Howdy, Playwrights! Here's a list of 35 play submission opportunities with May 2026 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 |
| Athena Project | Full Length | Woman, trans or nonbinary playwright. | 4/30/26 | Denver | n/a |
| Babes With Blades | 10 pages (sampe) | Playwrights of underrepresented genders. See website for the inspirational image that must be incorporated into the play. | 5/1/26 | Chicago | n/a |
| Baylor University | Full Length | Any subject or genre. | 5/1/26 | Waco, Texas | Prize: $15,000 |
| Between the Lines Studio Theatre | max 12 mins | Original HOLIDAY play scripts. | 5/1/26 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | No Fee |
| Brewster Theater Company | One Act (max 20 mins) | The play must be a Hudson Valley, NY premier, written after January 1, 2023. Any genre. Solo shows must be no longer than 10 mins. | 5/1/26 | Carmel, New York | Fee: $25 |
| Gi60 | max 60 secs | Plays should not have been previously produced. | 5/1/26 | Houston & NYC | No Fee, No Prize |
| Manhattan Theatre Mission | Full Length | Musicals. Must be unpublished, original works. | 5/1/26 | NYC | n/a |
| New England Review | max 5,000 words | Publication opp. Short plays and monologues. Payment for work published in the journal is $20 per page. | 5/1/26 | Middlebury, Vermont | Fee: $3 |
| SPELLBINDER | max 5 pages | Publication opp. Drama accepted. Play extracts and monologues are welcome. | 5/1/26 | n/a | n/a |
| The Players Theatre | max 90 mins | Original plays and musicals. Playwrights must produce. | 5/1/26 | NYC | n/a |
| The Playwrights Realm | Full Length | Dev't opp culminating in a reading. Looking for projects that are supporting and uplifting the stories of/by/for Native American and Indigenous peoples. | 5/1/26 | NYC | n/a |
| The Democracy Cycle | 10-15 pages (sample) | Generative artists who are currently creating new work in theater, dance, music, opera, or multi-disciplinary performance. | 5/6/26 | NYC | $60,000 commission |
| Be Bold! Productions | 8-15 mins | Comedy pieces. Plays, musicals, or comedy sketch pieces. Playwrights must produce. | 5/8/26 | NYC | Fee: $50 if selected Prize: $100 |
| Exposition Review | max 4 pages | Publication opp. Accepts a complete scene, up to 4 pages. Theme: Saudade | 5/11/26 | California | Fee: $5 "cash prize" |
| M.T. Pockets Theatre | max 10 pages | Prefers plays that have never been produced, but all are welcome. Monologues ok (5 pages). | 5/11/26 | Morgantown, West Virginia | Prize: $100 |
| New City Players | 10 mins | Prompt: Write a 10-min or less play where the characters are South Floridians wrestling with a question America is asking at 250 years old. | 5/14/26 | Wilton Manors, Florida | n/a |
| Ragdale Residency | 20 pages (sample) | 18-day residency. | 5/14/26 | Lake Forest, Illinois | Fee: $35 |
| Empty Head Theater Company | 30-40 mins | Seeking plays of a social and political nature, engaging with issues affecting the local community of Newburgh as well as the broader challenges we face globally. | 5/15/26 | Newburgh, New York | n/a |
| Free Fall Stage | One Act (10-15 mins) | Plays written by aspiring playwrights. Brand new works that have not been performed before. | 5/15/26 | Sacramento, California | Fee: $25 Prize: $200 |
| Hypatia-in-the-Woods | 10 pages (sample) | 1 to 3 weeks residency. Apps from women playwrights accepted. | 5/15/26 | Shelton, Washington | Fee: $20 |
| The Studios of Key West | max 15 pages (see right) | Residency program for emerging and established artists and writers from around the world. No fee for the residency. *Submit 1 one-act play or 1 excerpt (monologues, acts, or scenes) from a longer work. | 5/15/26 | Key West, Florida | App Fee: $45 |
| SkyPilot Theatre Company | max 25 mins | Theme: “It’s The Holiday Season” - one-acts based on any December holiday. Original, never produced material only. | 5/20/26 | Los Angeles, California | Fee: $10 Prize: $50 |
| Community Theatre Association of Michigan | 9-10 pages | Theme: Winning and Losing | 5/25/26 | Cadillac, Michigan | Prize: $100 |
| Austin Film Festival | Full Length | Full-length plays, original or adapted. Int'l submissions ok. | 5/27/26 | Austin, Texas | Fee: $25 / $35 |
| The Acorn | 10 mins | Original, compelling stories. | 5/29/26 | Three Oaks, Michigan | Fee: $20 Prize: $500 |
| Beverly Hills Theatre Guild | Full Length | Original plays, unpublished, unproduced, and not currently under any option. | 5/31/26 | Los Angeles, California | Fee: $25 |
| Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence | 7-10 pages | Awarded to one outstanding, early-career artist who is developing new works that address plants, gardens, or landscapes in the broad sense. Apps from playwrights accepted. | 5/31/26 | Upperville, Virginia | $10,000 individual grant |
| Emerald Theatre Company | max 10 pages | Original vignettes. Theme: "The Seven Stages of Grief: Shock/Disbelief, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Guilt, Depression, Acceptance" | 5/31/26 | Memphis, Tennessee | Fee: $15 Prize: $100 |
| Once Upon A Crocodile | max 2,000 words | Publication opp. Short funny plays / vignettes. | 5/31/26 | n/a | n/a |
| Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition | 90-120 mins | Plays where downside risk is the dramatic fulcrum of the action. Int'l submissions ok. | 5/31/26 | Canada | Fee: $49 Prize: $10,500 |
| Arts Club of Washington | One Act (20-50 mins) | Any theme, content, or style. US playwrights only. | 6/1/26 | Washington, DC | Fee: $20 Prize: $1,000 |
| Dappled Things | n/s | Publication opp (Catholic magazine). Drama accepted. Pays $100 per published piece. | 6/1/26 | n/a | n/a |
| Equity Library Theater of New York | max 10 mins | Int'l submissions ok. Also seeking monologues (max 4 mins). Musicals ok. Playwrights must produce. | 6/1/26 | NYC | No Fee |
| Headlands Center for the Arts | Full Length | Fully sponsored residencies. Up to $1,000/month stipend. Apps from playwrights accepted. | 6/1/26 | Sausalito, California | Fee: $35/$45 |
| The Oliver Kelly Award | Any length | All formats are welcome: solo shows, 10-min plays, one-acts, and full-lengths. | Year Round | NYC | Fee: $10 Prize: $20 |
Want to see more opps just like those listed in this blog post?
Click here to secure your full-membership now!
Remember, as a member you’ll get all sorts of extra benefits, including:
- The full, up-to-date listing of 500+ theaters that are looking for new plays
- Regular emails of new play submission opportunities with year-round and hard deadlines
- Access to over $10,000 in prize & content money
Here’s what your fellow playwright have to say about PSH:
“PSH was recommended to me by a playwright I looked up to when I was first starting out. The price was reasonable, and it has been a great tool. I found a few opportunities that I could take advantage of with the few plays I had written at that time. Later in the summer I found out I had won a national contest, collecting many hundreds of dollars. The opportunities are varied and specific, with links provided so time is not wasted frolicking through websites to get to the information you need. PSH also gives a quick overview of what kind of material people are looking for out there. It helps me prioritize my work so that I'm offering plays with a better chance of seeing a stage. I've written to PSH with questions, and they were more than responsive, obviously passionate about the playwriting community. Yes, I highly recommend subscribing to PSH.”
- Dave Durham, Michigan Playwright