Below are 50 playwriting contests with January, or late December, deadlines! í‚ The New Year is already upon us– if your resolution is to step up your playwriting contest submitting, now is the time to start off on the right foot! (Note that the only late December deadlines we added to this post are those that we did not already have included in the December playwriting competitions post published earlier.)
Theater Name / Festival Name | Play Length | Description | Deadline | Location | Additional Info |
Max 15 mins | Plays must be inspired by or focused on Valentineí¢â‚¬â„¢s Day and similar topics. | 12/21/13 | New York City, New York | Prize: $100 | |
30-40 mins | Play should be anything that is inspired by the “No More Page Three” campaign — a campaign to stop The Sun from including pictures of topless models | 12/23/13 | London, UK | n/a | |
Full Length (30+ pages) | Open to all playwrights. Original full-length plays only. | 12/31/13 | Alexandria, Louisiana | Fee: $35 – $50 Prize: $500 | |
90 – 105 mins | Open only to FEMALE RESIDENTS of the state of CALIFORNIA.í‚ Also accepts shorter solo shows. | 12/31/13 | Los Angeles, California | í‚ Fee: $50 Prize: $6,000 | |
50 pages min | Open to Latino playwrights residing in the US or Mexico. Scripts may be in English, Spanish, or a combination. Any subject. | 12/31/13 | Tucson, Arizona | Prize: $1,000 | |
Full Length (90+ minutes) | Plays should appeal to an age range of 18 í¢â‚¬“ 30. | 12/31/13 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Prize: $150 | |
One Act | Must contain queer or feminist themes in a sci-fi/fantasy genre | 1/1/14 | Saint Paul, Minnesota | n/a | |
10-minute play | Plays that deal with the theme of identity (ex: immigrant experiences, cultural differences, national identity). | 1/1/14 | New York City, New York | n/a | |
Full Length | No restrictions on play content. | 1/1/14 | Dallas, Texas | Prize TBA. | |
15 mins max | Seeks short LBQT plays and musicals. | 1/1/14 | Madison, Wisconsin | n/a | |
Full Length | US writers, age 18 or below.í‚ Winners attend NYC conference. | 1/2/14 | New York City, New York | n/a | |
Full Length | The play must be set in Hawaií¢â‚¬Ëœi or deal with some aspect of the Hawaií¢â‚¬Ëœi experience. | 1/2/14 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Prize: $600 | |
Full Length | The play must be set in or deal with the Pacific Islands, the Pacific Rim, or the Pacific/Asian American experience. | 1/2/14 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Prize: $450 | |
Any length | Open to the residents of Hawaií¢â‚¬Ëœi. The plays may be on any topic. | 1/2/14 | Honolulu, Hawaii | Prize: $250 | |
Full Length | Year-long development residency for mid-career NYC-area writers. | 1/3/14 | New York City, New York | $1,000+ | |
Full Length | Seeks new plays by emerging American playwrights. Week-long residency.í‚ Winner will get full production. | 1/3/14 | Charlotte, North Carolina | $500 prize + festival travel/housing | |
Full Length | Seeks plays that have strong female characters; must be drama or comedy for adult audiences. | 1/5/14 | Laurel, Maryland | n/a | |
í‚ 40-120 minutes | Seeks fully produced original plays.í‚ Must bring 10 audience members avg, over 3 performances | 1/6/14 | New York City, New York | $300 security deposit | |
Full Length | Musical theater. Recent grads or grad students only. | 1/7/14 | New Haven, Connecticut | $1,000 + travel | |
20 mins max | Seeks plays or short stories that include the title and something about a book that was first published prior to 1930.í‚ Family friendly. | 1/10/14 | Faversham (near London) | Fee: í‚£3 | |
Full Length | Musicals.í‚ Must attend 4-day musical theater staged reading festival. | 1/10/14 | Muncie, Indiana | n/a | |
10-minute play | Themes:í‚ Mortality/Immortality. Revenge, or Quests | 1/10/14 | Washington, DC | NA | |
max 10 minutes | í‚ Open to anybody. Any genre. | 1/10/14 | Annapolis Royal, Canada | Entry Fee: $10 Prize: $200 | |
Full Length | Plays should be of a strong ensemble nature with emphasis on character rather than spectacle……………… | 1/10/14 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Entry Fee: $5 Prize: $750 |
In our member’s-only area, we’ve compiled 459 submission opportunities accepting submissions in 2014.í‚ Get your member’s-only access now if you want to save time & turbo-charge your playwrighting career!
