Competition Criteria & Info

Competition for a Full Production Run

Competition Submission Criteria

  1. Playwrights should be a resident of New Jersey, NYC or Philadelphia – however priority will be given to NJ playwrights (we’re sorry but we cannot accommodate all the script submissions from other areas of the NorthEast).
  2. Submissions can ONLY be the first 21 days of January: January 1 through January 21.
  3. Only 1 play may be submitted per playwright, per season, so select your best!
  4. Please, no musicals.
  5. Depending on the number of volunteer readers available, we may not be able to review every play beyond the first 20. In that case, your email summary, may help to determine which plays get read and ranked by our team.
  6. The 3 highest ranked plays, will be given a Seated or Staged Reading. The best play from the season, or a prior season, may be considered for a Full Production Run.
  7. Up to 2 plays from those submit to the Competition, that did not receive a Reading, may be considered for a Workshop (see below).
  8. Scripts should be original, completed (or close to it), unpublished works of professional quality, that have not yet had a full production at a community or professional theatre.
  9. There is no restriction on the subjects and topics that can be submitted for consideration.
  10. The series is open to artists of all ages, religions, races and creed.
  11. Script word count should be 20,000 words or less.
  12. The script should ideally take 60 minutes to 2 hours to perform. Regular length plays rather than shorts, often offer greater production viability.
  13. Plays with smaller casts (under 7 characters) are preferred, but a larger cast size will be considered. We also prefer shows designed to be performed on one set, with an eye toward ease of future community theatre productions.
  14. No hardcopy paper manuscripts will be accepted. All submissions must be digital and sent via e-mail to NewPlaywrights@villagerstheatre.org.
Important – Playwright Info !!!!!
The body of the email that contains the attached script MUST BE FORMATTED EXACTLY AS FOLLOWS:
  1. Authors name, address, phone number and email
  2. Title of play
  3. Genre of play (comedy, drama etc)
  4. Word count
  5. Number of Pages
  6. Number of Characters
  7. Brief description of story’s premise
  8. Character breakdown
  9. Detailed Synopsis of play
  10. Brief Bio of Author
  11. Where and when have you held reading workshops for your submission(s)?
  12. Are you seeking a seated Play Reading, or a Staged Reading?

3 plays will be selected for Competition Readings. Plays are selected based on a review system conducted by volunteers who read and rank the plays.

Prior to submitting your play to the Competition, you should have already gone through several basic “readings” and “workshops” with your material. Your script should be final or close to it.

The play that wins a Full Production Run, would be performed in the Black Box the following season. The Playwright may suggest a Director and Crew, however Villagers will ultimately assign a Director. We urge the Playwright NOT to request directing their own play. The Budget is also defined by the Villagers Board.