Midtown International Theatre Festival Seeks Submissions, Extends Deadline

The Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (MITF) seeks submissions for its fourteenth season, running from July 15 - August 4, 2013. The deadline for submissions has been extended to Sunday February 17, 2013.

The Festival accepts submissions in all genres - any sort of stage play, musical or otherwise, new or revived, mainstream or focused on an ethnic or cultural niche. To be eligible each show must have a producer and production team attached to the project. In addition, the MITF will include a Short Subjects division.

"We have many innovations this year," said John Chatterton, executive producer of the MITF. "We're offering a lot of freebies, especially for full-length shows: twenty hours free rehearsal time, showcase insurance, storage, marketing consultations, you name it. Every other festival looks at participants as the gifts that keep on giving. We have no hidden costs, and your Festival fees go directly into stuff you can use. We're also jumping into online applications and payments, which will make us more accessible to our participants. We're also going back to four theatres, and we have a much-expanded staff of artistic directors/curators to promote the Festival and help the participants produce their shows. If I could think of more stuff to give away, I would!"

In addition to these innovations, the Festival has expanded the audience potential for its Short Subjects division. The Short Subjects plays will utilize the same theatres as the full-length plays.

Mr. Chatterton created the MITF in 2000, a Midtown alternative to other theatre festivals, as a way to present the finest off-off Broadway talent in convenience, comfort, and safety. In 2003, the MITF moved its activities to their current location, the Theatre Building on W. 36th St., where it has been successfully ensconced since. In 2008 the Festival expanded from two theatres in that building to four, at the WorkShop Theater and Abingdon Theatre Company spaces. The MITF's artistic emphasis is on the script itself, and therefore the Festival focuses on minimal production values.

Application forms for the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival are available online at www.MidtownFestival.org (see the Festival Manual, "Application Process"). Applications must be completed online. Scripts must be sent by e-mail. A non-refundable reading fee of $30 must be mailed or sent by PayPal (no reading fee for Short Subjects). All submissions must be e-mailed or postmarked by February 17, 2013 to guarantee consideration for the 2013 Festival. Financial plans for shows are flexible, depending on the resources and ambitions of applicants.

The 2013 Festival will take place at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, 1st floor; the Main Stage Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor; and the Jewel Box Theater, 312 W. 36th Street, 4th floor.

Further information about the MITF, including links to the application forms, can be found in the "Festival Manual,", at www.MidtownFestival.org.