal, with minimal changes made during the rehearsal process.

Playwrights must be residents of New York City and available for the duration of the festival.

Playwrights, directors, and actors will be expected to promote the festival via social media and personal networks. Each play will be given a discount code for online ticket purchases.

OUT/PLAY SUMMER SHORTS FESTIVAL OFFERINGS

Assignment of a Director to each short play

1 Dress/Tech Rehearsal and 2-4 live performances (depending on the number of plays chosen) between June 5 - 8, 2025 at a TheatreLab.

Video footage of one performance supplied to the Playwright and Director.

Each production will get 1 tech rehearsal in the space during the week of the festival, date TBD.

OUT/PLAY producers are available to support in casting and promotion via photos and video assets, social media, invitations to our mailing list, and a formal press release to theater and media contacts.

OUT/PLAY will offer 2 complimentary tickets per play to Industry Professionals--names and emails must be provided to OUT/PLAY by the Director of the play.Any questions should be directed to outplaynyc@gmail.com.

Theatre Southwest 28th Annual Theatre Southwest Festival of Originals

Website

Deadline: April 5th, 2025

Theatre Southwest of Houston, Texas is accepting entries from now until April 5th, 2025 for the 28th Annual Theatre Southwest Festival of Originals to be presented July 25th-August 9th, 2025.

The TSW-FOO is FREE to enter and will once again be calling for short one act (20 minute) plays in any and all genres from all over the country and the world.

Submission Guidelines:

Each playwright may submit up to 2 plays for consideration.

All entries should be unpublished and previously unproduced in the Houston area.

All Genres are accepted. We produce an eclectic variety of plays, but comedies are always appreciated.

Monologues or One Actor plays are not accepted.

Plays should be 20 minutes in length (give or take a minute or two).

Page count should be no less than 17, but no more than 22 pages. 12 point font (Courier, Arial or Times New Roman) and using Standard Playwriting Format.

There is no maximum limit of characters or sets, but common sense should be used as 5 plays will be produced in one evening.

Number all pages of the scripts, and scripts MUST be securely bound by three hole punch with brads or three hole punch folder. NO STAPLES!

Scripts must be submitted by postal mail ONLY. Emailed PDF or Word files will not be considered.

Scripts (hard copies) cannot be returned.

NOTE: We apologize for the inconvenience of mailed in hard copies for all domestic entities, but the fest does make exceptions for overseas entries. If you are entering from another country you may email a PDF to: mimiholloway@gmail.com This is also the email to address any questions.

Be sure to include your contact information; phone number, email, and mailing address on the title page of each script.

List all characters with a brief character description.

Please include a one paragraph synopsis of the play.

Make sure all mailed entries are POSTMARKED by April 5th, 2025.

Overseas entries must be emailed before 11:59pm April 5th, 2025.

One hundred dollars will be paid to all playwrights selected for production.

Scripts should be mailed to:

Theatre Southwest
8944 Clarkcrest St.
Houston, Texas 77063-4004
Attn: TSW-FOO

CLIMATE ACTION NEW PLAY COLLECTION seeks plays centering around climate change

Website

Deadline: April 7, 2025

SUBMIT
Through the following link:
https://sites.google.com/view/canplaycollection-com/about?authuser=0

In conjunction with Sixth Fest, Chicago.

CLIMATE ACTION NEW PLAY COLLECTION
Uplifting the next generation of storytellers to incite change

New plays centering around climate change that are 2-15 minutes long and can be performed with a cast of 1-6 actors. 

As the climate emergency and its uncomfortable effects escalate, it is imperative to become comfortable talking about the changing climate and to seek ways to advocate for action.
We’re looking for play submissions to inspire, educate, and activate.

HONORARIUM

12 submissions will be selected and chosen playwrights will be compensated with a $300.00 honorarium.

A staged reading of the plays will also be performed in Spring or Fall 2025 at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Further, selected plays will be made available, website TBD, in an accessible collective for a two-year period. This would mean that the play could be read and staged by anyone within these two years. There are no contractual obligations or royalties paid to playwrights whose scripts are selected. Finalist plays may be asked to give limited license for productions.

