American Blues Theater Accepting Submissions for 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award

The international Blue Ink Playwriting Award was created in 2010 to support new work. Since inception, we’ve named 8 Award winners, 50 finalists, and 68 semi-finalists. Over $5,000 in cash and prizes will be distributed to playwrights in 2019.

Each year American Blues Theater accepts worldwide submissions of original, unpublished full-length plays. The winning play will be selected by Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and the theater’s Ensemble. The playwright receives a monetary prize of $1,000 and a developmental workshop or staged reading at American Blues Theater in Chicago. Cash prizes are awarded to finalists and semi-finalists too. All proceeds of the administrative fee are distributed for playwrights’ cash prizes.

Submissions will be accepted by American Blues Theater from July 1, 2018 to Aug 31, 2018 @ 11:59pm. Playwrights may only submit one (1) manuscript each year for consideration. Semi-finalists, finalists, and the award winner will be notified January – March 2019.

Click here for more information.

The Jackalope Playwrights Lab

Jackalope Theatre Company is now accepting applications for The Jackalope Playwrights Lab. The Jackalope Playwrights Lab is an eight-week master-class in playwriting facilitated by Jackalope Company Member Calamity West. Calamity is a Chicago-based, award-winning, Kilroys-cited playwright. Her play HINTER recently received its world-premiere at Steep Theatre Company in the winter of 2018. In January 2018 her play ENGINES AND INSTRUMENTS OF FLIGHT: A FANTASIA IN THREE ACTS, originally commissioned at The Goodman Theatre, had its first New York reading at The Roundabout where it continues to be developed. Her newest play IN THE CANYON is currently in development at Jackalope Theatre Company and will be given its first public reading with Sanguine Theatre Company of New York in March 2018. Another of her plays, GREETINGS FROM MOSCOW! A LOVE STORY, is currently in development at TimeLine Theatre Company’s Playwrights Collective. Additional plays by Calamity West include: GIVE IT ALL BACK (2016, Kilroy-cited); ROLLING (2016); IBSEN IS DEAD (2014); THE PEACOCK (2013, Kilroys honorable mention); THE GACY PLAY (2012); and COMMON HATRED (2012). In 2014 Calamity was recipient of the 3Arts Award. She teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago and Webster University. She is a company member of Jackalope Theatre and is represented by The Gersh Agency. This eight-week writing intensive is designed for artists interested in developing new, full-length plays through a workshop development process, and will meet on Saturdays 10:00am-1:00pm at The Frontier from July 7th to August 25th.

Cost: $150 payable on or before July 7th.

Applications Due: 11:59pm on June 20th, 2018

To apply: Please send an artistic statement, resume, and 10 page writing sample to playwrightslab@jackalopetheatre.org.

Underscore Theatre Company Accepting Submissions for the 4th annual Chicago Musical Theatre Festival

Underscore Theatre Company is currently accepting submissions for its 4th annual CHICAGO MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL, set for February 2018 (venue to be announced). Applications can be submitted through May 15, 2017 at www.cmtf.org.

CMFT 4 will include a number of new development opportunities for participants, including feedback from a panel of local playwrights, composers and judges, as well as networking events with theatre professionals from across the country. The Festival will also coincide with Chicago’s popular Chicago Theatre Week, allowing more audiences to enjoy the line-up of new works.

Since its inception in 2014, the CHICAGO MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL has brought 35 new musical to Chicago stages. The festival provides much-needed artistic resources for emerging composer/lyricist teams to have their work supported, explored and most importantly – performed!

Greenhouse Theater Center Accepting Submissions for The Trellis Residency Initiative

Greenhouse Theater Center is pleased to announce THE TRELLIS RESIDENCY INITIATIVE, a new professional development program for young Chicago-area playwrights, devisors and creators to cultivate and present new works. Six candidates under 30 will be chosen through an open submission process to participate in a comprehensive one-month residency, culminating in a public showing at the Greenhouse. Artists will be paired with professional mentors, including some of Chicago’s most celebrated mid-career directors, playwrights and dramaturgs. They will also receive access to writing and rehearsal space, production resources, and staffing for their final presentation.

THE TRELLIS RESIDENCY INITIATIVE submissions for the 2017-18 season are currently being accepted through Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at greenhousetheatre.org/trellis. Residencies and performances will begin in September 2017.

2017 MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition

Online submissions now being accepted for FULL LENGTH LATINO STAGE PLAYS (In Spanish or English or both!)

