How it works: All plays are read by industry professionals, everyone having published, produced, or performed in professional theater. (Kept anonymous for privacy and fairness.) The judges are asked to do a blind reading of a batch of scripts and select the first round of finalists without any information on the playwright.
The first round of finalists then go on to the next round from which twenty scripts are selected. This is done by a new set of readers to ensure the scripts are read by two different judges.
The last round is done by a new set of readers who select five scripts to receive professional readings with a talkback session with actors and director in New York City.
Three additional plays will be selected as winners of a year subscription to Play Submissions Helper.
THE GUIDELINES
* Submission deadline: October 1st, 11:59 PM EST.
* Playwrights may submit more than two plays, but each submission is $5.
* International submissions are accepted.
* Selections will be made in two rounds, the first announced in November and the winners will be notified via e-mail. Readings will be scheduled in in New York City in December/January based on venue availability. (Via Zoom for those who are not local.) Playwrights may attend but are responsible for travel costs.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT:
10 minutes! Please do not submit work over 10 minutes. This averages about 1 page per minute. Excessively long scripts may be disqualified.
* Plays must be in standard play script format. (1 page = approximately 1 minute). Suggested script formatting guidelines here.
* Send as .PDF format using the ONLY name of your play as the title. YOU MUST REMOVE YOUR NAME FROM YOUR SCRIPT (INCLUDING FILE NAME) OR YOUR WORK MAY BE DISQUALIFIED. This includes title page, pages, AND file name. NO COVER SHEETS.
Plays must be original, ten minutes in length (approximately ten pages) and the playwright must have all rights to the work. Work may have been produced before as long as the playwright can guarantee no conflict of interest. Any topic and genre will be considered except for hate speech, promotion of abuse or violence, and any other subject matter that may be considered harmful or detrimental. We reserve the right to use our judgement on this. Be cool.
ADDITIONAL:
We are offering one round of individual, personalized feedback on scripts from two professional readers for $50. These spaces are limited. Scripts will be reviewed by award-winning, professional directors, playwrights and producers who will respond with questions and thoughtful input on your script.
FEES:
Submission fees are $5 per script and may go to Venmo: @s24productions or contact us ([email protected]) for other options.
Why the fee? We try and keep it affordable, but this is a fundraiser for independent theater and artists. When we produce a show, we rent space from an independent venue/nonprofit organization in New York City such as The Brick, The Rat, Under St. Marks, The Tank, Dramatists Guild Foundation, ArtNY, and IndieSpace. We offer paid work opportunities to artists and technicians so that they may continue to develop shows in the city and keep their rent paid. Our goal is to put the money to work for the indie arts to continue to keep the arts alive in these days of grants cuts and budget slashing. If you can’t afford the submission fee, please contact us for accommodations.
Submission link: https://forms.gle/A4JukR12HcuWFRHF6