Script Submission & Theater Resources:
NEWLY UPDATED FOR 2023
Contests, reading series, competitions calendar ($ = entry fee)
Many local and regional theaters have closed or are under severe restrictions due to the turmoil of 2020. Please be patient, check guidelines carefully, and support your local theater company.
Canada
UK
Scotland
Australia
Ireland
JANUARY
Dreamcatcher Rep NJ
Playfest Orlando Shakes new play initiative*
FEBRUARY
Durango Arts Center 10-Minute Play Contest Colorado $
East Valley Children’s Theatre must be suitable for children to perform for children; Mesa AZ *
Heartland Theatre Ten Minute Play Festival Bloomington IL
Summer Shorts Theatre Workshops of Owensboro KY $
Trustus Playwrights’ Festival Trustus Theatre, South Carolina $
Valley Playwrights Award $1000 for original plays by residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine
MARCH
Blank Theatre Company
Young Playwrghts Festival
British Theatre Challenge Cambridge $
Carrollwood Players One Act Festival
Charles M. Getchell New Play Contest Greensboro NC
Portland Stage Clauder CompetitionPrimus Prize awarded to an outstanding female playwright recognizing a single script. From the American Theatre Critics Association $
Theatre Odyssey 10-Minute Play Fest
Woodward/Newman Drama Award full-length plays; $3,000 and full production first prize Bloomington, IN
$ (waived for Dramatists Guild members)
APRIL
John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award from New England Theatre Conference, CT $
Heartland Theatre Co Midwest One-Act Festival Lebanon, PA
Paines Plough Women's Prize for Playwriting
Tarragon
Theatre Play Reading Series Canadian writers only; Toronto
The Players New Play Festival Sarasota FL
Transformation Theatre DC area
MAY
9Thirty Theatre Company full length and one-act, plays and musicals Astoria NY
Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights plays must be written by an Appalachian playwright (New York State to Alabama) or the plays must contain Appalachian settings and themes. Abingdon, VA *
Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award new full-length plays for young audiences CT $
One-Act Playwriting Competition from the Little Theatre Alexandria VA $
Signature Theatre ocassional calls VA
United Solo one-person shows NYC
Weathervane Playhouse 8x10 Play Festival $
JUNE
Fred Ebb Award recognizes excellence in musical theatre songwriting by a lyricist, composer, or songwriting team
that has not yet achieved significant commercial success, includes a $50,000 award
Madlab Theatre Theatre Roulette full-length plays
North Park Playwright Festival from the North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe Theatre; 15 minute or less
scripts. San Diego CA
Playwrights Association of New Zealand one-act play competition
The Naples Players One-Act Competition Naples FL
The Seven Fusion Theater NM
Theatre Odyssey One-Act Play Fest
JULY
American Blues Theater Blue Ink Playwrighting Award
Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition Buffalo NY $
New Works of Merit NYC $
Portland Stage Little Festival of the UnexpectedSpotlight Playfest Young Playwrights’ Competition Glendale AZ
AUGUST
A is For scripts about reproductive justice *
The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop Center Stage South Carolina New Play Festival *
The City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Miami FL *
RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwrights’ Competition Canadian only
Theatre Oxford National 10-Minute Play Contest Oxford MS $ *
Yale Drama Series 1st prize of $10,000 New Haven CT
SEPTEMBER
Alumnae Theatre New Ideas Festival juried, three-week festival of new writing, works-in-progress and experimental theatre. Toronto
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation grants for individual creative artists working in
musical theatre. NYC
New American Theatre One Act Play Fest Culver City CA *
Panowski Playwriting Competition Northern Michigan Univerity
Premiere Stages Play Fest Kean University NJ
Theatre Three Festival of One-Act Plays Port Jefferson NY
TNT's Production of Original Plays (POPS) Fort Worth TX $
OCTOBER
Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon short plays NYC
FutureFest from the Dayton Playhouse
Showoff! 10 Minute Playwriting Festival San Juan Capistrano CA $ *
Tennessee Williams Fest One-act Competition $1500 first prize plus production New Orleans
NOVEMBER
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project new works delving
into how we view and are affected by the scientific world NYC
Ashland New Play Festival
Boston Theater Marathon New England writers only
Humana
10-minute Play Fest
Lakeshore
Players Ten-Minute Playwrighting ContestWhite
Bear Lake MN
Seven
Devils Playwrights Conference $
Snowdance 10 Minute Comedy Festival Racine WI
Stage Door Productions One-act Festival
Fredericksburg, VA
DECEMBER
The Griffin Award
$
InspiraTO
Playwriting Contest Toronto
New American Theatre One Acts *
Playwrights' Revolution from Capital Stage
Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival Longboat
Key FL $
Western
Michigan University Activate: Midwest un-produced full-length plays from
playwrights living in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin.