Guidelines: http://repertorio.nyc/#/opportunities
Time stamped Deadline: Wednesday, June 15, 2017. (Time stamped)

MISSION: To promote and develop original stage plays that relate to Latino life, culture and history in the United States and to encourage emerging and established Latino playwrights.

2017 marks the end of our competition under the auspices of MetLife. Repertorio is so grateful to have had their support and to have premiered 17 plays, produced over 110 staged readings and awarded over $110,000 in prize money.

We are very proud of our effort to encourage emerging voices and promote works that are relevant to the times we live in and are authentic to the Latinx community at large. Please stay tuned for more information regarding our future endeavors with emerging and established playwrights.

Send all of this information and the requested materials via e-mail to:nuestrasvoces@repertorio.org using the subject line “Nuestras Voces: Title of –Your- Play”.

Send the following information within the body of the e-mail:
*Your full name
* Your e-mail address
*Your cell phone number
*Your mailing address (street address, city, state, zipcode)
*How did you hear about the competition?
*4-6 line synopsis
*4 -6 line description of how your play relates to the Latino / Hispanic American community

Unfortunately, we cannot accept any changes or re-submissions once the script has been submitted.

Send the following as an attachment:
One ELECTRONIC COPY of your script without your name on it-- in one document with numbered pages and a title page that lists the title and year the play was written ONLY.

New Development and Education Opportunities for Chicago Playwrights

After four years of producing plays in Chicago, Step Up Productions is reforming as Step Up Chicago Playwrights. In its new form, Step Up will dedicate itself to supporting new Chicago plays through paid residencies and commissions. Through its Chi Wrights education initiative, Step Up also hopes to foster a new, more diverse generation of Chicago playwrights. Founding Director Elizabeth Antonucci will continue to work with the company in an advisory role, while Brad Akin will step into the new role of Executive Director.

Beginning March 1, Chicago playwrights will be able to apply for a Neighborhood Residency from Step Up. Selected playwrights will be paired with one of Chicago’s neighborhoods and provided with connections to a diversity of communities in the area. Through sharing, participation, and observation, resident playwrights will have the opportunity to build a relationship with some of the dynamic communities that make Chicago unique. Executive Director Brad Akin believes that the opportunity will be incredibly useful for many of Chicago’s playwrights. “Playwrights aren’t just talented at writing stories,” says Akin. “They’re also talented at seeing stories in the people and places around them. This residency will help a playwright to see their own neighborhood in a new light, or to see another neighborhood for the first time.”

A key component in building the relationship between playwright and neighborhood is the Chi Wrights program, Step Up’s new education initiative. Built into each Neighborhood Residency will be play literacy classes and workshops that allow the resident playwright to share their knowledge and experience with interested neighbors. Whether it’s an introduction to playwriting for high school students or a master class for playwrights eager to improve their work, the Chi Wrights program allows resident playwrights to give back to the host neighborhood. It also allows Step Up to foster the next generation of Chicago playwrights.

“We want to develop plays, but we also want to develop connections between our theatre community and our neighborhoods,” says Akin. “Those aren’t two separate goals: we believe that meaningful Chicago plays will spring from meaningful relationships between playwrights and communities.” Playwrights who have completed a Neighborhood Residency will be eligible to apply for a Chicago Works Commission from Step Up. This commission will provide an $8,000.00 fee and support for workshops and readings.

For Founding Director Elizabeth Antonucci, building relationships between artists and neighbors has always been an important part of the organization’s mission. “It’s important that the stories we tell connect to our audiences in a way that has impact,” she says. While changing Step Up from a production model to a development model has brought a number of changes, that focus on connection has remained constant. “It was always a challenge to find plays that would connect to our Chicago neighbors. Now we’re building those connections into the plays themselves.”

Website: www.stepupchicagoplaywrights.com

American Blues Theater 2016 Ripped: the Living Newspaper Festival – Call for Submissions

The 2016 Ripped Festival seeks original, short play & performance submissions ripped from today’s headlines. Plays (including monologues, musical numbers, dance, mime, & variety acts) should run between 5-8 minutes.
DEADLINE: February 5, 2016
SUBMIT TO: ElyseD@AmericanBluesTheater.com
Save the date: May 17, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
Proceeds from the 2016 Ripped Festival benefit our arts education program.
There is no pay; all rights remain with the playwright.

ABOUT THE RIPPED: THE LIVING NEWSPAPER SERIES
Since 2009, we’ve produced 115 short plays. Based on the 1930’s WPA era program that brought Orson Welles, Arthur Miller, Richard Wright, and Clifford Odets into public attention, playwrights use inspiration ripped from today’s headlines to create stories performed live on stage.

