Submissions Open October 1 For 2023 Bay Street's New Works Festival

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts has announced that beginning Saturday, October 1, submissions are open for full-length plays and musicals to the 9th annual Title Wave: 2023 New Works Festival. The festival, scheduled for May 2023, is a unique showcase of cutting-Edge Theater, complete with staged readings, talkbacks, and critical discussion.

Writers of all backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply, as Bay Street Theater is looking to provide an opportunity for playwrights with a broad array of voices, viewpoints, cultures, and styles. The festival will allow writers to refine their work by collaborating with directors and actors in an engaging setting. Selected shows will be provided with dramaturgical notes from Bay Street's artistic leadership and rehearsal time in New York City to prepare for a live staged reading and audience feedback session at Bay Street's Sag Harbor theater.

The festival is a process of growth and development for not only the playwrights and their works, but for the creative team at Bay Street who are looking to learn from new talent. Double Helix, a new musical by Madeline Myers that was selected during the 2022 New Works Festival, is premiering as part of Bay Street's 2023 Mainstage season.

Plays in consideration should be in development and at a stage where the addition of in-person creatives can be used to their full potential. The festival is a collaborative process where writers are urged to learn from their actors and directors to help further evolve their show.

Casts of two to eight are ideal. Concepts and creative directions that are not fitting for the festival include plays that do not constitute an evening of theater in themselves, Theatre for Young Audience pieces, or trauma porn.

Submissions will close after the first 300 are received or on Tuesday, November 15, whichever comes first. Creators may only submit one work per year. Selected playwrights will have to find their own transport and accommodations to New York City. Bay Street will provide transportation from New York City to Sag Harbor for the staged show.

Playwrights can find more information regarding the submission guidelines and process by visiting baystreet.org or by emailing Bay Street Literary Manager, Hope Villanueva, at litmanager@baystreet.org

Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center, which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. It serves as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists.