Howdy, Playwrights! Here’s a list of 35 play submission opportunities with May 2021 deadlines. This is just a small sample
of what is in our mega-list available to paid members. Join now to get access!
| Name | Length | Nature of Opportunity | Deadline | Location | Add’l Info |
| Mad Cow Theatre Company | Full Length | Emerging and established women+ playwrights. Plays must be unproduced and unpublished with limited development. | 4/30/21 | Orlando, Florida | Prize: $500 |
| Moondance Int’l Film Festival | 1, 2 or 3-act | Stage play, stage play or musical for kids, audio/radio play. See submission categories. | 4/30/21 | Boulder, Colorado | Fee: $25 |
| Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award | Full Length | Plays for young audiences. Open to all playwrights. | 5/1/21 | Hamden, Connecticut | n/a |
| Brewster Theater Company | max 30 mins | New and emerging playwrights. Plays must have been written after January 1, 2018. Any genre. *Solo shows must be no longer than 20 mins. | 5/1/21 | Carmel, New York | Fee: $25 |
| Foglifter | max 20 pages | Publication opp. LGBTQ+ writers. Accepts drama submissions. | 5/1/21 | n/a | $25 honorarium |
| New England Review | max 8,000 words | Publication opp. Looking for plays and monologues. Payment is $20 per page. | 5/1/21 | Middlebury, Vermont | Fee: $3 |
| Playwrights’ Round Table | 10 mins | Black US playwrights only. STRONGLY encourages BIPOC, female and LGBTQIA+ writers to submit plays. | 5/1/21 | Orlando, Florida | Fee: $1, $25 stipend |
| Salem State University | 10 mins | Open to all playwrights. However, preference will be given to those with a direct military connection. The theme of the play should directly touch on military service and/or how military service affects a community. | 5/1/21 | Salem, Massachusetts | n/a |
| The Chameleon Theatre Circle | Any length | Original works. All styles and genres are ok. | 5/1/21 | Burnsville, Minnesota | No Fee Prize: $25-100 |
| A Light in Dark Places | 5-15 pages | The plays must explore the themes of suicide prevention and mental health conditions with a focus on community, connection, hope, resources and healing. | 5/2/21 | Los Angeles, California | Fee: $20 Prize: $100 |
| Exposition Review | max 4 pages | Publication opp. Accepts a complete scene for stage. | 5/5/21 | California | Fee: $5 “cash prize” |
| Atlanta Fringe Audio | 15-75 mins | All audio genres are accepted. | 5/7/21 | Atlanta, Georgia | Fee: $25 Prize: $100 |
| Writer’s Digest | first 15 pages | Scripts (stage play) are accepted. Int’l submissions ok, except Syria, Iran, North Korea or Crimea. | 5/7/21 | Blue Ash, Ohio | Fee: $30 Prize: $5,000 |
| Sour Grapes Productions | Full Length | Theme: The Comedy of Errors | 5/8/21 | Brooklyn, New York | Fee: $15 |
| Nylon Fusion Theatre Co | 10 mins | Theme is “RETROSPECT: The Worst of Times.” | 5/12/21 | NYC | n/a |
| Carlo Annoni International Playwriting Prize | Any length | Plays on any topic affecting the LGBTQ+ community, and the promotion of diversity in love, society, politics and culture. | 5/15/21 | Italy | No Fee Prize: € 1000 |
| Theatre InspiraTO | 10 mins | Radio drama. The story can be a comedy, a drama, a parody, a monologue, absurd or anything in between. Int’l submissions ok. Theme: “in-touch” | 5/16/21 | Canada | No Fee |
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| The Studios of Key West | max 15 pages (see right) | Month-long residency. No residency fee. Int’l submissions ok. Submit 1 one-act play or 1 excerpt from a longer work. | 5/17/21 | Key West, Florida | App Fee: $40 |
| The Brooklyn Review | max 5000 words | Publication opp. Accepts un-produced one-act plays, excerpts from un-produced full-length plays, choreographic scores, and scripts for live multi-media performances. | 5/18/21 | Brooklyn, New York | No Fee |
| Book Pipeline Adaptation Contest | Full Length | Plays for film and television adaptation. Applicants outside the US are welcome. | 5/20/21 | Santa Monica, California | Fee: $55 Prize: $10,000 |
| Austin Film Festival | Full Length | Full-length plays, original or adapted. Int’l submissions ok. | 5/21/21 | Austin, Texas | Fee: $30 Prize: $1,000 |
| Mixing It Up Productions LLC | Full Length | Scripts must be original. Any genre. | 5/21/21 | Valley Stream, New York | n/a |
| Marion Thauer Brown Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition | max 30 mins | Audio drama scripts. Adventure and comedy. Must be appropriate for listeners of all ages. | 5/28/21 | n/a | No Fee Prize: $250 |
| Femme Fatale Festival | max 60 mins | Playwrights must identify as female. | 5/31/21 | Virtual | n/a |
| Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition | 90-120 mins | Int’l submissions ok. Play based on the risk theatre model of tragedy. Please visit the website for more info. | 5/31/21 | Canada | Fee: $49 Prize: $10,000 |
| Talking It Out | Short, One Act, Full Length | Any genre. All plays should deal with the topic of mental illness. Must be unpublished. Previous reading or production is ok. No website. Send submission to talkingitoutfest@gmail.com under the subject line “Talking It Out Play Submission – INSERT PLAY NAME HERE”. Provide a brief synopsis & approximate run time of your play(s) in the body of your email. | 5/31/21 | NYC | No Fee |
| Theater J | Full Length | New play that celebrates, explores, and/or struggles with the complexities and nuances of the Jewish experience. Open to emerging women playwrights in the US, inclusive of cis and trans women. | 5/31/21 | Washington, DC | No Fee Prize: $3,000 |
| TriQuarterly | short play | Publication opp. Accepts short drama. | 5/31/21 | Evanston, Illinois | Fee: $2 |
| FORGE Fuel | “sample” | Writers retreat. Open to writers of all kinds, including playwrights. | Year Round | Danbury, Connecticut | Fee: $80 |
| New Normal Rep | Full Length | New and underproduced plays that explore the historical, cultural, and psychological forces that have helped to shape life in America and beyond in the 21st Century. | Year Round | online | n/a |
| 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 |
| Stay True Theatre Company | Full Length | New work written by LGBTQIA+ playwrights. Plays and musicals ok. | Year Round | NYC | n/a |
| The Q Collective | max 20 mins | Radio plays exploring, celebrating, and speaking to experiences of gender and sexual minorities. | Year Round | St. Louis, Missouri | $50 stipend |
| 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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