Please direct any questions or concerns to peglesto@depaul.edu

Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize 2025

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Deadline: April 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM BST 

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

The Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize 2025 - Awarded for the best playwriting response on the theme of Fear.

The winner and runners-up will receive financial support in the following amounts:

Prizes

First place: £3,000

Second place: £1,000

Third place: £1,000

Rules

Open to all nationalities.

Applicants must be aged 18 or above at the time of entry.

All entries must be written in English.

You can enter multiple prizes.

Plays must not have been professionally produced (this means a run of more than a week for which the audience must buy tickets, it does not include rehearsed readings or workshops.)

Submissions are judged anonymously so please do not include your name on your script.

Submission

To apply you will be asked to submit the following:

A completed play that responds to the theme of Fear. The response is up to you and if you think your work is a response, then you are eligible to submit. Plays must be longer than 30 minutes (which is likely around 30-pages)

A short statement about how your work responds to the theme.

A brief summary of your past work and writing experience.

The Bravo Theatre in Mexico seeks full-length plays

Website

Deadline: none - the first 40 scripts will be accepted

Submit scripts to submissions@thebravo.org, in Word or PDF format. First 40 scripts received will be accepted.

The Bravo Theatre in Mexico is having a summer reading series only for full-length plays that have never had a reading. Selected plays will receive a staged reading (six rehearsals). One performance, live audience, and live video feed for the playwright, who will receive audience and cast feedback immediately following the performance.

Staged readings are fully blocked but have no capacity for major set changes. Our stage is 24 wide by 17 deep.

The actor pool is exclusively age 60 and up. Please do not submit plays that absolutely require actors of a younger age. Maximum cast size is 6. Scripts must be in English.

Our goal is assist you in preparing for your next draft. Please do not submit any plays that already had readings or plays you do not intend to develop further.

SPRING 2025 Online Class in Writing the Ten-Minute Play

 Spring online classes in Writing the Ten-Minute Play are now open for enrollment. 

Award-winning playwright and musical theatre writer Arianna Rose is offering two online sections in Writing The Ten-Minute Play.

Arianna has taught this course for the Dramatists Guild Institute, Delray Beach Playhouse, and other playwriting and creative writing courses both online and in-person in NY and FL.

"Writing for the Stage: The Ten-Minute Play" 

Six Sessions, 3 hours each session: choose one section

1. Mondays, 1 – 4 pm EST (April 7 – May 12)

2. Thursdays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm EST, (April 3 – May 15) (no class May 1) 

Tuition: $ 299 early bird till March 27; $329 after 

Discount: $20 discount for members of The Dramatists Guild, Playwright Binge, or South Florida Theatre League.

Minimum of 3 participants per section; maximum of 8.

Course Description: 
Ten-minute play festivals continue to grow in popularity around the world, with readings, productions, and publications at every level of theatre. While short-form plays share some similarities with full-length storytelling, the dramatists who excel in this form have learned how to write into the differences. I can help you join their ranks and give you the tools to write to the highest level of craft.

This eight-session course is a combination of lecture, reading, discussion, and most importantly, in-class sharing of your work for feedback. Whether you’re a new or seasoned dramatist, Writing The Ten-Minute Play will assist you in your craft. Topics include the elements of a successful 10-minute play, dramatic structure, generating ideas, character development, giving and receiving constructive feedback, effective rewrites, formatting your play, submissions, and log-keeping.Please contact Arianna Rose at rockawayrose@gmail.com, or via her website where there is more course information: https://ariannarose.net/playwriting-classes-and-other-workshops

 