2014 Blue Ink Playwriting Award Call for Submissions

American Blues Theater is seeking submissions for its 2014 playwriting competition. The winning play will be selected by the theater’s award-winning Ensemble. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the Blue Ink Playwriting Award of $1,000 and receive a staged reading at American Blues Theater in Chicago.

There is a $5 administrative fee. Please follow these guidelines in preparing your manuscript:
1. This contest is restricted to plays written in the English language. Worldwide submissions are accepted.
2. Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays written in English. Translations, musicals, and children’s plays are not accepted.
3. Playwrights may submit only one (1) manuscript per year.
4. Plays that have been professionally produced or published are not eligible. Plays that have had a workshop, reading, or non-professional production will be considered.
5. Plays may not be under option or scheduled for professional production or publication at the time of submission.
6. American Blues Theater reserves the Right-of-First-Refusal to produce the World-premiere of the winning manuscript for one (1) year beginning on date of the public announcement on February 27, 2014.
7. Plays must be sent as a Word document or pdf file to blueink@americanbluestheater.com.
8. Send the $5 administrative fee to: American Blues Theater, 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60610. You may pay online, send a personal or cashier’s check, or cash. You will receive notification of your completed submission—both manuscript and payment—via e-mail.
9. Include your contact information (including address, phone number, and e-mail address) and a brief biography. Submissions for the 2014 competition must be submitted no earlier than July 1, 2013 and no later than September 1, 2013.

American Blues Theater reserves the right to reject any manuscript for any reason.

American Blues Theater reserves the right to not choose a winner for any given year of the competition and reserves the right to determine the ineligibility of a winner, in keeping with the spirit of the competition, and based upon the accomplishments of the author.

City Lit Seeks Submissions for Art of Adaptation Festival

City Lit Theater Company seeks submissions to The Art of Adaptation, its festival of stage adaptations of non-dramatic literature.

The festival will take place July 19th, 20th, and 21st at City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue. We anticipate it will consist of 6 to 10 adaptations presented in various combinations over the course of the weekend. A panel of Jeff Award winning judges will view all performances and award a $500 cash prize to the adaptor of the piece judged the best of the festival.

THE RULES:
1. All pieces must be between 5 and 20 minutes.
2. It must be an adaptation of non-dramatic material—a short story, an essay, a memoir, poetry, an excerpt from a novel, a video game, what have you; but not material from a play.
3. Each adaptor is responsible for whatever royalties might be due on your piece, as well as for your own rehearsal process. City Lit will not provide rehearsal space prior to tech rehearsal, nor will it provide services of a director or any actors for any piece.
4. All pieces will be performed on the same simple unit set with the same simple light plot (including one special per piece). A stock of furniture will be provided. If your piece requires furniture beyond the provided stock, it is your responsibility.
5. City Lit will provide performance space, backstage and front-of-house crew, publicity, programs, tickets and the $500 cash prize.

To submit a proposal for entry into the festival, send a one-page description of the project you are proposing, and ten pages of your adaptation script, to Katy Nielsen at City Lit Theater, 1020 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Chicago IL 60660.

Proposals must be postmarked no later than May 31st.

Chicago Dramatists Winter 2012 Classes

As the national leader in playwright training, Chicago Dramatists offers a variety of professional playwriting classes designed for both beginning and experienced playwrights. Classes are focused on building practical skills and stage worthy scripts, and are conducted in a supportive, positive manner. Most classes include a mix of lecture, discussion, writing assignments (both in and out of class), and reading and critiquing participants' work. beginning playwrights enroll in classes to learn the basics and write their first plays. Working playwrights enroll in classes to review basic skills, attack a specific problem, and explore new or specialized techniques.

Have questions about a particular class or which would be best for you? Read the full class descriptions on our website at www.chicagodramatists.org/classes or call (312) 633-0630

Babes With Blades seeking Submissions for Joining Sword and Pen Playwriting Competition

Babes With Blades is seeking play submissions for the 2013-14 Joining Sword and Pen Playwriting Competition. The winning script will receive a full production with BWBTC in 2014.The winning playwright will receive the Margaret Martin Award, which carries with it a $1000 stipend. DEADLINE FOR SCRIPT SUBMISSION: 2/28/13.

Click here for more details.

