Howdy, Playwrights! Here’s a list of 27 play submission opportunities with September 2019 deadlines.
Note: What’s written below is just a quick rundown of what the theaters are looking for. For complete submission guidelines, please go to their websites by clicking the theater’s name.
| Name | Length | Nature of Opportunity | Deadline | Location | Add’l Info |
| Creede Repertory Theatre | 10-20 page excerpt | Theatre for young audiences. Bilingual (English/Spanish) plays preferred, but not required. | 9/1/19 | Creede, Colorado | n/a |
| Darkhorse Dramatists | One Act (10-25 pages) | Halloween themed plays. Previous prods ok, so long as it is unpublished. Monologues ok. | 9/1/19 | Binghamton, New York | n/a |
| HBMG Foundation | n/a | Playwrights Retreat. Open to playwrights of all ethnicities and gender, at least 20 years of age. | 9/1/19 | Creede, Colorado | No App Fee |
| Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts | max 30 pages | 2 to 8 weeks residency. One-act plays or excerpts from a longer work. Each resident receives a $100 stipend per week. | 9/1/19 | Nebraska City, Nebraska | App Fee: $35 |
| OnStage! Award | Full Length | Playwrights living in the US and writing primarily in English. Plays must be unproduced and original. Previous workshops or university productions ok. Any theme, subject matter, and style (except musicals). | 9/1/19 | Rome, Italy | Fee: $45/40€ |
| Stage Right Theatrics | max 20 mins | Seeking plays with traditional, conservative points of view. Pro-life, pro-religion, free speech (etc.) plays most welcome. | 9/1/19 | Columbus, Ohio | Fee: $10 $100 stipend |
| The Commons | Full Length, One Act | Especially interested in fearless new plays and one acts, socially relevant contemporary musicals, ensemble driven pieces, daring solo works, unproduced screenplays, pilots and web series centering LGBTQ+ characters. Int’l submissions ok. | 9/1/19 | Los Angeles, California | n/a |
| Ucross Foundation | Full Length | 2-6 weeks residency. There is no fee for a residency. | 9/1/19 | Ucross, Wyoming | App Fee: $40 |
| Harbor Repertory Theater | 7-15 mins | For October and December Episodes. Halloween or holiday-season themes welcomed but not required. Comic scenes only. Content, language and subject matter should be “PG-13”-ish. Open only to writers living in Minnesota. | 9/4/19 | Plymouth, Minnesota | Fee: $12 Prize: $100 |
| The NYC Audio Theater Writing Contest | max 10 mins (10-15 pages) | Scripts for Audio Theater. Any genre; comedy preferred. Non-audio theater plays will be considered. | 9/6/19 | Brooklyn, New York | Prize: $200 |
| HERE WE GO | 8-20 mins | Plays/pieces that have not been produced before in NYC (with an exception for readings/staged readings). | 9/9/19 | Brooklyn, New York | n/a |
| Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program | max 30 pages | Nine months residency. For Playwriting: Applicants must have a significant body of independent work in the form. This will include, most typically, plays produced or under option. | 9/12/19 | Boston, Massachusetts | n/a |
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| Hambidge | Full Length | 2-8 weeks residency. Resident Fellows pay $250/week. Limited Distinguished Fellowships for first-time residents are available. | 9/15/19 | Rabun Gap, Georgia | App Fee: $30 |
| MacDowell Colony | Full Length | Residencies of up to 8 weeks. Int’l submissions ok. There are no residency fees. | 9/15/19 | Peterborough, New Hampshire | App Fee: $30 |
| New Perspectives Theatre Company | 10-15 pages (sample) | Development lab for emerging and mid-career women playwrights. | 9/15/19 | NYC | n/a |
| Old Library Theatre | One Act (15-30 mins) | Playwrights who have not had plays produced in previous festivals will receive priority in selection. | 9/15/19 | Fair Lawn, New Jersey | Fee: $5 |
| Playwrights First | Full Length | Int’l submissions ok. Plays with no prior full scale production. Readings and workshops are acceptable. | 9/15/19 | NYC | Prize: $1,000 |
| Small Fish Radio Theatre | max 10 mins | Horror radio plays. Gothic, supernatural, non-supernatural – whatever invokes FEAR and DREAD! Must be unproduced. | 9/15/19 | n/a | n/a |
| New Works Of Merit Playwriting Contest | max 2 hrs or 90 pages | Full-lengths, one-acts, short stage plays, children’s plays, published scripts, scripts that received a workshop, scripts that received a staged reading, scripts that received a non-union production, scripts produced with an AEA Showcase Code or Plan. Int’l submissions ok. | 9/16/19 | NYC | Fee: $25 Prize: $300 |
| American Academy in Berlin | n/s | Fellowship program. Restricted to candidates based permanently in the US. US citizenship is not required. | 9/23/19 | Berlin, Germany | stipend of $5,000/month |
| Landing Theatre Company | Full Length | Playwright must be a citizen or legal resident of the USA. Play must not have been produced. Play must not have had a public reading in the Houston area. Selected playwrights must attend the festival. Playwrights must cover their own travel expenses. | 9/30/19 | Houston, Texas | Fee: $15 $100 stipend |
| Sterts Theatre | One Act (25-35 mins) | Open to anyone, 16+ years of age. Entries must be original plays not previously published or publicly performed. No theme or restriction on location. Writers from outside the UK may send work by email (contact the office for details.) | 9/30/19 | Cornwall, UK | Fee: £8 Prize: £100 |
| Theatre Three | max 40 mins | Unproduced works only. Plays that have had staged readings are eligible. | 9/30/19 | Port Jefferson, New York | $125 stipend |
| Rubicon Theatre Company | Full Length | New plays. | Year Round | Ventura, California | n/a |
| FORGE Fuel | “sample” | Writers retreat. Open to writers of all kinds, including playwrights. | Year Round | Danbury, Connecticut | Fee: $80 |
| Playwrights Offering Free Feedback | Full Length | Full-length trade program. You must read a play and give feedback, and in return will have an opp to send a play and get feedback from other playwright. | Year Round | n/a | n/a |
| Trade A Play Tuesday | 10 mins | Send in 10-min play and get same-day feedback. You must also read 10 pages of another playwright’s work, and give thoughtful feedback. Runs every Tuesday. | Year Round | n/a | n/a |
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