ONGOING READING SERIES,
COMPETITIONS
Ars
Nova Out Loud Reading Series
NYC
Dixon
Place Reading Series
NYC writers only
Grants to Individual Theatre
Artists from the Canada Council for the Arts
Irish
Repertory Theatre
readings NYC
Jewish Plays Project new Jewish plays from all denominations and faiths *
Key City Public Theatre
local reading series Port Townsend WA
Little Festival of the Unexpected public readings of new works Portland ME
Long Beach Playhouse ongoing new works festival, revolving around Sep 30 deadline
Manitoba Arts Council
individual artists grants deadlines
Monarch
Theater Monday reading series NYC
New American Theatre One Act Competition Culver City CA
New Playwrights Awards Scottish writers, Glasgow *
New Welsh Playwrights Sherman Cymru Theatre
New
York Theatre Workshop
Patrick White Playwrights' Award Australian
writers only
Pittsburgh New Works Virtual Readings *
Playwrights' Center of San Francisco Reading Series
Playwriting
Australia Postcript Rogue Theater Festival NYC *
Shelterbelt
Theatre Omaha NE
Shubert Fendrich Memorial Playwriting Contest
from Pioneer Drama Service
United Solos Virtual Shows one-person shows *
Urban
Stages Emerging Playwright Award NYC
Theatre submission
guidelines
NYC AREA
5th Wall ProductionsARS Nova
Bread and Water Theatre Rochester
Clubbed
Thumb plays with "a reasonable representation of
women"
The COOP Emerging
Artists Theatre The Flea Theater Geva
Theatre Rochester
Horse
Trade Theater Group
Lark Play Development Center Less
Than Rent Lincoln Center Theater Newhouse Theater and Claire Tow Theater
MCC Theater New
Jersey Repertory Company New York Theatre Workshop Playwrights
Theatre of New Jersey Prospect Theater Company new musicals
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
New Voices New Works
Roundabout Theatre Company Second
Generation Asian American writers
SheNYCArts SOHO PlayhouseThe New Group Urban Stages
CALIFORNIA
Actors
Art Theatre Los Angeles
Blank Theatre Company
Living Room Series and
Future of Playwrighting Prize Los
Angeles
Gary Marshall Theatre New Works Festival Marin
Theatre Mill Valley
New Village Arts Carlsbad
Santa Monica Playhouse Santa Monica CA
South
Coast Repertory several submission
opportunities; Costa Mesa CA
Theatre Of Note LA
TheatreWorks
Palo Alto CA
Victory Theatre Center Burbank CA
Wily
West Productions San Francisco writers only
CANADA
Canadian Stage Toronto
Centre Segal Montreal
Factory Theatre Script Submissions open to
Canadian writers only; Ontario
Great Canadian Theatre Company Ottawa ON
Royal Manitoba
Theatre Centre
Roseneath Theatre work for young audiences
Ontario
CHICAGO
Adventure
Stage young audiences
Fine Print
Theatre Co
Goodman Theatre Chicago
Northlight
Theatre Illinois only
Rivendell
Theatre Ensemble
Stage Left plays to raise debate on political
and social issues, Chicago
TimeLine
Theatre Company Chicago
THE SOUTH
Alliance Theatre Submissions Atlanta's own theater
Barter Theatre Company Abingdon VA
Empire Stage comedies. Ft. Lauderdale FL
Florida Studio Theatre reading
series and staged Sarasota FL
Horizon
Theatre Atlanta
Magnetic Theatre NC
MIDWEST
Cleveland
Public Theatre Detroit
Repertory Theatre First Run Theatre Missouri
History
Theatre treatment and sample first St. Paul MN
Milwaukee Repertory Theater Portland
Stage Portland MN
Purple
Rose Theatre Company Chelsea, MI
Repertory Theatre St Louis Shelterbelt
Theatre Nebraska/Ohio playwrights, Omaha NE
Unicorn Theatre Kansas City MO
UK, IRELAND & SCOTLAND
Abbey Theatre Dublin
BBC Writers Room Submissions
Bush Theatre Shepherds Bush
Cork
Arts Theatre Carroll's Quay, Ireland $
Druid Theatre Company Galway
Everyman Liverpool Playhouse
Finborough Theatre London
Fishamble Dublin
Hampstead Theatre London
Live Theatre Newcastle
Menagerie Theatre Company Cambridge
National Theatre London
National Script Reading Service, Scotland National Theatre of Scotland Paines
Plough London
Sherman Theatr Cardiff, Wales
Theatre503 London
Traverse Theatre Edinburgh
THE REST
Arena Stage a place for BIG plays; Washington DC
Arizona Theatre Company
Azuka Theatre Philadelphia
Babes
With Blades New Play Development
Barrington Stage Pittsfield MA
Berkshire Theater Group Pittsfield, Mass
CENTERSTAGE Baltimore MD
Childsplay
Tempe AZ
City Theatre Pittsburgh
Gamm Theatre Pawtucket RI
Gloucester Stage Company Massachusetts
Griffin Theatre Kings Cross NSW
InterAct Theatre Company Philadelphia
Intiman
Theatre Seattle WA
National Latinx Playwrights Award Arizona
No Strings
Theatre Company Las Cruces NM
NU Sass 25 minute plays, DC area writers only Washington DC
Off Square Theatre Jackson WY
Oregon Contemporary Theatre
Port Tobacco Players La Plata MD
Single
Carrot Theater Baltimore
Silverthorne Theater Co MA
The Rose monologues DC