Arianna Rose is the Dramatists Guild Ambassador for South Florida, a Dramatists Guild Institute Instructor and Pip Mentor, professional dramaturg, Theatre Professor, and an award-winning playwright and musical theatre writer. Recipient of the MAC Song of the Year Award, the York Theatre NEO, and numerous best short play awards. Her work has been produced in 37 states and ten countries. Published: Smith & Kraus, Applause Books, Theatre Odyssey Publications & Gemco Publications Australia. 2019-2021 Miami-Dade County Playwright Development Program, moderated by Kia Corthron. She created and moderates the weekly Plays on Purpose/Miami New Musicals stage writers group, in its sixth year. M.F.A., NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing; B.A. Theatre, Bucknell University; BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. Memberships: ASCAP, LMDA, MAESTRA, Musicians Union, New Play Exchange, South Florida Theatre League, Dramatists Guild of America  http://www.ariannarose.net

Interested but not available?
If you are interested but don't have availability for that day and times, please email me at rockawayrose@gmail.com and I'll compile a list for another section or future course.

One-on-One Private Dramaturgy
If you prefer one-on-one coaching, I am a member of the Dramaturg and Literary Managers Association of the Americas (LMDA) and the Dramatists Guild Plays-in-Progress Mentor Program. More information here: 

http://ariannarose.net/dramaturg-for-hire

Go Try Play Write ~ March 2025

Website

Deadline: March 31, 2025

GOOGLE DOCS SUBMISSION FORM

The prompt for March 2025 is:

A purgatorio prompt. Write a 10-page maximum scene or an 8-page max monologue of someone who may end up in purgatory, unless... This is the moment when they can choose an action that will either land them in heaven or hell. If they make no choice, they end up in purgatory. Think of the world we’re in now, and the choices we’re facing.

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!

A Note To Our Writers: Starting next month, I’ll be creating prompts based on a book by Timothy Snyder, ON TYRANNY: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century. It’s a small book, and you can listen to him read it on YouTube, but being familiar with the work may help you create from the prompt. I won’t be doing such prompts every month. Also, I’m not looking for political diatribes, but the human costs of tyranny on us; people living in the coming of or through the onslaught of tyranny. Be open to creating scenes of tragedy, comedy, and/or satire. —Harry Wong III

The Soliloquist Magazine seeks soliloquies for its Spring 2025 issue

Website

Deadline: April 5, 2025

Email: thesoliloquistmag@gmail.com 

The Soliloquist Magazine is inviting poems and soliloquies for its first issue (Spring 2025 issue). Please read the following submission guidelines:

Theme for Spring 2025 issue:
"Unfinished Dialogues":
Pieces exploring conversations we have with ourselves but never fully resolve.

Submission Guidelines

1. Send up to 5 poems/soliloquies (no more than 40 lines each).
2. Include a brief bio in third person (50–100 words).
3. Submissions must be original and unpublished.
4. Email your work to thesoliloquistmag@gmail.com with the subject line “ Spring 2025 Submission – [Your Name].”

Important dates:
Submission Deadline for Spring Issue: April 05, 2025
Publication Date: April 15, 2025
Notification Timeline: Within 1 week of submission.

"Share Your Soliloquy"

The World wants to hear your voice. Whether it’s a whispered confession, a bold declaration, or a quiet meditation, The Soliloquist is here to amplify your words.

Stonecoast Review now open for the Summer 2025 Issue (#23) submissions

Website

Deadline: April 15, 2025 at 1:59 p.m

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

SUMMER 2025 — ISSUE #23

Theme: Power

What do you think of when you hear the word “power”? What does it mean to have power? What does it mean to use it? What does it mean to abuse it? How does it feel when it’s taken away? 
The word connotes different definitions and bears different weights for each of us. It manifests itself in unexpected ways and settings, and remains absent or suppressed in so many others. 

We support the Stonecoast community’s goal to promote inclusivity, equity, and social justice through writing.

Genres Accepted: We solicit fiction, pop (genre) fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, dramatic works, experimental literature, and visual art. We can’t wait to see your best pieces! Stonecoast Review offers feedback on selected submissions.

Issue Format: Beginning with Issue 21, released in June 2024, Stonecoast Review assumed the form of a print/online hybrid journal. The print form now consists of a 48-page chapbook, with full color art throughout, as well as a QR code that directs readers to more new content on StonecoastReview.org. As such, all pieces selected for publication will be featured online but, due to page limitations, only a select number of pieces will be able to be featured in the print Issue. Please see below for new guidelines regarding word count limitations for each type of publication.

