The fall-out of the Coronavirus has shaken the globe. We need the insight of artists now more than ever before. Your stories can help us heal. That’s why we are sharing our entire current masterlist of all playwriting opportunities with deadlines. The information is being included for free — no strings attached.
We hope you’ll consider joining as a paid subscriber down the road, where you’ll get a spreadsheet like this updated monthly (along with other members-only content, including an additional list of 250+ opportunities accepting year-round submissions). But for now, we just hope you’ll find a much-needed creative outlet to explore our quickly changing world. Thank you for sharing your craft. PSH remains committed to the health, well-being, and livelihood of playwrights everywhere.
Download list as PDF document: PSH – Opps With Deadlines
Download list as Microsoft Excel document: PSH – Opps with deadlines
Name | Length | Nature of Opportunity | Deadline | Location | Add’l Info |
COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources | n/a | An aggregated list of FREE resources, opportunities, and financial relief options available to artists of all disciplines. | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Acadiana Repertory Theatre | Full Length | Submissions should be actor/story forward, have limited to no production history, and not published. | 4/1/20 | Lafayette, Louisiana | n/a |
Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize | 10+ pages (sample) | Theme: “Forgiveness and Retribution.” The final piece must be no more than 45 mins in length and require no more than four actors. | 4/1/20 | London | Prize: £3000 |
Centre Stage South Carolina | max 120 pages | South Carolina playwright. One act, full-length, 10-min plays and musicals ok. | 4/1/20 | Greenville, South Carolina | Fee: $15 Prize: $500 |
Fade to Black Play Festival | 8-10 mins | Any theme or genre. Playwright must publicly and openly identify themselves as African-American, Black, or of the African diaspora. | 4/1/20 | Houston, Texas | No Fee Prize: $100 |
Florida Theatrical Association | Full Length | New musicals. | 4/1/20 | Orlando, Florida | n/a |
Liberation Theatre Company | Full Length | 10-month dramaturgical & prof. support for early-career Black playwrights. Must be residents of NYC. | 4/1/20 | NYC | $500 honorarium |
Pegasus Theater Company | max 10 mins | Northern California playwrights. The play must be unpublished and unproduced in Sonoma County. | 4/1/20 | Guerneville, California | n/a |
Playmarket | Any length | Writers under 25. New Zealand citizens or permanent residents only. No restrictions on style or content. | 4/1/20 | New Zealand | n/a |
Ritz Theatre | max 10 mins | Any subject or theme. Must be comedic. | 4/1/20 | Oaklyn, New Jersey | Fee: $10 Prize: $100 |
Salem State University | 10 mins | Open to all playwrights. However, preference will be given to those with a direct military connection. The theme should directly touch on military service and/or how military service affects a community. | 4/1/20 | Salem, Massachusetts | n/a |
Southeastern Louisiana University | Full Length | Open to all playwrights. Plays intended for a college-aged cast and audience. | 4/1/20 | Hammond, Louisiana | Fee: $10 |
T. Schreiber Studio & Theatre | max 10 mins | Int’l submissions ok. THEME: NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS | 4/1/20 | NYC | Fee: $5 “cash prize” |
The Theatre School at DePaul University | max 20 pages (sample) | Playwrights from the Chicagoland area and alumni of The Theatre School are eligible to apply. Dramatic works for young audiences. The writing sample may be from a play of any genre for any audience. | 4/1/20 | Chicago | Fee for the commission: $6000 |
Live Theatre | max 10 mins | The play must be original in content. Theme: 10 Minutes To…Call Home | 4/3/20 | Newcastle, UK | n/a |