The Wilma Theater Philadelphia writers
Boards & Forum Listings
Fund for Women Artists great newsletter with
submission possibilities — and investigate the rest of
the site
Latebreaking
Performance script opportunities
The
Playwrights' Center competition, fellowships and
grant programs
The
Playwrights' Noticeboard markets, competitions,
meetings and production opportunities
Play Submission Helper Blog weekly newsletter for playwrights
Publisher submission guidelines - please contact any publisher before you submit to ask about
royalty agreements
Broadway Play Publishing
Currency Press Drama
Source Eldridge
Plays & Musicals
community theater and school market
Heartland
Plays Professional, Community, Summer Stock,
College, High School, and Theatre for Children and
Youth
Heuer Publishing
educational and community theatre markets
JD
Drama Publishing
school, speech tournament market
Original
Works Publishing
play publishers offering booklet-type "Acting
Editions" (click "submissions")
Pioneer Drama Service
Playwrights Canada Press Theatrical
Rights Worldwide
musicals
Youthplays
one-act plays and full-length plays for teen actors
and audiences
Playwriting & Theater
Resources
African
American Playwrights Exchange
Alliance of
Los Angeles Playwrights
American
Association of Community Theatre the national
voice of community theatre
Applied
and Interactive Theatre Guide for those who
use theatre techniques for other or more than arts
or entertainment purposes
The
Alliance for Jewish Theatre
Austin Script
Works
Bunraku Japanese puppet theater - a lifetime
to master
The Bermuda Musical
& Dramatic Society
Chicago
Dramatists
Community
Theater Green Room "articles, tips, tricks,
and a way to share information"
Copenhagen
Theatre Circle
Drama
League of Ireland
The
Dramatists Guild of America the only
professional association for playwrights, composers,
and lyricists
Federation
of Scottish Theatres everything you need to
know about Scottish theatre
Footlight
Notes theater and music hall entertainment
during the 1850s to the 1920s
Glossary
of Technical Theatre Terms now when somebody
says "we could really use a gobo on that fresnel in
the fly" you'll know what it means
Independent
Theatre Council
International
Centre for Women Playwrights
Internet
Broadway Database the official database for
Broadway theatre information
The Internet
Theatre Database searchable archive of theatre
past, present, and future for Broadway and London's
West End
La
Comedia de Campana (Argentina)
Literary
Agents US, UK, Canadian and Aussie-New Zealand
agents and the playwrights they represent
Marketing
On The Cheap good tips for self-producing
playwright too
Melbourne
Writers Theatre
Metro Arts
funding opportunities, Brisbane
New Musicals Inc
New York
Theatre Wire news from Broadway and beyond
North
West Playwrights develop and promote new
writing for the theatre in the North West of England
NYCPlaywrights
a collective of writers to develop new work through
weekly, informal, script-in-hand readings
New Writing South open to all dramatic writers in
South East England
Playbill Online
among other things, lists of theater companies
Playwrights
Atlantic Resource Centre
Playwrights
Cafe San Francisco group, including list of
local theaters
The Playwrights'
Center Minneapolis, MN writing workshops
Playwrights'
Center of San Francisco
Playwrights
Guild of Canada
Playwrights
Horizons a theater whose mission is the
discovery and development of new and distinctive
American writers, and accepts unsolicited
full-length manuscripts
Playwrights
Platform Boston area writers
Playwrights
Project research and development facility
for stage and screenwriters
Playwrights'
Studio Scotland
Playwrights'
Workshop Montreal a professional theatre centre dedicated to developing contemporary work
and new writers for the Canadian stage
Playwriting101
explains the basics
The
Puppetry Home Page news of productions,
history, festivals - highly recommended
Scottish Community
Drama Association over 1,200 individuals and
theatre clubs throughout Scotland, including
Britains largest competition for new short plays
Scottish
Society of Playwrights
Script
Formats free templates for stage and radio
scripts, from the BBC
Southwest
Scriptwriters, Bristol
The
Stage news from the UK theatrical world
Theatre Australia
Theatre in
Wales
Theater
Services Guide international theater,
educational and tv station listings
UK
Theatre Web guide to professional and amateur
performing arts
Western
Australian Playwrights' Consortium promoting
the development of playwrights and performance
writing
Women
Playwrights' Initiative to encourage the
development of women playwrights, primarily in the
Southeast
Woodstock
Fringe Playwrights Unit
Working
Title Playwrights Atlanta
Writers Guild of Ireland