We want to read literature and take in media that explore, provoke, challenge, reconsider, evoke, or explode that concept for you.

Submission GuidelinesSend submissions via Submittable only.

• Please include a short cover letter and bio (50- and 100-word max., respectively).
• We accept one prose submission, one poetry submission (of up to three poems), or five pieces of visual art per author, per submission cycle. Submissions that do not abide by these rules will not be considered for publication.
• Your work must be previously unpublished. (Stonecoast alumni may submit already published work for consideration as reprints.)
• We encourage simultaneous submissions. However, please withdraw your submission immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere. If you submit multiple poems and one is accepted at another publication, please attach a note on Submittable identifying which poem is no longer available.
• Please adhere to standard manuscript format: Double spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman font. Poetry may be single spaced. (If you tell us that diverging from these rules is integral to your piece, we will consider it.)
• While we love to represent stories with raw, emotional truth, we ask that you refrain from submitting pieces featuring excessive sex, violence, assaults, or suicide.
• We will reject pieces determined to be written by the use of AI software.

Genre Guidelines

As a reminder, all pieces selected for publication will be featured online in June 2025. Due to page constraints, only a few of these selected pieces will be featured in both the print and online Summer 2025 Issue. Please see below for word count limitations based on consideration for either Hybrid (Print + Online) or General (Online-only) publication formats.

Dramatic Works. We are seeking short dramatic works of all types. Plays, screenplays, and hybrid works including monologues, one-minute scripts, ten-minute scripts, and experimental works are all welcome. Excerpts from longer dramatic works are welcome if they stand on their own. We are interested in pieces that represent diverse voices and creatively explore the many facets of power, including the presence and absence of it.

Limit submissions to five pieces.

One submission per author, per submission cycle, of up to five pieces.

The Democracy Cycle 2025

Website

Deadline: April 1, 2025, 5:00 PM EDT

Over a 5-year period, The Democracy Cycle – a collaboration between the Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) and Civis Foundation (an affiliate of Galvan Initiatives) – will commission and develop a total of 25 new performing arts works across the fields of theater, dance, music, opera, and multi-disciplinary performance that express themes related to the nature and practice of democracy, particularly as it is practiced in the United States.

Purpose

• Our hope is that the commissioned projects will enrich and expand discussion of and participation in democracy – be it in the national, state, regional, or hyperlocal community realm – as it is practiced within the United States and worldwide. The Democracy Cycle project is inspired by the following beliefs:Democratic values are a global expression of humanity’s striving to live with one another with respect and in peace.
• Democracy, as practiced in the United States, includes a history of founding exclusions. It has been, and must continue to be, the ongoing work of our society to expand upon the ideals of inclusivity embedded in our founding documents.
• Democracy faces significant perceived and actual threats in the current moment, both domestically and internationally.
• The Intersection of capitalism and democracy creates both opportunities and tensions.
• Artists are the beating heart of democratic values because of their ability to imagine new worlds, envision new possibilities, and provoke meaningful discourse across divides.

The primary focus of The Democracy Cycle will be on democracy as it is currently being practiced in the United States. However, commissioned projects may include references to democracies worldwide provided they have potential for informing and deepening our understanding of American democracy.

The Commission

Each selected artist will receive $60,000 in support, consisting of a commission of $30,000 to create the new work as well as an additional $30,000 in support of the work’s development process (research, readings, workshops etc.).

