Road Theatre Company Calls For Play Submissions For Its 15th Annual Summer Playwrights Festival

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, remain committed to their meaningful mission to produce and develop New Work for the Stage. They have announced the play submission process is now open for new material to be considered for their upcoming playwrights festival.

SUMMER PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL (SPF 15):

The 15th annual Summer Playwrights Festival will take place from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 21, 2024 and is now open for submissions. Annually, the festival mounts 20-30 staged readings of new plays in 10 exciting days at The Road on Magnolia in North Hollywood, CA. The festival is one of the largest staged reading festivals in the nation, with playwrights from across the country and around the world participating. Each reading is followed by a talkback with the playwright, director, and although we receive hundreds of submissions for our festival, new and established playwrights are encouraged to submit. 

“SPF15 is open and eagerly awaiting submissions for our next Summer Playwrights Festival,” says Founding Artistic Director, Taylor Gilbert. "We look forward to SPF15 with great anticipation to see our friends and patrons at The Road Theatre sharing in our mission to present and develop new work. It is with great pride that we are able to bring you premieres of all kinds and appreciate your participation in this important process. Supporting new work and new voices is essential to our community."

SPF ALUMNI:

PAST PLAYWRIGHTS have included John Patrick Shanley, Steve Yockey, William Mastrosimone, Harrison David Rivers, Jami Brandli, Lisa B. Thompson, Franky D. Gonzalez, D.L. Coburn, Lisa Loomer, Sharr White, Marisa Wegrzyn, Craig Wright, Wendy MacLeod, Lucy Thurber, Mo Gaffney, Keith Huff, Brett Neveu, Scooter Pietsch, Craig Pospisil, Julie Marie Myatt, and Martyna Majok. 

GUEST ARTISTS have included Bryan Cranston, Laurie Metcalf, Jason Alexander, Zachary Quinto, Ann Cusack, Kathy Baker, Jennifer Tilly, Perry King, Rondi Reed, Tom Irwin, Nancy Travis, Gregory Harrison, Gale Harold, Robert Pine, Michael O'Neill, Harold Gould, Jon Polito, James Eckhouse, Lila Crawford, and Zoe Perry.

ONLINE SUBMISSION INFO: https://roadtheatre.org/event/summer-playwrights-festival-15-submission-info/ 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (SPF 15):

-Each submission is read and evaluated by our artistic staff with recommendations made to the festival producers, who evaluate the plays and narrow the field to the final 20-30 scripts.

-This year, SPF will strive to further reduce bias from our evaluation process, while at the same time taking into consideration race, gender, and other factors in our choice of plays. We are asking the playwrights to remove all identifying information from their scripts.

-Each play receives a minimum of two reading evaluations. The SPF 15 staff regrets that we do not provide feedback on any submitted materials.

-Plays of any length or genre are eligible; however, to be included in SPF 15, the work must remain unproduced on the west coast and unpublished through July 1, 2024.

-Early submissions are strongly encouraged.

-No agent is required.

-ONLY electronic copy applications are accepted. No hard copies, please.

PLAY FORMAT GUIDELINES (SPF 15):

-All scripts must be in a PDF file format.  No hard copy submissions will be accepted.

-Please remove ALL identifying information about the playwright from the script. 

-The title of your file should be the title of the play only.

-Plays must be paginated and include a list of characters.

-Please include a synopsis of your play on the submission form.

SUBMISSION WINDOW (SPF 15):

-We will accept submissions for SPF 15 between 12:01 am on January 2, 2024, through 11:59 pm on February 15, 2024. We cannot accept any plays past this deadline, so please plan accordingly.

-Plays of all lengths (ten-minute, one-act, full-length, and solo performance) are eligible for submission during this time.

-Official SPF 15 selections will be announced by June 1, 2024.

SUBMISSION FEE (SPF 15):

-$20 for scripts over 30 pages (full length) and $15 for scripts under 30 pages (short form). 

-To submit your play and for further submission details go to https://roadtheatre.org/event/summer-playwrights-festival-15-submission-info/

For all inquiries and further information, contact spf@roadtheatre.org