40-60 mins | Anyí‚ theme or style. Original works only. | 1/13/14 | Manchester, UK | Submission Fee: í‚£27 | |
10 min max | Stories from our sacred texts are reinterpreted for the modern age. | 1/15/14 | Santa Monica, California | n/a | |
Full Length | Open to residents or products of southern US states only. Plays must deal with the Southern experience. | 1/15/14 | Jacksonville, Alabama | Prize: $1,000 | |
Full Length | Open to all playwrights. Staged reading. The play must be about women, have 1+í‚ female leading character and challenge perception of women. | 1/15/14 | Chicago, Illinois | n/a | |
max 20 minutes | Original scripts about the abuse of power and control in domestic relationships. | 1/15/14 | Cary, North Carolina | n/a | |
Full Length | í‚ Playwrights who were born or reside in greater NYC metropolitan area. Contemporary issues. | 1/15/14 | Union, New Jersey | Prize: $2000 | |
See next column | Accepts submissions of 10-minute play, half-hour play, full comedy, drama, musicals, childrení¢â‚¬â„¢s theatre, and childrení¢â‚¬â„¢s musicals. | 1/15/14 | Fallbrook, California | n/a | |
í‚ 25 mins – 1 hour | Plays in any style and genre are welcome (i.e. not a “Shakespeare festival.”) | 1/15/14 | Middleburg, Virginia | n/a | |
40-50 minutes | Only plays from NY & NJ will be accepted. | 1/15/14 | New York City, New York | Prize: $2,500. $250í‚ refundable deposit if accepted. | |
15-30 mins | Unclear if playwright must produce. 8-10 minute monologues also accepted. | 1/15/14 | San Francisco Bay Area, California | $15 fee. | |
6-10 min radio play | í‚ Seeks 6-10 minute whimsy, fantasy (other than Sci-Fi), fable, fairy tale, melodrama, mystery types of radio plays. Theme: Intoxication of any type. | 1/15/14 | n/a | n/a | |
6000 words max | Adaptations of mythological, classical, traditional or sacred stories OR must feature characters drawn from these sources. Monologues welcome. | 1/16/14 | Toronto, Canada | n/a | |
í‚ 10 mins | Women playwrights.í‚ Also accepts monologues. | 1/27/14 | Boston, Massachusetts | n/a | |
Full Length | Seeks original works from playwrights who have a strong connection with south east London. The play does not have to be set in south east London. | 1/27/14 | London, UK | n/a | |
N/A | “Offers significant resources intended to further a playwright’s career.” 2 Letters of reccomendation required. | 1/30/14 | Minneapolis, MN | n/a | |
45 mins min | . Seeks theatre works that reflect any aspect of the LGBTQ community & culture. Playwright must produce. | 1/27/14 | New York City, New York | Fee: $10 unless submitted by 1/13/14. | |
Full Length, or a “Short” | Open to LGBTQ artists. Playwright must produce & bring audience members. | 1/30/14 | New York City, New York | $400 refundable deposit if selected | |
Full Length | Staged reading.í‚ Work that explores and celebrates the human experience/ | 1/31/14 | Rochester, New York | n/a | |
Full Length | Open to playwrights age 35 & younger who reside in Utah, are Utah natives, or have substantial Utah connection.í‚ Socially concious theater. | 1/31/14 | Salt Lake City, Utah | n/a | |
Full Length & One Act | May be in any form including Full Length, One Act, Childrení¢â‚¬â„¢s Show, Adaptions, Musicals, and the Avant Garde. Open to any subject matter, content, and themes. | 1/31/14 | Beverly, Massachusetts | Fee: $10 Prize: $100 | |
Blue Orange Theatre | Max 35 mins | No theme, but the play must have an all woman cast of up to 4 actors. | 1/31/14 | Birmingham | n/a |
30 – 60 mins | Playwright must be 14-18 years old. Seeks fully produced (i.e. playwright must produce/cast etc) one act plays. | 1/31/14 | New York City, New York | No submission fee | |
Musicals | Prefers small casts. All genres and styles will be considered.í‚ Must attend August festival. | 1/31/14 | Santa Fe, New Mexico | í‚ Fee: $65 | |
10-minute play | All genres accepted. Open to Kentucky natives or residents only. | 1/31/14 | Louisville, Kentucky | n/a | |
One Act | Open to all playwrights. | 1/31/14 | Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Prize: $2000 | |
10 mins max | Seeks short plays, scenes, or monologues “inspired by any aspect of Asian Mom-ness.í¢â‚¬ | 1/31/14 | Chicago, Illinois | n/a |
In our members-only area, we have 459 play submissions accepting 2014 submissions.í‚ Get your member’s-only access today to save time & turbo-charge your playwrighting success!
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Hi,
Can you post a playwrighting contest for us? If so the information is pasted below. thanks so much!
Megan
http://www.playhousecreatures.org
Dr. R. J. Rodriguez Emerging Playwrights’ Contest
Deadline August 15th
Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company Announces 2020 Emerging Playwrights’ Contest
Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company is honored to announce a call for original plays, for its 3rd Annual Dr. R. J. Rodriguez Emerging Playwrights’ Contest.
PCTC Producing Artistic Director, Joseph W. Rodriguez, stated, ”PCTC stands with our brothers and sisters of color in seeking justice and structural, societal, change. There is no justice, until there is justice for ALL.
“We, as artists, are privileged to pursue our passions and dreams. It is our responsibility to seek change and justice actively, through our art. In pursuit of that understanding and justice, we are asking playwrights to create and share work that is malleable, fluid, and that will be accessible to traditionally underserved communities.
“Therefore, given the fact we can’t share the winner’s work in a traditional theatre space, we are asking writers to create plays that will initially be shared on-line, but (adhering to social distancing guidelines) can easily be performed live—especially to underserved audiences. We are asking playwrights to follow these guidelines:”
A 30 minute play (or less), with a cast of 4 (or fewer);
A play that may be performed via internet, phone, or live (we’d love to bring it to the community—at a safe distance—when we are able to);
And, most importantly, a play that deals with the un-dealt-with racial divide we have been suffering through since 1619; and, how the Covid-19 pandemic has served as a pressure cooker of a catalyst. They are distinct, but certainly not unrelated. Our streets are filled with righteous anger, frustration, and indignation. As artists, what is OUR response? What is the message of hope we can bring? What is the vehicle we can create to give voice to the voiceless?
Please open your hearts and share your stories, the world wants and needs to hear them.
Submit to : 2020PCTC@gmail.com by August 15th