• January 13, 2025: Application portal opens for The Democracy Cycle’s 2025 Open Call
• February 13, 2025, 1:00 PM ET: Live webinar where the Democracy Cycle staff will give an overview of the steps to apply and the application elements, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end.
• April 1, 2025, 5:00 PM ET: Application deadline date for 2025 Open Call
• April-July 2025: Applications are screened for eligibility by TDC staff. Eligible proposals are reviewed by a minimum of two Readers. Using Readers’ evaluative scores, a list of finalists is developed.
• Spring/summer 2025: A peer panel drawn from the fields of performing arts, and the study and practice of democracy reviews finalists’ proposals and selects 8 projects to receive the 2025 commissions.
• Fall 2025: All 2025 Open Call applicants notified of their project’s status
• Early 2026: The Democracy Cycle’s Open Call timeline and guidelines announced

Eligible applicants must:

• Be generative artists who are currently creating new work in theater, dance, music, opera, or multi-disciplinary performance
• Have created, completed, and premiered at least 2 full-length prior works of live performance publicly, as evidenced by their bio, CV and/or work samples (Note: Staged readings and/or workshop showings are not premieres.)
• Propose a new live performance work which may be at any stage of development, but may not be planned to premiere before May 1, 2025. (Remounts of previously completed/premiered works are ineligible.)
• Propose a new live performance work which is planned to be completed in 2026, 2027, or 2028.
• Be prepared to manage the income-tax implications of accepting a commission from a U.S.-based arts organization. (U.S. citizenship is not a requirement, this is a national and international open call.)

Proposals are not eligible if

• The lead artist is enrolled as a full-time student in a degree-granting program. Ph.D. candidates need to have completed their course work by the application deadline to be eligible
• The lead artist is under the age of eighteen
• The main purpose of the project is the curation or documentation of existing work(s)
• The proposed work advocates by name for the success or failure of a current partisan candidate for office or a political party
• The lead artist or any of the main collaborators are employees or immediate family of employees of PAC NYC or Galvan Initiatives

Selection Criteria

Readers and panelists will consider the following in selecting the commissioned projects:How does the proposed work expand, critique, or celebrate democracy, the practice of democracy, and democratic ideals?

How has the artist or artists identified and responded to ideas or themes related to democracy, including core democratic principles and values (ex. political equality, majority rule, minority rights, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, among others.)

Does the work demonstrate clear potential for generating meaningful reflection and discourse on democracy as demonstrated by project narrative, samples of prior work, and artistic history of its collaborators.

Discount tickets ~ BECKETT BRIEFS with F. Murray Abraham

BECKETT BRIEFS

Starring Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, Beckett Briefs follows three short works by Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. By popular demand and following a sold-out run, Irish Rep is thrilled to bring the show to the comfort of your home. 

Limited on-demand streams will be available, so grab your tickets fast—once they’re gone, they’re gone! 

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ThinkTank Theatre TYA Playwrights Festival

Website

Deadline: March 25 2025

SUBMIT VIA GOOGLE DOCS

In this fifth season of our TYA Playwrights Festival, ThinkTank Theatre seeks to provide a platform for forward-thinking and innovative work for Young People and Family Audiences.

Plays selected for our TYA Festival Showcase receive rehearsal with a professional cast and director, providing an opportunity for the playwright to collaborate with other professionals during the development process. The plays are presented semi-staged, script-in-hand for audiences, providing the playwright further opportunity to develop the work, in the presence of our Tampa Bay community. The dates for the TYA Festival Showcase is currently set for August 21st - 24th, 2025. Plays selected for the TYA Festival Showcase are under consideration for full production in a subsequent season with ThinkTank Theatre.

Our Play Festival Audience: At ThinkTank, we make it our mission to produce inspirational, captivating, and forward-thinking professional theater for Young People and Family Audiences. ThinkTank believes young people and family audience material should reflect the world our young people currently experience and, as such, we do not shy away from mature topics, subject matter, and language. Please feel free to submit plays that might fit this genre.

Play Content: Plays should contain at least one character of a younger experience (to be played by actors aged 14-18). Plays that represent a variety of human experiences and/or characters who can be played by members of our community with special needs will be given further consideration, as these highlight the diverse community of our Tampa Bay Area.

We are not currently accepting musical submissions for the festival this season.

Selected Playwrights: Playwrights whose plays are selected for the 2025 Festival Showcase will receive up to a $500 honorarium to assist with travel to Tampa to take part in rehearsals and the staged readings.

