We’ve compiled an INSANE list of 40(!) playwriting competitions with December 2013 deadlines!í‚ With Thanksgivukha, Christmas, Festivus & the Winter Solstice right around the corner, this is a time of year where it’s easy to get distracted.í‚ To say the least.í‚ But if you want to do something nice for yourself, put a couple of these submissions on your to-do list.
Theater Name / Festival Name | Play Lengths Accepted | Info | Deadline | State, City | Country | Prize / Fee |
One Act (10-25 mins) | Setting: Staten Island Ferry.í‚ Must contain 2 alternate endings. | 12/1/13 | Staten Island, New York | USA | Prize: $100 | |
Under 10 mins | Female-centered. Theme:í‚ Jewish resonance & disconnect of relationships in the age of the Internet. | 12/1/13 | Santa Monica, California | USA | n/a | |
Under 15 mins | Family-friendly. | 12/1/13 | Paw Paw, Michigan | USA | Fee: $10; Cash prize. | |
Full Length (max 90 mins) | Plays that explore big ideas, epic journeys, and unexpected surprises and are theatrical in nature. BIG theatre.í‚ Plays w female roles preferred. | 12/1/13 | New York City, New York | USA | “Small” stipend. | |
Full Length | Any genre.í‚ Staged reading. | 12/1/13 | New York City, New York | USA | n/a | |
One Act & Full Length | Playwriting conference open to women worldwide. Themes: “Beyond Words,” “In Other Words,” “Choice of Words,” & “Our Own Words” | 12/1/13 | Cape Town | S. Africa | n/a | |
Full Length (60-90 mins) | Prefers female playwrights and/or plays with strong female parts. | 12/1/13 | Amsterdam | Nether- lands | n/a | |
Full Length | Accepts new play and musical submissions. Open to tri-state area playwrights only. | 12/1/13 | Astoria, New York City | USA | n/a | |
60-70 mins | 1-week development residency.í‚ Musical theater submissions only.í‚ | 12/1/13 | Auburn, New York | USA | í‚ Fee: $25 | |
One Act | Comedies, dramas, musical theater submissions, and experimental pieces are all welcome. | 12/1/13 | Denton, Texas | USA | Prize: $2,000 | |
Full Length | Plays or musical submissions, or mixed media projects. Must be written in Yiddish, or in English that creatively incorporates Yiddish. | 12/1/13 | New York City, New York | USA | n/a | |
One Act | Open to High school students who reside in theí‚ southeastern ten-state SETC member region | 12/1/13 | Greensboro, North Carolina | USA | Prize: $250, plus travel. | |
í‚ 5-30 mins | Mission:í‚ “A laboratory where individuals and ensembles are free to experiment without censor.” | 12/1/13 | Columbus, Ohio | USA | $50 prize | |
Full Length | Staged reading. Must attend week-long August Festival.í‚ Must fit 1 of 2 themes:í‚ American West, ORí‚ í¢â‚¬Å“classicí¢â‚¬ characters & subjects. | 12/2/13 | Cedar City, Utah | USA | í‚ Fee: $20 | |
Full Length | Open to established Australian writers only. | 12/2/13 | Sydney, New South Wales | Australia | Commission: $12,500 | |
Not specified | Must live in Ontario.í‚ Play development. Seeks proposals based on: Courage, Generosity, Tolerance, Character, Patience, Humility or Wisdom. | 12/6/13 | Toronto, Ontario | Canada | Max Grant: $5000 | |
Not specified | í‚ Completed play, or project ideas, both welcome. Mission: í¢â‚¬Å“plays that encourages dialogue about the problems concerning the Philadelphia community.í¢â‚¬ | 12/7/13 | Philadelphia, PA | USA | n/a | |
Full Length | Open to playwrights worldwide. Plays must either: (1) be performable by children, or (2) target audiences aged 12-16. | 12/13/13 | London | UK | Prize: í‚£1,000, + travel. | |
max 15 mins | Seeks light horror/monster plays, with a preference for female writers and/or featuring female leads. | 12/13/13 | Toronto, Ontario | Canada | n/a | |
Full Length (or up to 2 shorter one-act plays) | 1-year academic education program. Prefers applicants who hold an undergraduate degree. | 12/15/13 | New York City, New York | USA | Application Fee: $60 | |