Pittsburgh New Works Festival | One Act (15-45 mins) | Plays may have been read, but never produced. Workshops and readings are acceptable. | 4/4/20 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Fee: $15 Prize: $500 |
Page 73 Development Programs | 10-page sample + full script | Playwriting fellowship and writers group. Must be a US resident, and must have completed at least 2 full-length plays or at least 3 one-act plays. | 4/5/20 | Brooklyn, New York | Award: $10,000 |
Artists’ Exchange | One Act (10-20 mins) | Plays should be original. Previously produced plays acceptable. | 4/10/20 | Cranston, Rhode Island | n/a |
Open Space Arts | 15-20 mins | Theme: “Wꜵnderlust.” Must be family friendly – no overt swearing, violence, or sexual themes. Keep it PG. Must be suitable to be performed outdoors. | 4/12/20 | Reisterstown, Maryland | n/a |
Wayward Sisters Theatre Company | Full Length | Female identifying playwright in the Chicago area. | 4/12/20 | Chicago | n/a |
Panglossian Productions | Full Length / 10 mins | Full-length and 10-minute plays. Theme: Area 51 | 4/13/20 | Williamsburg, Virginia | n/a |
PlayGround | max 10 pages | Bay Area high school students, grades 9-12. Topic: BORDERS, ISLANDS & WALLS | 4/13/20 | San Francisco, California | n/a |
Athena Project | Full Length | Women playwrights. | 4/15/20 | Denver, Colorado | n/a |
Daisy Pettles Writing Contest | max 20 pages (sample) | Women writers, age 40+. All forms of writing except poetry. Applicants must be able to submit up to 20 pages of a work in progress for judging. | 4/15/20 | Bedford, Indiana | App Fee: $45-$0 Prize: $2,500 + $1,000 stipend |
Equity Library Theater | max 10 pages / mins | Playwrights from across the globe. Also seeking monologues (max 4 pages/mins). Musicals ok. No unpleasant profanity. Must be family-friendly. Playwrights must produce. | 4/15/20 | NYC | No Fee |
Garry Marshall Theatre | Full Length | New works that are uniquely theatrical, authentically voiced, and have a strong point of view. | 4/15/20 | Burbank, California | Fee: $20, $100 honorarium |
Gi60 | 1 min | One-minute plays. Int’l submissions ok. | 4/15/20 | Brooklyn, New York | No Fee |
Hambidge | Full Length | 2-8 weeks residency. Residency fee is $250 per week. | 4/15/20 | Rabun Gap, Georgia | App Fee: $30 |
John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award | Full Length | Open to all playwrights. | 4/15/20 | Hamden, Connecticut | n/a |
Repertorio Español | Full Length | Subject matter and characters must resonate with Latinx audiences and accurately depict the Latinx/Hispanic experience. May be written in either Spanish or English. Playwrights must be residents of the United States or Puerto Rico. | 4/15/20 | NYC | Prize: $3,000 |
Stonecoast Review | max 12 pages | Publication opp. Accepts dramatic works. Must be previously unpublished. Theme: Superstition | 4/15/20 | Portland, Maine | n/a |
The College at Brockport | 7-14 mins | Original scripts. Plays that have been read or performed in any manner for a paying audience prior to submission are not accepted. | 4/15/20 | Brockport, New York | n/a |
The Lark Playwrights’ Week | Full Length | Development opp. Int’l submissions ok. Housing and travel will be provided for all out of town writers. | 4/15/20 | NYC | n/a |
Austin Film Festival | Full Length | Full-length plays, original or adapted. | 4/17/20 | Austin, Texas | Fee: $20 Prize: $1,000 |
St. Louis Actors’ Studio | One Act (max 15 mins) | High school submissions. Non-professional, new and previously unproduced plays. | 4/19/20 | St. Louis, Missouri | n/a |
BBC Writersroom | 30+ pages | Comedy scripts. | 4/20/20 | London | n/a |
Essential Theatre | at least 1 hr (preferably) | Playwrights must be current Georgia residents. No restrictions as to style, length or subject matter. | 4/23/20 | Atlanta, Georgia | Prize: $750 |
The Players Centre | Full Length, One Act | Residents of the Gulf Coast area. Full-length plays are preferred but one-acts will be considered. | 4/24/20 | Sarasota, Florida | No fee for 1 script, $10 for each add’l |