The honorariums are generously gifted to the 2025 ThinkTank TYA Playwrights Festival by the

Gobioff Foundation, The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and ThinkTank's individual donors and sponsors.


Submission Guidelines:

- Deadline for submissions: Monday, March 25th 2025.

- Deadline for New Dramatists, Agent and PW Center Submissions: April 16th (If submitting past March 24th, please email tyaplayfest@thinktanktya.org to submit).

- Please submit your play via this Google form to be considered for our 2025 Play Festival by Monday March 25th, 2025.

- We will not be using the tagging on NPX as in the past, it has recommended TYA works that haven't aligned with the needs of our festival. We recognize the additional step required here to submit and appreciated you taking the time to share your work with us as a potential component of our TYA PlayFest.

- For Round One, please select a scene or up to 20 pages from the play that you feel best showcases your piece. If you submit your full play, we will only read the first 20-pages.
- Please also submit a description of the full-length play.
- Plays should have had no prior Florida Professional Productions.
(If the play has had a workshop production, please include this information on your form, as well as information about the company, # of performances, and contact information, if applicable.)
- Playwrights moved into Round Two for TYA Festival Showcase will be contacted around the end of April to submit the full-length draft of their play. All Playwrights will be contacted by July 15th, regarding their submissions.

CRITERIA
​
Genres: adaptation, adventure, biography, comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, mystery/thriller, parody/spoof, period, science fiction, tragedy, young audiences

Length: 60-90 minutes, 90 minutes to two hours

Cast Size: 1–8, if your cast has more than 8 characters, please include a doubling list

Age Appropriateness: ages 14-17, ages 18 and up

Unproduced Work Only?: Can not have been produced in Florida

Playwright Location: United States and Canada

The MAC Theater Playwrights Incubator program 2025-2026

Website

Deadline: March 31, 2025

The MAC Theater Playwrights Incubator is a program for first-time playwrights to see their work realized on the stage.

Finding theaters to produce new or unpublished plays can be an obstacle for any new playwright. The MAC Theater Playwrights Incubator is a structured program that aims to discover and support, through workshop and production, new stage plays by first time, unpublished regional playwrights.

These plays are small cast shows with one to six characters. Selected playwrights will work with two mentors who are experienced theater artists to fine-tune their plays over the course of several months and prepare the script for production.

After regular writing evaluations and the script is ready, the mentors will work with the MAC to find a director and assist her or him in casting the show with appropriate actors. One or more readings with a select focus group audience will include a feedback-response process, and the end result is a completed script, ready for debut performance for a live audience on stage at the Marion Art Center.

Any new writer who has not yet been published or had a play produced is invited to submit her or his script or outline for consideration. There is no cost to participate in this program. Selected applicants are required to sign an agreement with the MAC Theater, outlining expectations and a commitment to the program. Playwrights must be available to meet on site with mentors, for readings and all aspects of the production process including auditions, rehearsals, tech work and performances.

Playwrights Incubator Application

To be considered for the MAC Theater's Playwrights Incubator program, click on the box online to start the application process. The Playwrights Incubator committee will review your proposal and will reach out if any further information is needed.

RubySky Productions seeks 10-minute plays

Facebook page

Deadline: March 31, 2025

RubySky Productions is looking for plays of 10 minutes or fewer, for their next audio production. Us Rubys are keen to inspire the next generation of playwrights, so please share to any family or friends! 

Any subject and genre, just keep to under 10 minutes please and ideally suitable for audio. Open to anyone worldwide under 18, no other restrictions. 

Depending on entrants 2 age groups may be implemented. A small stipend in the form of an Amazon Voucher will be offered for the winning entrant(s).

Please submit to RubySkyProductions@outlook.com

Any questions, please ask.

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Once Off Productions presents THE UNITED STATES VS ULYSSES, their bawdy courtroom drama telling the true story of the New York trial that liberated James Joyce’s Ulysses from American censorship and made Joyce a cultural icon.

From April 30 to Jun 1, 2025

More information at the Irish Arts Center here.