Full Length | Seeks bold, new plays about national ideas and what it means to be Canadian. Full scripts, or proposals, both accepted. | 12/15/13 | Calgary, Alberta | Canada | n/a | |
75+ mins | Seeks scripts that are smart, daring and fundamentally entertaining. Playwright must “have ties” to Minnesota. | 12/15/13 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | USA | n/a | |
Short Play (max 10 mins) | Open to Northwest playwrights. Any genre. Seeks plays that explore how technology affects our lives. | 12/15/13 | Seattle, Washington | USA | n/a | |
20í¢â‚¬“40 mins | Open to women playwrights only. Seeks large cast, one-act comedies ideal for performance by high school students. Min 8 cast members. | 12/15/13 | New York City, New York | USA | Prize: $1,000 | |
10 mins – Full Length | Seeks new works by US university students that engage hip-hop as attitude of resistance & self-definition OR tell contemporary stories through the use of: B-Girl/B-Boying, graffiti, MC-ing, DJ-ing. | 12/15/13 | Washington DC | USA | Prize: $1,000 | |
í‚ 90-120 mins | Accepts fullí¢â‚¬length drama or comedy. Must attend week-long play development process in October. | 12/16/13 | Ashland, Oregon | USA | Fee: $15; $1,000 stipend. | |
10-minute play | í‚ The staging of the play must involve two or more dimensions, i.e. fantasy & reality, fiction & history, past & present, living & dead, etc. | 12/18/13 | Toronto | Canada | $500 prize | |
10 – Minute Play | Play must have or relate to the theme of love or civil rights. See their play submissions advice. | 12/26/13 | New York City, New York | USA | n/a | |
Metropolitan Playhouse | 30-Minute Play | Theme: Justice | 12/27/13 | New York City, New York | USA | n/a |
Full Length | Accepts Full length, unproduced plays and musicals also accepts Childrení¢â‚¬â„¢s play submissions. | 12/31/13 | Coldwater, Michigan | USA | Prize: $200 | |
between 20-30 mins | 2-6 characters preferred | 12/31/13 | Congleton | UK | Prize: í‚£150 | |
Full length preferred | í‚ UK residents only, age 16+. | 12/31/13 | Nottingham | England | n/a | |
One Act | Open to both professional writers (45 mins max) and high school students (15mins max).í‚ Max 4 characters. | 12/31/13 | St. Louis, Missouri | USA | n/a | |
min 60 mins | í‚ Australia citizens or perm residents only. | 12/31/13 | Sydney, New South Wales | Australia | Prize: $10,000 | |
Full Length | Seeks plays that are still in development.í‚ Staged reading, w/ talkback. | 12/31/13 | Falmouth, MA | USA | n/a | |
Not specified | Week-long development festival in late July. Looking for exciting plays that say something that reflect the times we live in. | 12/31/13 | Telluride, Colorado | USA | Fee: $10.í‚ $500 stipend + lodging | |
One Act | Seeks unpublished, original plays for community theater performance. | 12/31/13 | Danville, Illinois | USA | n/a | |
Mountain Playhouse | Not specified | “Each summer, the Mountain Playhouse produces a season of exciting shows ranging from the best of American musical theater to thought-provoking dramas and slapstick farce.” | 12/31/13 | Jennerstown PA | USA | í‚ $1,000 prize |
10-35 mins | Preferred theme: cultural/social diversity | 12/31/13 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Canada | í‚ Fee: $25 | |
Any length | Open to all Texas Playwrights. Any subject…………………… | 12/31/13 | Tyler, Texas | USA | í‚ Fee: $25 |
We’ve been turning over every nook and cranny to find a ridiculous number of play submission opportunities.í‚
In fact, our members-only area has OVER 350 opps that accept year-round play submissions, PLUS every single contest with a deadline that we have found, including a ton with 2014 deadlines.í‚
So if you think this blog is helpful, then invest in your playwriting career and give yourself the gift of complete access to our members-only database.