Gorilla Tango Theatre seeking 60-90 minute original scripts

Playwrights are invited to submit original 60-90 minute plays for consideration to be produced by Gorilla Tango Theatre (www.gorillatango.com) in 2013.

Guidelines:
1) Plays should be original work, notably parodies/spoofs of TV sitcoms, movies, pop culture, etc.
 2) Plays should have a unique component (ie music, dance, gymnastics, puppetry, etc.)
3) Plays should be sent in electronic format only (ie as a pdf or word attachment); links to plays will also be accepted. Submit plays to suzanne@gorillatango.com. Hard copies will not be accepted.
4) Please include a brief author bio.

Plays must be received by November 1, 2012. Please contact Suzanne Coors at suzanne@gorillatango.com.

ABT Seeks Submissions for Blue Ink Playwriting Award

American Blues Theater (ABT) seeks submissions for the annual Blue Ink Playwriting Award. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of $500.00 and receive a staged-reading of his/her manuscript by American Blues Theater. The winning play will be chosen by a selection committee comprised of ABT Ensemble members.

There is a $5 administrative fee. Please follow these guidelines:
1. Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays written in English. Translations and screenplays are not accepted. Adaptations allowed only if underlying rights are free and available.
2. Plays that received fully-produced productions are not eligible.
3. Blue Ink Playwriting Award is open to all subject matters. All playwrights are encouraged to submit.
4. The manuscript must begin with a title page that shows the play’s title and your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and page count; a second title page which lists the title of the play only; a list of characters; a list of acts and scenes; and (if applicable) a list of acknowledgments.
5. Please include playwright’s bio/resume in a separate attachment.
6. Playwrights may submit only one (1) manuscript per each year.
7. Submissions and questions are accepted by email only to blueink@americanbluestheater.com
8. Please send as a Word Document or PDF File only.
9. Send $5 for the administrative fee to: American Blues Theatre c/o Blue Ink: 800 W. Cornelia, Suite 204, Chicago, IL 60657. You may send a personal or cashier’s check, or cash.
10. The submission process begins on July 1, 2011. Submissions must be received no later than October 1, 2011.
11. The winning play will be publicly announced by ABT no later than March 31, 2013. The winning playwright will be notified directly, prior to public notification. The winner and finalists will be posted on ABT’s website immediately following the public announcement.
12. ABT reserves the Right-of-First-Refusal to produce the World-premiere of the winning play for one year’s time beginning on the date of the winning playwright announcement.
13. From the time of your submission through the winning announcement date, if your play receives or is scheduled for a professional production, please contact us.

For more information regarding ABT, please visit www.americanbluestheater.com.

Chicago Dramatists Fall 2012 Classes

Always Wanted To Write But Didn’t Know Where to Start? This Fall: Become a Playwright at Chicago Dramatists

A national leader in playwright training, Chicago Dramatists offers a variety of professional playwriting classes designed for both beginning and experienced playwrights. Classes are focused on building practical skills and stage-worthy scripts, and are conducted in a supportive, positive environment. Most classes include a mixture of lecture, discussion, writing assignments (both in and out of class), reading and critiquing participants’ work.

A teacher or acting-school student? Receive 15% off and if you’re a theater undergrad or grad student, receive 40% off! Discounts for seniors and first timers are also available along with the full listing of classes at http://www.chicagodramatists.org/.

Hurry! Registration is limited!

Chicago Dramatists Summer 2012 Classes

Always Wanted To Write But Didn’t Know Where to Start? This Summer: Become a Playwright at Chicago Dramatists

A national leader in playwright training, Chicago Dramatists offers a variety of professional playwriting classes designed for both beginning and experienced playwrights. Classes are focused on building practical skills and stage-worthy scripts, and are conducted in a supportive, positive environment. Most classes include a mixture of lecture, discussion, writing assignments (both in and out of class), reading and critiquing participants’ work.

A teacher or acting-school student? Receive 15% off and if you’re a theater undergrad or grad student, receive 40% off! Discounts for seniors and first timers are also available along with the full listing of classes at http://www.chicagodramatists.org/.  Hurry! Registration is limited!

2012 Met Life Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition

Guidelines & Application

Time stamped Deadline: Friday, June 1, 2012.

MISSION:
In 2000 MetLife Foundation and Repertorio Español joined forces to establish The MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition in the hopes of discovering new American plays by established and emerging Latino playwrights writing about the many themes and topics relevant to the Hispanic communities across the United States—plays that may be under the radar in other venues. It has been our privilege to promote and develop new plays, encourage bright new talent to continue writing plays by providing this forum.