Weathervane Playhouse | max 10 mins | The play must include a take out container — a prop that must be incorporated into the play. It must be seen on stage. No characters under the age of 16. | 4/24/20 | Akron, Ohio | Fee: $10 Prize: $350 |
AboutFACE Ireland | 30-120 mins | Playwrights based in Ireland, and Irish playwrights around the world. | 4/26/20 | Dublin, Ireland | No Fee |
Barter Theatre | Full Length | Plays must be written by an Appalachian playwright OR set in the Appalachian region. | 4/26/20 | Abingdon, Virginia | n/a |
Playing on Air | 10-25 pages | Comedic play. Special consideration will be given to the script’s suitability for audio recording and public radio broadcast. | 4/26/20 | NYC | No Fee Prize: $6,000 |
RaumArs | n/s | 2-5 months residency. Reg. fee of 100€ /person. | 4/26/20 | Rauma, Finland | See left. |
3Girls Theatre | Full Length | Emerging Bay Area women playwrights in their prime (40+). Must have had less than 3 professional productions of their work. | 4/30/20 | San Francisco, California | n/a |
Barrington Stage Company | Full Length | The playwright must be a U.S. resident. *A letter of endorsement from a professional theatre, commercial producer or literary agent must accompany the script. | 4/30/20 | Pittsfield, Massachusetts | No Fee Prize: $25,000 |
Break a Leg Productions | Full Length | Dramas or comedies focused on real life historical figures and/or events. May include fictional characters. | 4/30/20 | 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. | 4/30/20 | Milan, Italy | No Fee Prize: € 1000 |
City Theatre | n/s | Western PA or Northern WV residents in 7th-12th grade. | 4/30/20 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | n/a |
First Company Theater | One Act (10-20 mins) | Themes, storylines, and dialogue must be “family friendly” and adhere to First Company guidelines. (Follow the guidelines link.) | 4/30/20 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Fee: $25 Prize: $250 |
Hand to Mouth Players | One Act (max 25 mins) | Play must be previously unpublished. | 4/30/20 | New York | Fee: $20 $25 honorarium |
JETFest | Full Length | Comedies, dramas, and plays that often reflect issues of family, community, and humanity. Original work or adaptation. | 4/30/20 | Walled Lake, Michigan | Fee: $15 Prize: $250 |
Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival | One Act (max 25 pages) | Candidates must currently be enrolled in an accredited college and university. | 4/30/20 | Los Angeles, California | Fee: $20 |
PlayMakers Repertory Company | Full Length | Invites blind submissions during the months of March and April. | 4/30/20 | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 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 |
PSH members get all sorts of extra benefits, including:
- The full, up-to-date listing of hundreds of theaters that are looking for new plays (updated monthly)
- Regular emails of new play submission opportunities with year-round and hard deadlines
Here’s what your fellow playwrights have to say about their membership:
“Many playwriting groups recommended you! Thanks for the good work.”
-Jack Peterson, Playwright
“The best source I’ve found for contests & information about new play opportunities.”
-Leroy Clark, Author of Practical Playwriting and Writing for the Stage
“What a terrific bargain and time-saver. If you write, you need PSH. Simple. Just do it. It prompts you to keep circulating your labors of love, talent, and insights.“
-F. Lynne, Playwright & Actor
“My membership has been a tremendous help.”
-Tom Parks, Playwright
Thank You for your thoughtfulness in these hard times. Here in New York is like the Lights have dimmed on Broadway. I for one appreciate the Free Information which I will be looking forward to sharing on Facebook and all my Writers Group Friends. Once again Thank You, stay Safe and stay at Home. (Easy to say, but hard to do for so many Writers, Actors, and Models who rely on the Public and always on the go.