Use JOYCE15 at checkout to redeem a 15% discount on regular and premium seats.

SAM BASS THEATRE: 2nd Annual 10-Minute Play Festival

Website

Deadline: April 4, 2025

Or when they receive 200 submissions

They have received their limit of 200 submissions - DO NOT SEND

Round Rock Texas

• Plays should be between 10-15 minutes in length (approximately 10-15 pages), not including cover page and character descriptions.

• Each play should include a maximum of three (3) characters. 

• Plays should be unpublished and unproduced at the time of submission. Previous staged readings will not disqualify a script.

• Submissions will be blind (no identifying information on the script itself). Cover pages will be submitted separately via the form.

• Submissions must be in .docx or .pdf format.

• One submission per playwright.

• Submission window: March 14 - April 4 (or when submissions reach 200, whichever is first).

• Panel of readers will include board members of Sam Bass Theatre Association and members of the local theatre community.

• Playwrights should expect to receive notification of their status in the festival via email by April 11.

• Selected plays will be performed at the Round Rock Library on Friday, May 16 at 7:00pm. 

• Selected playwrights will receive a recording of their original work as it is performed that evening.

The Weekly Workshop ~ see your script through from beginning to end

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 EST

 

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

•       3 Hour Short Course

 

All 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

Open: Journal of Arts & Letters seeks plays

Website

Deadline: Mar 20, 2025 11:59 PM

SUBMIT VIA SUBMITTABLE

Open: Journal of Arts & Letters will consider fee-free submissions of drama whose effects can be experienced either on the page or in production.

Submit a file with up to 5000 lines, including title, byline, dramatis personae, and stage direction.

O:JA&L will consider several formatting options for drama: 1) conventions of formatting published by Gordon State College, 2) suggestions for formatting published by The Dramatists Guild, or 3) play formats in specialized software programs for writers like Final Draft or Movie Magic. Submissions which deviate by degrees of magnitude from these conventions of form will be declined.

Submitters should include a cover letter. This cover letter should contain, in the manner of a screenplay, a HEADER for the work, a LOGLINE of up to 30 words, and a SYNOPSIS of the work (without spoilers) of up to 150 words. This cover letter should also include a third-person professional biography of the playwright in 100 words, more or less.

Open: Journal of Arts & Letters will only consider plays that have never before been produced or published. Submissions must be made in PDF file format only.

Garfield Center for the Arts Short Attention Span Theatre 2025

Website

Deadline: March 26, 2025 at 11:59 PM

It’s that time of year again! The Garfield Center for the Arts (Chestertown Maryland) is embarking on the exciting annual adventure in theatre known as “Short Attention Span Theatre”. For those not in the know, that’s our annual 10-minute play festival. Performance dates are July 11-13, July 18-20 and July 25-27.

We are seeking scripts for 10-minute plays.

We love all playwrights but most of all we love supporting our local playwrights. We started Live Playwrights’ Society(LPS) with this in mind. There is no cost to be a member. Just show up for a meeting!

• LPS members may submit up to five 10-minute plays.

• Non-LPS members may submit two 10-minute plays. Choose your very best!

We anonymize submitted scripts before they are read by our panel of judges, so please refrain from putting your name anywhere except an optional cover sheet. (Seriously, please don’t make our anonymizer’s job any harder — thanks!)

We will stop accepting submissions after we receive 300 scripts.
Please send your scripts in PDF format.
Your play will fare better if it is well formatted. Look for links on the Live Playwrights’ Society site for tips on formatting.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59pm Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

Here is our play selection process:

Submissions are anonymized and then read by our panel of judges.

Our panel of judges selects a number of submitted plays which are then offered to our group of directors.

You can see which plays made it through to directors on the SAST info page: https://www.garfieldcenter.org/sast/#playwrights

Our directors select from this list (in addition to a list of published plays).

We will announce our final selections by June 1st.

Questions? Email sastplays@garfieldcenter.org

Good luck & get to typing

Mark Sullivan
SAST 2025 Executive Producer